10: All Questions Answered

I see you have questions.

“Where are you going with all this?” Be patient, please.

“How did Peg Leg live to tell the lie about Mrs. O’Leary’s cow?” I have no idea. But its a great story my dad told me and I had to fit it in.

The Chicago Fire Department’s headquarters and training facility is located at of the start of The Fire.

“Fire” is the name of our professional futbol team.

A neat bit of coincidence...

Two day’s before the Chicago Fire, wildfires around Peshtigo killed so many people (some say up to 2,500 souls perished) there was hardly a soul left to report it, giving the Great Chicago Fire all the press and charity.

One bit of the charity received was from Queen Victoria. Her Majesty donated to Chicago’s library system one copy of each book in her personal collection (some 8,000 of them!). We graciously accepted, not mentioning we hadn’t yet developed a library system. The Harold Washington Library still has some of the original books (you can't check them out, I tried) and Her Majesty’s hand written sympathy note which accompanied them (which I didn’t care to see but hear is kinda nifty if you’re into that sort of thing).

I see you have more questions. Good for you! I love a curious mind.

“Where did we put all those books while establishing the Chicago Public Library?” Glad you asked. The Rookery Building. “So what?” So Simple! Because Daniel Burnham (one of my heroes), John Root, and Frank Wright were the architects of the Rookery. And Burnham and Root’s firm was located there along with the Her Majesty’s books for a while before Burnham set-up a temporary office on the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition which hosted a gun so big it could have almost shot my condo in the MAGICAL Edgewater Beach neighborhood of Chicago!

Now I find that an interesting coincidence!

Except for Peshtigo, the Rookery, the Expo, the Harold Washington Library, and the CFD Headquarters - I think those are the exceptions - all of the above is within 4 miles and easily accessible from my door!

And that's not the half of it. I haven't told of the local theatre, small local museums, artist studios, and best of all my neighbors!

I know! I love where I live. Its MAGICAL, right?

Big Hugs to All You Lil’ Potato Bugs!

Matthew J “Pinkie” Fleming

(The story’s sort of mine, the facts mostly verifiable, but I hope the fun was yours!)

9: So Ends the Stroll

Why end the story with a library? ‘Cause I love to learn, learning is free at a library, I (almost) started my story with a library (the Library of Alexandria), and I needed a way to (almost) end with a neat bit of coincidence...

The Great Chicago Fire took 300 souls, left 100,000 people homeless, and burned for two days beginning October 8, 1871.

My dad has a mantle clock which was the only thing saved from The Fire when his family’s family (or more) had to leave their home because of the flames. According to my dad and with full support of the Chicago City Council, Mrs. O’Leary’s cow did not kick over a lamp that night; neither had anything much to do with The Fire (the cow and the Mrs I mean).

Also according to my dad and with some documented support, it was Daniel “Peg Leg” Sullivan who started The Fire. Peg Leg was an amputee from the Civil War (a veteran). Living through a horrific war, having only one leg, and branded with an insensitive nickname is reason to take seriously to drinking, so no stone throwing when you learn... Peg Leg was tipsy the night of October 8 not only because of drink (which was probably homemade) but because he’s got a wooden a leg for sympathy’s sake, which is nothing like today’s prosthetics from the world renowned Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. So as I said, no stones.

Anyway... he got the peg of his leg caught in a knot in the wood of floor of Mrs. O’Leary’s barn of the cow he was supposed to milk, and subsequently dropped the lamp which started The Fire.

8: A Mental Stroll, Far SouthWest

The mental stroll continues in the ‘far’ southwest.

To the south and west is the Lincoln Square neighborhood; only ‘far’ when measuring Chicago neighborhoods. It is a good stretch of the legs, an easy bike, and a relaxing 30 minutes on the CTA (Lawrence Red Line Station to westbound 81 or 56 buses). It is a personal favorite of mine.

Lincoln Square was settled by Germans (mostly Bavarians, I think) and their influence is still there. There are two great butcher shops - the longstanding Lincoln Quality Meat Market and recently Gene's Sausage Shop with its ADA accessible rooftop bar where friends and I have enjoyed ‘encased meats’ and adult beverages. The iconic Chicago Bauhaus will fill you like your Oma’s favorite! I’m eager to get to Band of Bohemia.

I really, really enjoy the neighbor’s central public square and fountain where kids of all ages play.

The Krause Music Store is inside an historic Louis Sullivan building. Various other very good restaurants, and cool mom&pop shops of all sorts abound. It is also home to the Old Town School of Folk Music (formerly of the Old Town neighborhood). The School teaches kids and adults and is a concert venue where you can see really, really good performers.

The Sulzer Regional Library calls Lincoln Square home and is a great resource but I typically head to the beautiful new Edgewater Library or the Bezazian Library.

7: A Mental Stroll, South and Back East

I hope your mind isn’t too tired. Let’s continue our mental stroll.

The neighborhood south is Uptown which has seen better days, but has also seen worse, so lets agree it is getting better. Big Chicks Bar and the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge saved the neighborhood from being bulldozed into the lake when it hit bottom, and I haven't a single fact to back that up. Uptown was THE entertainment center of America long before Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin and other greats made a movies at the Essanay Studios (sounds like ‘S N A’ Studios), which is a super-cool art-deco building now part of St. Augustine College.

Uptown has the Uptown Theatre (not in use), the Aragon Ballroom, the Riviera Theatre, and Graceland Cemetery (take a tour!). We're all hoping to get it back to its heyday, which spanned from the Expo in 1893 to the 1940s. My Nana told me a few personal stories when she and her girlfriends would visit Uptown, but they’re treasures I wont share here.

South of Graceland Cemetery is Wrigley Field (you can tour it too!) and the Wrigleyville neighborhood, a 10 minute EL ride from me but plan on 20 minutes if there is a ball game. It is a tight knit neighborhood but they know where their bread is buttered and welcome the throngs of visitors to the bars and ballgames. The ballpark is one of Chicago's gems and has great views of the Lake and the Loop. Only 1/2 the people are there to watch the game. The other 1/2 are there to people watch or 'to be seen'.

I thank the Ricketts for their dedication to the Cubs. The September 19, 2015 episode “Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!” has Tom Ricketts as guest in the “That’s Not My Job” segment. He’s quick and funny and you can tell he genuinely loves Wrigley Field and the Cubs, so I wont disparage the new jumbotrons. I think you can listen the episode online at WBEZ radio.

Now things are going to get even more interesting. Deep breath and....strolll...

To the east of Wrigleyville and the south of me is Boystown. In 1998 it was the United State's first officially recognized 'gay village'. (Really? "Boystown"? As if the ‘girls’ never visited. And as late as 1998 it was the first in USA?) It is a ton of fun not just for the GLBTs, but for anyone with even the slightest curiosity ( as in ‘to learn’, not as in ‘to gawk’). 15 minutes on the EL and a 5 minute walk and you're at Roscoe's Bar, at the corner of Halsted St and Roscoe St, the epicenter of the 'hood.

Across the street is Sidetrack (no ‘s’, no ‘bar’ no ‘Chicago’ - just Sidetrack), which sells the most Absolut Vodka in the world. But to figure out how Sidetrack sells so much Absolut, the president of the company visited from Sweden - TWICE!

Between you and me, I heard years and year ago - long before the flavored booze market took-off - Absolut offered the owners mucho dinero (not krona, not euros, nor Robert; DINERO) for Sidetrack’s Absolut Currant Crush recipe (its a slurp-ee with booze). The owners turned it down, instead opting to receive royalties on each every Absolut Currant Crush sold world-wide! Oh yeah, we Chicagoans are pretty good business people! That may be an urban legend, but it is a good story.

The owners Sidetrack are generous. For years employees received health care benefits. And I’ll bet between the frequent free event space and bar service given for fundraisers and Sidetrack’s direct donations, it gives to all of Chicago close to as much as Boeing.

6: A Mental Stroll, West and North

So let’s continue our mental stroll, shall we?

Andersonville is a 10 minute walk west and has the majority of Edgewater’s nightlife (too many hip shops, bars, restaurants, and antiques dealers to mention). A'ville was settled by and still has a very large Swedish population. So many Swedes King Carl XVI Gustaf visited to officially open the Swedish American Museum in 1988. You’ll see Swedes there when you go to the Midsommerfest, but there are people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Asian, and other decent too.

Magnolia Glen and Edgewater Glenn (10 minute walk north-west and west) has Senn High School and is mostly single family homes with its boarders housing a good deal of the unsung 9-5 businesses which contribute so much to the neighborhood. Think of it as our bedroom community. Father and Sons Barber Shop is there and I’ll get a cut from them once in a while.

I’m not sure if the Armory is technically in the Glenns, but I’ll tell you about it here since I don't really know much more about the Glenns. So the Armory was once just that, an Illinois National Guard Armory which is pretty boring. But since 1998 it officially became “Broadway Armory Park” (just call it the Armory), the Chicago Park District's largest indoor recreational facility which is not boring at all and really pretty great when you don't want to play outside in Chi-beria. It has 5 gyms, locker rooms with shower, a dozen community rooms, a gymnastics center, and home of the Trapeze School of NY in Chicago (the city-whose- name-shall-not-be-spoken oddly does’t have the School). I made a lot of my friends playing volleyball at the Armory. So the Armory is used indoor all year. In winter I’ve heard you can get kitted for cross country skiing at Margate Park, but I’ve not been so inclined and can't promise its true.

Clear you mind and get ready to stroll on...

The next neighborhood north is up-n-coming Rodgers Park, home to Loyola University Lakeshore Campus and a wonderfully eclectic mix of people and places. It is a 7 minute EL ride. It is fast becoming my favorite place to attend a summer street festival or two since it's less congested, shows more new ideas, and is has a grassroots feel like the street festivals of old. I think too many of the local chambers of commerce who used to actively organizing the street festivals have outsourced the heart of the affair. Too many seem to be hiring the same company to set-up the same cookie-cutter show who simpley changes the name and address.

I hope to make “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits” at Loyal Park an annual event. My first was in 2015 when some neighbors and I took the 151 northbound. It was much, much more enjoyable than I expected! Having season tickets to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, I was anticipating something more traditional (not that ChicagoShakes is traditional!). I anticipated something like "And now from 'Romeo & Juliet', the Balcony Scene", performed in period costume. Followed by another introduction of the next scene, etc.. And of course you can't have any of The Bard’s titillating material. For the first time that year I was wrong! The show was packed with updated music and costumes; had wonderful staging, an energetic cast who engaged with the audience; and flowed from one scene in one play to a another scene from other play seamlessly to make an entirely new story! Those who didn’t already know didn’t understand the more mature content - it flew over their heads like the seagulls in park. It was very well attended by all sorts of people, very representative of the surrounding neighborhoods. My THANKS to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Park District, and the many sponsors (Boeing, BMO/Harris, ArtWorksChicago, BCBSIL, and more!) for this free event.

5: A Mental Stroll, The Block and East

So let’s take a mental stroll, shall we?

MAGICAL Edgewater Beach (yup, that’s me!) is where both Lincoln Park and Lake Shore Drive begin and a good place for us to being too. Within 2 blocks of my place you'll find (my choice in parenthesis but there are plenty of options): pub grub (Burke’s Public House), nuevo-French Vietnamese (Pasteur), sushi (Blow Fish), Thai (Ben’s Noodle), Italian (Francesca’s), Chinese (Mei Shung; try the Spicy Shredded Pork Noodle Soup), Vietnamese (Little Vietnam), American comfort food, a sandwich shop with awesome sweets, Mexican upscale (Little Mexican Cafe), Mexican storefront (Taqueria Uptown, but in Edgewater Beach), Cajun/Creole (Pearl’s), thin crust (Pizzeria Aroma), mom & pop coffee shops (Kitchen Sink), gyros (Grill & Garden). Even though it is 3 blocks away I have to mention Moody’s Pub for burgers on the patio (otherwise go to Burke’s).

Amazingly, there is not a great Chicago hot dog joint in Edgewater. I head to Byron’s Hot Dogs on W Lawrence Ave. in Ravenswood. And for a great Jewish deli, Andersonvill has it again with JB’s Deli on N Clark St..

Just minutes east of my door is the City's best beach, "Kathy Osterman Beach". Nobody in the neighborhood would be able to tell you how to get there though because we all still call it "Hollywood Beach”. I don't think anybody wants to offend Kathy’s memory by saying ‘Hollywood’ - I’m confident Kathy was a good person. The new name just doesn’t sound right when spoken. Try it ... Hollywood Beach ... Kathy Osterman Beach ... see what I mean?

Glad you agree. But I digress... Hollywood Beach is bigger than those down south and less crowded. But let's keep this to ourselves, OK? No sense making the North Avenue Beach folk jealous. The beach is popular with the LGBT folks and has a newer beach house that is just as dirty as the old one, but I live 5 minutes away and walk home if need be. Please don’t pop-in to the Edgewater Beach Apartments from day at the beach (“the well-groomed and respectful”, remember?).

Every Independence Day the Cycle and Saddle Club has a wonderful fireworks display. The club is for members only, but they haven’t figured out how to block out the night sky yet, so people from the neighborhood hoof it to the surrounding parks. I’ve made it almost every year with neighbors to watch from Bryn Mawr Park. Bryn Mawr Park feels like my private garden. It is beautifully nestled between the Club on the south, the highrises on the west, LSD on the east and Bryn Mawr on the north, so it doesn’t get much attention from everyone on the Lakeshore Path in Lincoln Park.

4: Magical Edgewater Beach

So here goes...

I live in MAGICAL Edgewater Beach! I added the ‘magical’ - nobody but me seems to go that far. You wont find it listed on any of the City’s official maps. Technically it may be the Edgewater Beach Neighborhood Association in Edgewater of the 48th Ward, but that’s a mouthful!. More importantly, I like the sound of “Edgewater Beach”. It sounds and is romantic; imagine the famous beach scene in “From Here to Eternity” but in color and with better swimwear. And it sounds and is exciting; being ‘on the edge’ is thrilling. And you never know what will wash up on a beach, what ship might land on a beach, or what storm might roll-in on a beach. So that’s where I say I live: MAGICAL Edgewater Beach.

Within the City’s larger and official Edgewater neighborhood is my MAGICAL Edgewater Beach as well as the 'hoods of Andersonville, Magnolia Glenn, and Edgewater Gelnn. The National Register of Historic Places recognizes a dozen or more sites in Edgewater, including the Bryn Mawr Historic District just up the block from me. So if you’re walking around trying to find those historic places, you’ll find you’ve actually wound up walking around the world because you can experience so many diverse cultures and people of divergent incomes its a new adventure every day! I did say exciting, right?

The symbol of MAGICAL Edgewater Beach is the "Edgewater Beach Apartments", which is a not pink but a ‘pink sunset’ colored colossus built in the 1920s as part of the Edgewater Beach Resort. << need to find a pictured of the poster by John Garrison >>

I don't mind most people calling it the Edgewater Beach Hotel which it isn't. The actual hotel was torn down to make room for Lake Shore Drive. (LSD always is spelled with three words unless it is ‘LSD’. Ask me about the US Postal Service and LSD sometime!) The building isn’t actually apartments either. It is a co-op, which I think means if ‘they’ vote you in, you buy shares of the property owner’s company in proportion to your rooms. The Edgewater Beach Apartments building isn't ‘cool’ or ‘neat’. It is flamboyant and ostentatious on the outside and dripping ornamentation within. If Adolf Loos ever saw it I’m sure he disliked it. I don't know if Louis Sullivan saw it either, but I think we’d agree: she’s a beaut’. I’ve been to the lobby a few times and to the Edgewater Beach Cafe inside, which it really isn't, it is really a restaurant. (Yes, it can be a very confusing building!) They don’t seem to mind a pop-in to the lobby from the well-groomed and respectful.

3: I Love Where I Live

My condo is a spacious yet cozy 2 bed, 2 bath with a sun porch, living room, formal dinning room. Built in 1905 or '10 the character remains: you'll hear the hardwood floors creak when tread upon and may wonder about the color choice of the two stain-glass windows in the living room. The eat-in kitchen which includes the laundry room. The laundry was originally the maid’s bedroom. From the bedroom, the maid had a ‘secret hallway’ so she could answer the front door without disrupting those in the dining room. The ‘secret hall’ is now a great long closet. (Ask me about how my closet could have returned to near its original intent sometime!)

The crown molding is Tiger Maple (I think) and beautiful (for certain). The outdoor deck is shared with my fantastic neighbors. It got nicknamed "The Disco Porch" and somebody made a Facebook page for it so we can check-in. And now you know the neighbors are as fun as me!

I use my ‘formal’ dinning room to have friends and neighbors (who are friends really, of course) over frequently. Saturday nights it'd be Game Night, which is a polite way of saying ‘blowing-off steam with some adult beverages, people who care, and a little junk food’. Sometimes we get around to playing a game, but nothing that requires paying too much attention. Although you can win or loose money, its less than $5/night usually. And occasionally we agree the winner will split the winnings with Care For Real, the neighborhood food bank. Of course, the entire pot is given happily since my fiends are generous (among their other great qualities). I’ve enjoyed hosting family holidays and get-togethers in the dinning room too.

One neighbor in particular and I often share Sunday Dinner together. It started in the tradition of Stone Soup, but sometimes we break the bank and do something special. Others join from time to time too, contributing to the meal and sharing a good time.

OK, OK... the that’s not really much about the neighborhood.

2: World’s Columbian Exposition

The World’s Columbian Exposition got started because the Unites States was hankering to be a world power not only economically, politically, and militarily, but culturally as well. Britannia just barely ruled the waves but otherwise it was pretty clear to ‘the powers that be’ the UK’s global influence was waning. Amazingly ‘the powers that be’ didn’t notice the Deutsches Reich’s (German Empire’s) arms buildup, especially when it showed up at the Exposition (more below). The United States was confidently poised to take the world stage on the all fronts but culture. Most of the world viewed the States as the unrefined and backwards Wild West due a lot to the popularity of “Buffalo Bill” Cody Wild West Show (it toured England) as well as ‘dime novels’ and sensational news stories of cowboys and Indians which made their way across the pond.

So what to do? Paris did bang-up job of a World’s Fair in 1889 garnering tons of great press around the world. And Paris is the center of culture, don'tcha know? Therefore it only made sense to some oligarch or politician: Hold a competition between US cities to host a fair in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ trip to get black pepper at a better price! Not the worst idea from Washington D.C.. I think the federal government even coughed-up a few bucks.

The World’s Columbian Exposition officially hosted 46 countries and welcomed over 27 million visitors. Since posterity does’t know what was lost with the Ancient Library of Alexandria, I’m confident in saying the Expo was the greatest coming together of ideas the world has ever seen before or since. The City of Brotherly Love sent the Liberty Bell and I think it was Norway (sorry if I’m wrong, Andersonville) who sent a Viking ship (yup, they sailed a Viking ship to our Lake Michigan shore!). And guess what? Buffalo Bill crashed the party, setting up his Wild West Show just outside the gate!

Some of the legacies of the Expo to the world are: Westinghouse’s/Tesla’s alternating current electrical power grid instead of the better direct current (Edison) model (indoor and outdoor lighting plus a kitchen stove); modern policing ideas like crime prevention; spray painting; moving walkways; women business/project managers; the 3-rail elevated train (the EL); and democracy (just seeing if you were paying attention!), and the Ferris Wheel. The foundations of the modern breakfast were laid when Shredded Wheat, Cream of Wheat, Aunt Jemima, Quaker Oats, and others showed up; Juicy Fruit gum debuted; and the US Mint pressed its first commemorative coin for the occasion. But best of all the Expo gave us one of my favorite breakfast combinations: Past Blue Ribbon Beer, French fries, and ice cream on waffle cones.

I see you have a question. “Didn’t Mr. Columbus sail the ocean blue in 1492 and wasn't the Expo in 1893?” Oh you are smart, but someone was creative, and I’ll bet that someone was a Chicagoan. In 1492 you’re celebrating some nut-job going the wrong way off the end of the earth looking for cheap spices. But upon Columbus’ return in 1493, you’re celebrating a hero who ‘discovered a new world’. I doubt anyone is creative enough to explain why Millennium Park opened July 16, 2004 instead of anytime nearer the millennium.

Curious to know... Why would somebody invent a waffle cone? What's the skinny on the exiled Infanta Eulalia of Spain and Mrs. Palmer? ...I'll spill the beans after an adult beverage or two.

Burnham and Olmsted are two of my heroes. Read "Devil in the White City" and you’ll get an idea why. And the book’ll send shivers down your spine if you have one.

Oh, almost forgot about the German Empire’s arms buildup arriving at the Exposition. The Krupps (family or company; I don't remember but I don't think its the same entity bringing us those terrific coffee makers) brought a 240,000 pound (120 ton), 46 feet long, 6.5 foot diameter, 16.54 inch caliber gun as part of official German exhibit. The largest gun to date, this little charmer shot a 2,000 pound bullet up to 13 miles. I think my condo would have been out of range, but not by much! I’m a huge fan of today’s Germany and don't want to appear to be throwing stones, so in full disclosure the United States anchored off our Lake Michigan shores a scaled down, but still impressive replica of the USS Illinois battleship. Britain, and probably some other countries, brought their war toys too, but enough of it already.

So, that’s just a little background.

1: Nicknames

Welcome to Paris on the Prairie, the City of the Big Shoulders! Our motto is Urbs in Horto, Latin for City in a Garden and we do a pretty good job of making it so.

The word 'chicago' is a poor translation of the Miami-Illinois people's word meaning something like stinking, fragrant, blue, or wild onion. The area the first non-indigenous people settled near the mouth of the Chicago River was mostly swamp (the Illini must have thought it silly). And swamps must a good place for onions to grow because there were so many wild onions the order created a blue haze you could actually see it rising up into the sky. The neighborhood of Blue Island gets its name because of it.

Someone tried to give us the nickname The Big Onion, trying to emulate the city-whose-name-shall-not-be-spoken's similar but fruitier nickname, but it never caught on.

So you're now in the Heart of America. We’re The City That Works located in The Great State of Chicago. OK, we’re in the Great State of Illinois and proud to be, but please remember: “there is no noise in Illinois” because the ‘s’ is silent in Illinois (but both ‘s’ sound like a ‘z’ sound when saying ‘Des Plaines’). Sandburg called us 'hog butcher for the world' in his poem "Chicago" and rather than be offended I think its a badge of pride for most. It only takes a minute to read, but like all good poetry, takes much longer to appreciate.

And yes My Sweet Home Chicago feels like Chi-beria during our windy winters, but Windy City was not a nickname given because of the weather. "Windy City" is a result of a newspaper editorial from the city-whose-name-shall-not-be-spoken which read something like “the nonsensical claims of that windy city.". It almost certainly refers to our boastful, talkative, ‘windy’ politicians and probably was published while Chicago was competing with the-city-whose-name-shall-not-be-spoken to host the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition.