2009 Chicago bicycle map

Uptown Bikes

ilikejason — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:56:27 +0000

I'm trying something new this year, inspired by Google recently adding RSS feeds to customized maps; I call it a "placeblog," consisting of photos and write-ups of various random locations around Chicago I visit on my bicycle this summer and fall, only plotted on a city map instead of presented by date. Subscribe to this map's RSS feed to be notified of updates, or just stop by my main bike-map headquarters at [jasonpettus.com/maps].

Here: The very first shot of my brand-new bike, or I guess I should say a used bike that's new to me, after my last bike (a $60 Wal-Mart special) got damaged in my building's storage room over the winter, and with it turning out to cost more to fix than to just get another one. This is actually a Frankenbike, put together by my late friend Patrick last year shortly before he sadly died, donated to me this spring by his wife Carrie; it has mountain-bike handlebars, an antique leather seat, and an old '80s Trek frame that's lighter than my freaking backpack. (I still haven't gotten used to it yet; I constantly feel like it's just about to slip out from under me while I'm riding it, like a banana peel or something.) Seen here in front of my friendly neighborhood hippie slacker Critical Mass bikeshop co-op, Uptown Bikes on Broadway near Wilson, which I have a bad habit of making fun of but is actually a pretty incredible place, full of friendly experts who go out of their way to prove that you're not getting ripped off.

Schuba's

ilikejason — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:28:29 +0000

Here: Notorious indie-rock hangout Schuba's, at Southport and Belmont, seen at twilight as I stopped by for a beer, on my way home from the Lincoln Park public library where I had stopped by to track down a specific book I was looking for.

The Aquatania

ilikejason — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:32:43 +0000

Here: The Aquatania, at Argyle and Marine Drive in the Uptown/Margate Park neighborhood, which has a fascinating history: It was owned by George Spoor, otherwise known as the "S" in the pre-Hollywood Essanay movie studio (originally located just half a mile west), built in 1923 to house his employees, including early cinema stars Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin (and it just so happened that Al Capone's lawyer lived in the building back then too). It's named for the famous ocean liner, and used to be on the beachfront until the city literally created extra land in the '40s and '50s so as to build Lake Shore Drive; you can find out a lot more at the building's official website, 5000marine.com.

Lincoln Square pedestrian mall

ilikejason — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:36:54 +0000

Here: The pedestrian mall in the heart of the Lincoln Square neighborhood, an entire area of Chicago with a fascinating history. Originally settled as rural farmland by Swedes and Germans in the 1830s, it was home back then not only to the nation's largest pickle company but was also known as the "celery capital of the United States;" then in 1906 what is now known as the CTA brown line was first constructed, turning this sleepy rural area into essentially Chicago's first middle-class suburb (still mostly dominated by Swedes and Germans), eventually annexed into the city itself in the 1920s. The pedestrian mall you're seeing here was constructed in 1978, in an attempt to boost the neighborhood's retail potential and to reinforce its German heritage (in fact, a famous historical lamppost was imported from Hamburg just to adorn this mall); how ironic, then, that German businesses only constituted a third of the new new retail spaces when this mall first opened, the other two-thirds split between Greek and Asian restaurants. Oh, and a little trivia as well: the Krause Music Store building, also found in this pedestrian mall, was the very last Chicago building designed by famed architect Louis Sullivan.

Lincoln Square pedestrian mall

ilikejason — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:38:56 +0000

"BPOE" Elks Headquarters

ilikejason — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:49:20 +0000

Here: The national headquarters of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, one of those bizarre semi-Masonic American civic groups from the early 20th century. In fact, this entire building first came about because of a suggestion for a memorial for all the Elks who died in World War One (over 70,000 Elks fought in that war, in fact); designed by Egerton Swarthout, the building itself finally opened in 1926, with additional structures on the sides denoting each war since. The interior features a stunningly ornate rotunda, plus astounding frescos and sculptures found throughout the complex; the building itself is free to enter and open to the public, and in fact the staff maintaining this headquarters is always very excited and happy whenever receiving visitors. This plus the entire section of Lincoln Park where it's located gets a big recommendation from me, as far as things for tourists to do while here that are off the usual beaten path, and that give them an idea of the places actual locals visit here on the weekends for fun. (And P.S., this is less than two miles from Navy Pier, making it a perfect destination for tourists renting bicycles from that location for the day...and less than three miles from the Loop's Millennium Park, making it a perfect destination for people starting out from there too.)

The view from my bike at Dearborn

ilikejason — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:19:29 +0000

Here: One of the benefits of the admittedly sometimes scary experience of riding in the Loop -- you get views like these while bicycling. Dearborn Street looking north, the "official" northbound street downtown for bicyclists (i.e. the one northbound street in the Loop with a designated bike lane). The city provides four streets like these downtown for bicyclists, one heading in each compass direction.

North Avenue Chess Pavilion

ilikejason — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:20:30 +0000

Here: The locally famous chess pavilion at the North Avenue Beach, which like Washington Square Park in New York is constantly filled with semi-pro players battling it out over small wagers. It was built in 1957 from a Mid-Century Modernist design by Maurice Webster, including Modernist king and queen sculptures on either end by Boris Gilbertson; the whole thing was paid for with a $90,000 donation from Laurens Hammond of the Hammond Organ Company.

Wrigley Field's east-wall "open gate"

ilikejason — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:21:31 +0000

Here: The infamous "open gate" in the east wall of Wrigley Field, where one can technically watch Cubs games for free from the sidewalk outside, down at the actual field level. Ironically, although the whole thing is designed to look like some nostalgic historic quirk from the century-old stadium, the Cubs only made this a doorless gate three years ago.

Wrigley Field's north wall

ilikejason — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:22:32 +0000

Here: The north wall of Wrigley Field, four blocks from my apartment, technically the back side of this historic stadium; but since it's one of the only sports arenas left in the United States still located in a residential neighborhood, technically all four sides of the structure receive regular foot traffic at all times.

Granville Pictures

ilikejason — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:24:06 +0000

Here: Although they're becoming rarer by the year, you can still randomly spot all the time here on Chicago's northside a plethora of retail stores that still have their original Art Deco signage from when the place first opened in the Early Modernist era, and with the signage still in pretty good shape too. Here, Granville Pictures, at the corner of Granville and Broadway, with signs that according to their website first went up in the early 1940s and have never been replaced.

Uptown Theatre

ilikejason — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:17:09 +0000

Here: The Uptown Theatre in Chicago, in a way not a lot of people see it -- from the backside, that is. Magnolia and Lawrence, Uptown neighborhood.

Essanay Studios

ilikejason — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:19:16 +0000

Here: One of the still-existing gateways of the old Essanay Studios, pretty much the most famous movie studio Chicago had, back befor the movie industry was based out of Hollywood. Believe it or not, from 1908 to 1915 this nondescript area of Uptown was where hundreds of America's first feature-length films were shot (back when this was little more than rural wilderness), including all the early films of Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, and Bronco Billy. The studio even built a luxury hotel down the street to house all these studio people, a shot of which can also be found in this 2009 bike blog; simply check out the placemark directly to the right (east) of this one.

Berwyn red-line el station

ilikejason — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:24:12 +0000

Here: The Berwyn red-line el stop at dusk on a warm spring day.

Epworth United Methodist Church

ilikejason — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:27:13 +0000

Here: Epworth United Methodist Church, in Edgewater. Yeah, freaky and cool, right? People have been worshipping on this spot constantly since 1888; the unique Romanesque/Arts & Crafts building you see here was created in 1891, from a design that was donated to the church by noted architect Frederick Townsend. A bizarre and great addition to this odd, cool neighborhood.

Irving Park el station

ilikejason — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:22:11 +0000

Here: The newly refurbished Irving Park elevated-train (or "el") station, on the city's CTA brown line, seen at night.

Saint Benedict's Church and Parish

ilikejason — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:24:05 +0000

Here: Saint Benedict's Church and Parish, at Irving Park Road between Damen and Western, first created in 1902 by the German Catholics who used to dominate this section of the city, back when it was little more than rural farmland. The current structure you're looking at was completed in 1918, and includes stained-glass windows imported from Munich; a massive restoration was done in 2002 to coincide with the church's centennial as an organization. By the way, Joe Meno fans, this is the specific church he refers to in his new novel "The Great Perhaps," in the flashback scenes set in 1940s Lincoln Square.

O'Donovan's Pub

ilikejason — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:27:50 +0000

Here: O'Donovan's, on Irving Park Road near Western, one of the surprisingly large amount of great pubs found on this stretch of street, seen here the other evening while stopping in for a pint and to celebrate a good long bike ride that day.

The Long Room pub

ilikejason — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:28:50 +0000

Here: The Long Room, on Irving Park Road near Ashland, just one of a surprisingly large amount of great pubs along this stretch of street. Seen here the other evening, after stopping in for a pint to reward myself for a good long bike ride earlier.

Challenger Park

ilikejason — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:30:28 +0000

Here: For nearly a century there used to be a big problem in the Uptown neighborhood, where the CTA red-line elevated-train (or "el") tracks ran parallel and close to the eastern wall of the famed Graceland Cemetary; the resulting gap was too wide to be a mere alley, too noisy for residential construction, so instead was a trash-filled wasteland literally from from the 1890s to 1990s. Then the city finally turned it into what you see here -- Challenger Park (yes, named after the space shuttle that exploded), one of many ultra-specific kinds of parks the city maintains, which in this case contains a nicely landscaped soft-track half-mile running course, plus a fenced-in dog park at its center, and frankly not much else. It's a great addition to this neighborhood, a nice little exercise green space in what used to be a dirty, graffiti-filled apocalyptic space; I'm all for the city sneaking in more and more science-fictiony-looking "post-Industrial green spaces" around the city like this.