Lee Bey

May. 3, 2013

Old North Side firehouse up for sale

May. 3, 2013

 

The city this week has begun seeking reuse proposals for a former Chicago firehouse.
 
Under the city's request, issued Wednesday, the ornate two-story firehouse, 5720 N. Ridge, could be reused as "a commercial and/or not-for-profit development focusing on arts, recreation or culinary activities that are open to the public." In other words: A nice place to visit, but you couldn't want to live there. "Residential uses will not be considered," a summary of the requests states.
 
Other forbidden uses include gas stations, payday loan establishments, currency exchanges, liquor stores or pawn shops. The building is also a protected city landmark.
 
Built in 1929, the building was the home of Chicago Fire Department Engine Company 59, Truck 47. Firefighters there moved to a new facility at 6030 N Clark St in 2008. The retired firehouse is among a cluster of vacant city-owned properties now up for sale including the 88-year-old former Stock Yards National Bank, 4146 S.

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Photo of the Day

May. 2, 2013

March: Photo of the Day - May 2, 2013

May. 2, 2013

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Jim DeRogatis

May. 2, 2013

Wire: Rock’s greatest super geniuses (after Eno)

May. 2, 2013

Asked to assess the most important part of the legacy of long-running English art-punks Wire, most fans will cite the quartet’s first three albums—Pink Flag (1977), Chairs Missing (1978), and 154 (1979)—which chart a startling arc of growth and creativity that echoes and inspires to this day.

If you value my opinion at all, and you do not own these recordings, you should download them immediately. Your life will be richer for it, and I’ll wait.

Done? Good. Because here I will venture that as extraordinary as that music is, a case can be made based on Read & Burn: A Book About Wire, an impressive 400-plus-page appreciation of the band by Wilson Neate newly published by Jawbone in the U.K.

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Claire Zulkey

May. 2, 2013

Cubs are like a bad girlfriend

May. 2, 2013

The following three items are completely unrelated.

1.) I will be on the radio today on The Afternoon Shift to talk about my King Spa and alone time experiences at around 2 p.m., if you'd like to hear me.

2.) The Cubs' owners threatening to move the team if they don't get their way is the kind of bratty empty gesture that I hope they follow through on, just because it would be the most interesting thing to happen to the team in 100 years. However, I have a feeling the Cubs are like the girlfriend and the city/fans are like the boyfriend in this sketch (NSFW):

3.) And finally, pease don't forget Funny Ha-Ha is Friday. It'll be a delightful show and a wonderful way for you to kick off your weekend.

Follow Claire Zulkey @Zulkey

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John R. Schmidt

May. 2, 2013

Lost Chicago landmark: the old Old St. Mary's church

May. 2, 2013

The Archdiocese has delayed demolition of St. James Church. That calls to mind a historic church that wasn't saved: the old Old St. Mary’s.

St. Mary of the Assumption was the city’s first Catholic church, built in 1833 on Lake Street west of State Street. Three years later the building was moved to Michigan Avenue and Madison Street. In 1843, when Chicago was established as a diocese, a new St. Mary’s Cathedral was constructed at the southwest corner of Madison Street and Wabash Avenue.

The Great Fire of 1871 destroyed St. Mary’s Cathedral. Afterward the Catholic bishop decided to rebuild his cathedral in Holy Name parish. He also purchased the five-year-old Plymouth Congregational Church at 9th and Wabash, rededicating it as St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The parish was placed under the direction of the Paulist Fathers order of priests.

The decades passed, and the South Loop went into a long decline. Anyone with money moved out. By the 1930s the area was mostly commercial—and what wasn’t commercial was slum. Aging gracefully while the neighborhood deteriorated, the church remained one rock of stability.

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Nico Lang

May. 2, 2013

What hating Gwyneth Paltrow says about us

May. 2, 2013

Last week, Gwyneth Paltrow pulled one hell of a pop culture hat trick. In addition to breaking international box office records with her newest film, a little movie called Iron Man 3, People named her as the world’s “Most Beautiful Person.” The world, however, proved itself not so fond of the multi-hyphenate actress.

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Photo of the Day

May. 1, 2013

Memorial Mallard: Photo of the Day - May 1, 2013

May. 1, 2013

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Beyond The Mic

May. 1, 2013

The Real Nerd Prom(s)

May. 1, 2013

The recent White House Correspondence Dinner was referred to as a "nerd prom" which, from my vantage point, is a bit of an insult to both nerds AND proms.  No Daliks, no lightsabers, no taped glasses or dweebs sitting in the corner sniffing Sharpies.  Not in Washington.

In Chicago, however, there are events that fit far more comfortably in the "nerd prom" category and I'm here to clue you in on a few.

Chicago poets, Robbie Q. Telfer and Shanny Jean Maney, founded The Encyclopedia Show in 2008. In five short years, these two co-hosts (along with a plethora of collaborators) have peeled back the veneer of polite research and exposed their audience to detailed (and often funny) live encyclopedia entries about Fungi, Cheerleading, Skyscrapers, Puberty and Punctuation among many, many other topics you were dying to know about without ever asking the question.

Tomorrow night (Thursday, May 2) The Encylopedia Show (with the help of Nina Coombs, George Decelles, and others) presents everything you could possibly want to know about The Origins of Life.  Cheap tickets, a great time and you might be a tad smarter when you leave.

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