I grew up in Chicago
I lived on Belle Plaine, just a block from Lake View High School.
Initially we lived in a 1 bedroom apartment on Greenview and Belle Plaine. My 2 brothers and I slept in the bedroom while my folks had a Murphy bed in the living room. My grandmother and aunt lived in the apartment behind us, on the third floor.
The neighborhood had a mix of apartment building and single family residences. I remember an apartment building on Belle Plaine that had a terrible smell of urine in the front entry. The next street over was a little dicey, the neighborhood was generally well kept. As you moved north, I remember the houses being nicer.
About the time I was in seventh grade, my parents bought a house, It was right across the street from the apartment building.
After the Banana game Sunday, we had 2 options: walk to a corner and have John pick us up or walk to the car, which was parked near my old house.
I opted for the walk, so we walked.
Yes, I realize that was not a good choice considering my legs hurt, but I only had to stop and rest once.
Curious about the walk, I used Google maps and they said it was a 1.7 mile walk.
I also used AI, which said it was 1.2 miles. AI is pretty smart. The directions they gave were to walk west on Waveland to Broadway and go right to Belle Plaine. The only problem is, that is wrong. Broadway is a couple of blocks east of the ball park. The only 2 options for getting to my house were Clark or Southport.
Anyway, walking along the route I took many times as a kid I flashed back to the people and events that formed my life.
The neighbor hood is beautiful.
There are so many why places with outdoor seating, where you can get a meal or coffee. I would love to live there for that reason. But getting around? Forget it. Living out in the country has its advantages.
Anyway, I snapped some pictures along the way.
Peace and Love
Especially Peace
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| Sidewalks used to have stamps from the company pouring them. I don't think that happens anymore, but it is neat to see them |
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| The doorway trim is impressive |
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| The older homes have a lot of character and detail |
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| This was a front yard...my kind of people! |
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| My old apartment building....now it is a condo complex |
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| Our apartment was on the third floor on the left. The rounded area was the front room and the window under the small arch was our bedroom. There were 12 apartments when se lived there, but I think now there are just 6 condo units. |
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| The house my parents bought |
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| There are 3 houses the same. All were built abbot 1890. Our house was in the middle of the three. The house on the west of us was the same style, but reversed. Notice the rounded windows. My dad always was telling me not to throw things near the windows because they were expensive to replace. They just don't build them like that anymore. |
