Lake Calumet area and Hegewisch(the most out of the way place in Chicago city limits)

This is a duplicate of a thread I posted at SkyscraperPage Can you guess where I took these pictures? Indiana Sand Dunes? Cahokia Mounds in downstate Illinois? Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan? wrong, wrong, and wrong They were taken within the citylimits of Chicago!!!! The first picture is of a manmade mound along Stony Island Avenue near Lake Calumet, I believe it to be near Chicago's landfill. The second picture is of a road in a forest preseve near Wolf Lake by the Indiana state line. Welcome to rural Chicago! A tour of the Lake Calumet area, Hegewisch, Wolf Lake and then a swing back into the more urban parts of the city towards the end. I took these pictures during a long bike ride on Sunday, September 4, 2005, the same day I took pictures of the Pullman thread I just posted. Anyways, some of the stuff I saw down there it was hard for even me to believe I was still within Chicago city limits, but I swear on my life that all of these pictures were taken within Chicago city limits with the exception of a photo or two when I stepped a few feet into Indiana which I will note. The Harborside Golf Course just to the north of Lake Calumet near 111th Street and the Bishop Ford Expressway Look, its my lucky number , 103rd Street and the Bishop Ford Expressway 103rd and Stony Island Avenue, that sign is for the Chicago Calumet Incinerator. This picture looks like it could be out in the middle of nowhwere right? Well this is just a preview of whats to come as I venture further south down Stony Island. Lake Calumet itself is off limits because it is a port facility. Just thought this was an interesting sign in regards to the hazerdous waste. Wetlands just off of Stony Island, you will see plenty more of these later. There was all kinds of waterfowl, fish, and turtles swimming around in this pond. Now I can appreciate why the enviromentalists wanted to save this region from being bulldozed into Chicago's third airport. Looking accross the wetlands at heavy industry in the distance. Sunflowers next to the wetlands The end of Stony Island Avenue looking out accross the Calumet River This is the end of Stony Island Avenue looking north, the street I had just ridden my bike down. This just gives you an idea of how desolate this area is, probably moreso since this was a sunday. It looks like a lonely country road. Entrance to the landfill with the man made mounds I showed earlier. More wetlands in a very rural looking setting This is 122nd and Torrence The Torrence Avenue Bridge which I will cross shortly A shrine probably for somebody that died in an auto accident here. A huge tunnel. The Calumet River from the Torrence Avenue Bridge This bridge was in very bad shape, I felt like I was risking my life walking accross it, there were holes that I could see the water through and there were huge bumps, I would have taken more close up pictures but I was too scared to. More wetlands! These are a few shots of a small residential area around 126th and Carondolet in Hegewisch. This area was something straight out of bumblefuck hicksville. It was truly shocking to think I was still within Chicago city limits. This area was secluded just off a paved street and some wetlands, this area had gravel streets and the residential pattern was outright rural. Just look at this house with the horse and buggy images on the fences if you look closely. This shows you how far apart the houses are here and the way the street looks. This was the side street that lead to the residential area I just showed you, it is 127th street just off of Carondolet. This is on Carondolet Street looking at a rural house with a pickup truck, something you would associate with the rural midwest and not being in the nation's third largest city! And this is what is located behind that house!!!! It was somekind of wetland preserve with 12 foot high cattails and prairie grass. Looking back towards the rural looking street at another rural looking house. One of the houses is for sale, if anyone here is interested in owning a piece of rural Chicago here is your chance. And this is what you can have in your backyard in rural Chicago folks!! People take property rights seriously here though. Now we are entering the main area of the Hegewisch neighborhood which looks alot like a small town. Traditional Chicago bungalow belt looking area of Hegewisch. Hegewisch south shore line train station, connecting Hegewisch with the rest of Chicago and civilization. Not welcome to Chicago but welcome to Hegewisch, even though it is a part of the city of Chicago. This area was unusual in that it had almost no chains whatsoever in it, there was a Burger King, a Family Dollar Store and a gas station but thats it, no starbucks, no 7-11, no subway, not even a jewel or a dominicks. The entire area was dominated by ma and pa grocery stores and restaurants located on walkable commercial streets located near residential areas. It was like something out of a 1950's small town, so much so that it was almost like stepping in a time machine being there, it was almost like a model small traditional town! New brick construction You see even Hegewisch isnt immune to the Chicago condo boom! Small town fire station The only trailer park within city limits, thats right Chicago has a trailer park, technically two of them right next to each other located at roughly 138th and the Indiana State Line, literally the southeastern corner of the city, the furthest you can be from the Loop and still be within the city of Chicago. Open and undeveloped area near the trailer park. At the Indiana state line looking towards the trailer park. Trailer density! Lots of open space! The southern end of Wolf Lake Bungalow area near Wolf Lake There is even a gun club within Chicago city limits, who would have imagined that!? Rugged Chicago house location with property on Wolf Lake Various pictures of Wolf Lake, some looking towards Indiana. A Nike missle. The Burnham Greenway bikepath, going from Hegewisch to the Lake Michigan shorline. Now entering the East Side neighborhood, residential area viewed from the bikepath. Nice picture of a church with the rays of the sun above it. New townhome construction. 112th Street looking south at the forest preserve I just left. State Line Road, I am standing in Indiana right now but those houses on the other side of the street are in Chicago. This is whats on the Indiana side of State Line Road You have entered the suburban zone! A very suburban looking area for the city, albeit a fairly small area. Bungalows with two flats just behind them, now you can tell we are starting to enter the more urban areas of the city. Crossing 103rd Street again, my lucky number. The Chicago Skyway overpass. Got Tank? The State Line Coal Power Plant at the Lake Michigan shorline, it is actually located in Hammond Indiana, that monument to the right is the State Line Marker. Closeups of the State Line Marker. I am at the state line and the Lake Michigan shorline but that shack and some trees is blocking the view of it. Calumet Park Calumet Beach, Chicago's southernmost beach. The Blues Brothers' Bridge, the 95th Street Bridge, this was the bridge they drove accross as it was raised in the movie. The mouth of the Calumet River from the Ewing Street Bridge Looking towards the Chicago Skyway Bridge. The southern terminous of the Metra Electric Line at 93rd Street, this is where I caught my ride back home to downtown Chicago. The Chicago Skyway Bridge from the metra station. >

Metra Star Line Feedback

What do you think of the Metra Star Line? I may be in the minority, but I disagree with it. The suburbs simply aren't dense enough to have a suburb to suburb line. The only thing the line is good for in my opinion, is getting west suburbanites to O'Hare. I personally do not think there should be a line just for this purpose. In my opinion, put this money to CTA extensions, or even the completion of the Elgin O'Hare Expressway. In my opinion, the Elgin O'Hare Expressway would be better for the area given the density and the fact that it would provide a western access road. Possibly the Elgin O'Hare Expressway and I-190 could connect to form one long expressway. People are going to disagree with me on this; however, I think the Star Line is a huge waste of money given the lack of revenue generators and low density of the service area. What are people's thoughts on this topic?>

Old Cook County Hospital back in danger

That piece of shit Stroger, who is as corrupt as Daley but cares even less about the city, is letting his cronies recommend demolition of this beautiful piece of work. This is what I call criminal. I hope people in the commission and Daley don't let this henous crime take place. If you ask me, Stroger just wants Stroger Hospital (named after him, of course) to stand tall and mighty and doesn't want the older (and more beautiful) County Hospital to stand and overshadow this monument to him. What a selfish ass--we need a new County Board President! Here's the article: Report backs tearing down Cook Hospital October 5, 2005 BY STEVE PATTERSON Advertisement A $1.4 million analysis of the old Cook County Hospital suggests the structure should be torn down. The study's findings were no surprise to preservationists, who say Board President John Stroger wants the facility down, and the politically connected analysts he hired would naturally support that position. But Stroger spokeswoman Caryn Stancik said Stroger will recommend the study be sent to the county's construction committee, as he wants it "to receive the benefit of a full hearing and a full presentation from" U.S. Equities. That company, run by Stroger campaign contributor Robert Wislow, got the no-bid contract to do the analysis and it then hired a company run by Stroger's godson, Orlando Jones, to assist with the work. 'Politically connected firm' Michael Moran, vice president of Preservation Chicago, called U.S. Equities "a politically connected firm that is in Stroger's back pocket" and which "relies on Stroger's goodwill" for other county contracts. "He will not have the votes on the board to demolish the building," Moran added. The 91-year-old Cook County Hospital building has sat vacant since John H. Stroger Hospital opened next door in 2002.>

Towers on a podium--is this a big deal?

Chicago is somehow compelled to the "tower on the podium" (TOP) model of highrises these days, more so than other cities, for multiple reasons. Washington, DC, while as car-avid as Chicago, is somehow able to create more below-grade parking. Why? I'm really not sure. NYC has minimized its parking requirements, thus you don't see much of the TOP model there. Other cities? Well, perhaps Miami is also building TOP, but lets get serious here Many of my friends on this forum, such as Oshkeoto, absolutely detest this new form that has emerged--and rightfully so. Others don't seem to mind as much. Blair Kamin was once quoted as saying that in Paris when you look up you see windows, but in Chicago--a parking garage. I tend to view this issue similarly to Oshkeoto, but let me play devil's advocate here, if just for a moment. No matter how well disguised, a garage creates a certain dead zone that one can't deny. People mention Jane Jacobs and "eyes on the street". But lets step back for a minute. Perhaps we are looking too deeply into this. Perhaps we are feeding into eachothers' architectural "paranoia", if you will, that Chicago is somehow slipping to a lower standard and creating uglier and more "suburban" structures. But is it also possible that our sense of these things is far too acute? After all, don't ground-level retail and ground-level lobbies adequately function as "eyes on the street"? And how often are the people upstairs really keeping their "eyes on the street" anyhow? Regardless, lets think about the vast majority of urban dwellers--do they really care? They are unlikely to really give a shit--it's what is offered to them at street level that really matters. And when they actually do look up, they see a really tall building that creates a sense of enclosure and say "wow" whether there is a parking podium or not. Cities are a product of their times, and no matter how hard Chicago may try to contrive something differently, it is just going to build what it feels pressured to build. All we can hope is that there is a strong aesthetic sense and an attempt to do right by its citizens--ie the pedestrians. And can't we also say that this rather unique TOP design in Chicago may become a part of its celebrated, that's right--celebrated, architectural vernacular for future generations? Lets face it--it's the quirky and distinct designs that signify a particular time in history that attract us to older architecture--that's why many of us feel we are adding nothing to our city's collective architecture by building so many traditional-looking townhouses and highrises. Just as many of us see these old, rough, dirty brick industrial lofts as somehow "charming" potential converts to residential lofts, I also see the ugly byproducts of our current building boom as "charming" opportunities for redevelopment by future generations. I imagine a day when some of these garages undergo small makeovers, perhaps by creating more windows, and become occupied by lower-income people such as artists--and eventually become converted to residential or office uses. Does anybody see where I'm coming from? Perhaps people have differing viewpoints?>

Damn Cook County Property Taxes!

This sucks ass! I just recieved my property tax bill for my Albany Park bungalow, 4200 freaking dollars for 6 months! That's almost a 60% increase since last year! God Damn 3 year re-assessments! Has anyone else seen such a dramatic increase this year? If this keeps up, lower and middle income bracket groups will flee to the collar counties. I'm telling you. I don't want to see what the taxes will be for my condo in the South Loop next year!>