Chicago Mixed Bag of Photos 2005: Part 1, Far NW Side + Skokie

OK folks, here is the starter thread of what will be a serries covering nearly every neighborhood picture I took in 2005. Due to my busy schedual as a student, very few of these have been edited so, here is chicago in the raw. Most of the pics will come from my account on spanfish, which compresses the images and makes uploading quicker. The serries will cover all sides of the city, with some neighborhoods having more pics than others, as my free time is limited and you can never take enough pictures. Ready y'all? Here.....We...Go..... In Part 1 we will Cover Skokie just outside the city limits first, then Edison Park (Highlighted in Blue) and Jefferson Park (in Green). We'll come back to Norwood Park later (in Orange), as I would like to grab some more images of it. Without further delay, lets get going.... SKOKIE Skokie has a little bit of an idenity crises, its part urban neighborhood, part pre-war suburb and part post-war suburb. Since its never shown on here I thought I would give it just a smidgen of love.... Downtown: Summer Winter Infill More infill See what I mean, Skokie goes from a great urban style setting to barren post-war suburbia. Its an interesting beast with very leapfrog style growth, that had the blanks filled in with auto-centric stuff. Skokie Swift (CTA Yellow Line) Station at Dempster Street Back to the city.... EDISON PARK For whatever reason, these statues can be found in quite a few courtyards of these 1960's aprtment buildings. Neighborhood Fesitival Here is the blending of municipal boundries. I am standing on the border of Chicago and the suburb of Park Ridge, and the interesting thig is that the city limits continue stright on from where I am standing. Acording to zoning maps the boundry runs right through this house on the right. It does actually have two addresses, I wonder which city gets the residenicy claim, or the taxes for that matter. Me thinks the homeowner on the left should invest in a set of hedge clippers. I spy Sears from 12 miles out JEFFERSON PARK Patroitic Block Rufus Hitch Elementry School. I love Chicago's urban schools, and as such there are plenty more comming in this serries. Even in the post-war areas of the city, houses are often mixed with two and three flats. These cute little houses are locally refered to as "Gorgians" Another Neighborhood School Jefferson Park "Skyline" Vintage and Retro This is Beaubian Elemmentary School. Just turned 100 years old. This old concrete plant has a date with the wrecking ball sometime in the near future. Midrise condos are being planned for the site. Jefferson Park (The actual park) Remember that courtyard statue from earlier, another '60s courtyard building, another statue. Look ma, another one! This home was built in the early 1900's back when Jefferson Township was a rural farming community. More '60s These two houses will be replaced with a 8 unit condo building Three eras of construction. Early 21st Century, early 20th century, and mid 20th century. Masonic Temple, built in 1901 I spy Sears agian These cape cod houses are locally reffered to as "Englishes" Block party, quite common in the city. Nature in the city A forest preserve a half block from my house Our Block party.... My Street, this morning ---------------JEFFERSON PARK INFILL---------------------------- Right between the houses Doomed house Same house, from the rear And a week later, the house is gone... These next few are of a infill project done tastefully by suburban home developer Concord Homes Single family homes: Garages in the back where they belong, but good lord do I hate the vinyal sidding Townhouses: That's all for part one. I hope you guys learned something new along the way so far. Stay tuned, more to come in the next few days!>