Words to live by

Today I received a mailing from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. In reading through it, I came across a quote that seemed like a good summary of why we're passionate about preservation:

When you strip away the rhetoric, preservation is simply having the good
sense to hold on to things that are well designed, that link us with our
past in a meaningful way, and that have plenty of good use left in them.

Help preserve our neighborhood history

The Rogers Park / West Ridge Historical Society is in a year of transition, and needs your help.

Society founder Mary Jo Doyle passed away in December and during the past 7 months the new board has been busy working to ensure the longevity of the Society. One of the most daunting tasks is the organization and preservation of the archives. When I joined the board in January, I learned that the existing archives were in dire need of attention. Little did I know of the 3 truckloads lying in wait at Mary Jo's house, or of the mountains of cartons and artifacts in storage at another off-site location.

The good news is that we have a wealth of documents and photos that tell the story of our local history. The bad news is that they're all jumbled together and need to be sorted and cataloged.

Please consider volunteering at the RP/WRHS to help with archive sorting. It's fun to see all of the old documents and photos, you'll feel good knowing that you're preserving them for future generations to enjoy.

2226 W. Pratt

Not the best photo, but this neighborhood house was open for an estate sale this weekend. It's huge, 15 rooms and 3.5 baths. The listing sheet says it was built in 1914. It has incredible wood details and built-ins, but needs some work. (Where are those Flipping Out boys when you need them?)

In doing some quick research on ProQuest (thank you, Chicago Public Library) I came up with this string of owners:

1919 Eugene R. Hutchins (owner of Hutchins Lumber and Storage), 1925 Frank E. Scholl (nope, sorry, not the famous Dr. Scholl) 1950s Dr. William Brams, a noted heart specialist and in the 1960s an artist by the name of Hertha Furth.

Developers with tear-down dollar signs in their eyes should just keep on driving west to Schaumburg.

Things are looking Up(town)

Built in 1925, the Uptown Theater has been down and out for more years than I can remember. I was happy to read this story in the Tribune today and this one in Crain's detailing the purchase of the theater by Jam Productions. Here's hoping we'll be seeing a restoration of this legendary building in the near future.

The bungalow goes to court

Click here for an interesting article about bungalow court communities on the west coast, and view a video on the same topic here .

Bob, Judy & Jan

Pictured are West Ridge neighbors Bob & Judy Cody with congresswoman Jan Schakowsky at a recent Obama rally at the Broadway Armory. These two recently fought off a brutal attack in their apartment, and are now back and as energetic as ever. Typical of their commitment to the neighborhood, when told that no one showed up to man the 50th Ward table, Bob and Judy immediately volunteered and began distributing the Obama buttons they make at home. Thanks to Shelley for this great photo.

Docents at IBP

Click here for a nice story about the new docent program at our Indian Boundary Park.

Going, going, gone

The victim of our summer of crazy storms, a large, old Ash tree on the 6660 block of N. Rockwell threatens to split in half and is taken down by Streets and San.

West Ridge bungalows in the news

Visit Crain's Chicago Business for a nice article about WRBNeighbors Bob Kressin and Jo Staivg.

As you'll read, Bob currently lives in a bungalow in Westchester, but really likes West Ridge and hopes to move back to the city soon . He's been a regular at our events and we hope he'll find the home of his dreams in our neighborhood.

40 days and 40 nights

It seems like it's been raining forever -- all garden projects in the neighborhood are on hold until things dry out a little. The water in the wheelbarrow is from the downpour last night, it's become my impromptu rain gauge while out of commission waiting for tire repair.

The concrete chunks in the background are from a neighbor's patio and will be recycled as stepping stones in our corner garden.