64% Off the 2006 Price For This Short Sale 4 Bedroom in Grand Boulevard: 606 E. Oakwood Blvd.
This 4-bedroom vintage rowhouse at 606 E. Oakwood Boulevard in Grand Boulevard has been on the market since November 2011.
It is a short sale.
In 2006, it sold for $825,000 and is now listed at just $300,900.
Built in 1881 on an oversized 25×169 lot, it has central air and a 2 car garage.
All four bedrooms are on the second floor.
The kitchen has cherry cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
It appears to have a finished basement.
Before you start complaining that the price is too high for this neighborhood, in December we chattered about a newly renovated vintage rowhouse just down the street at 640 E. Oakwood which was listed for $320,000.
It sold in about 2 months, closing in January 2012 for $315,000. (Buyers love “new”!)
See our chatter on that rowhouse here.
Given the comp down the street, is this rowhouse priced to sell?
Carestella Abrams at Green Acres Real Estate has the listing. See the pictures here.
606 E. Oakwood Boulevard: 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 3203 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in February 1996 for $70,000
- Sold in March 2005 for $205,000
- Sold in April 2006 for $430,000
- Sold in August 2006 for $825,000
- Lis pendens filed in February 2008
- Lis pendens filed in June 2009
- Originally listed in November 2011 for $349,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $300,900
- Taxes of $5663
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 18×20 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 13×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 14×15 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 12×16 (second floor)
The last sale was 100% financed and LP was filed 14 months later. Even at that, how was anyone swayed to pay $825 for this? A pre-Olympic option?
Nothing says “this is a great neighborhood” than a side fence topped off with razor wire.
Looks good inside, though they should clean the clutter and stage it better. Hate the enclosed addition in the back, definitely an eyesore.
The $825K purchase had to have been some sort of fraud.
Does anyone have the Case Shiller numbers?
It fell in December in 19 out of 20 markets. Wow- even DC fell. Chicago among the worst- but I can’t find the actual number.
link to Case Shiller release:
http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldocumentfile&blobtable=SPComSecureDocument&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3Ddownload.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1245329497678&blobheadervalue3=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobnocache=true
That price appreciation from 3/05 to 4/06 and then 4/06 to 8/06 seems natural.
If i could get the lot next door for 80k plus this place for 300k i say this crazy awesome place.
they did rip out most of the vintage but hey for 380k and the lot next door i would be ok with it
Ugh!
Trying…very…hard…to…see…past..the…MESS!
I take it the owners have rented it out?
Took a look at the bathroom pic and had to sanitize my hands.
Good call Groove re: the lot next door.
You would be okay with paying basically half a mil for a large lot in a marginal neighborhood with nothing around?
Oh, excuse me.
Sharks Fish & Chicken is down the street.
This from the Yelp review:
“Wish I could give 2 1/2 stars……
Dropped in on a busy friday night without phoning ahead. Ordered a small catfish dinner. I waited for about 20 mins. I am not complaining about that but the clientele were something else. I felt sorry for the employees that have to put up with them. It came with your standard fare of fries and two pieces of white bread. The four pieces of catfish looked very generous when I opened the box. First I noticed that they left all the bones in. I was disappointed but then I figured what the hell, there’s four good size pieces of catfish. The quality was very good and tasted very good for the first two pieces. The last two pieces were essentially useless. It really did seem like they battered up and fried the tail. There was no usable meat on them. “
“Does anyone have the Case Shiller numbers? ”
Here is my summary for Chicago with the usual graphs: http://www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2012/02/chicago-home-prices-heading-towards-new-lows/ It’s basically a certainty that we will plumb new lows in the next few months. We came very close to hitting new lows for December.
“Oh, excuse me.
Sharks Fish & Chicken is down the street.”
Milkster = Dan
“If i could get the lot next door for 80k plus this place for 300k i say this crazy awesome place.”
Groove–place next door to me was on the market for about 45k a few years ago–REO where the pipes burst over winter. I tried to get it but didn’t work out–developer bought and rehabbed it. Would’ve been sweet to have extra side lot, but also would’ve required teardown of the building. That runs about 50k or thereabouts, doesn’t it?
LOL, HH.
“You would be okay with paying basically half a mil for a large lot in a marginal neighborhood with nothing around?”
yes, but not half a mil a third of mil yes.
i already live in a marginal hood so its ok with the groovey. now i would have better access to the ocean, oops i meant lake that people think is a ocean.
“Groove–place next door to me was on the market for about 45k a few years ago..Would’ve been sweet to have extra side lot, but also would’ve required teardown of the building”
the picks and street view show a empty 50′ lot on the left of this building?
Aaah the travesty called catfish.
“Ordered a small catfish dinner.”
sharks is pretty good, but you def have to call ahead bc they are slooooow.
Anyone know if the Ida B. Wells and Darrow Homes are still occupied?
the overhead view shows two vacant lots to the west/left of this property.
This is for you, HD:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/10859218-418/chicago-gangs-getting-pushed-out-of-city-into-western-suburbs.html
It was only a matter of time…
Considering there have been 3 sales on this block over $300k in the last ~6 months I don’t think this is a bad price and it gives me hope that others are finding out the positives of the neighborhood. I’m not sure I like the trend of the sales though….
626 Oakwood 8/31/11 $375,000
635 Oakwood 11/9/11 $318,900
640 Oakwood 1/27/12 $315,000
“Anyone know if the Ida B. Wells and Darrow Homes are still occupied?”
Not only no longer occupied but long gone! Replaced by some replacement mixed income housing, a fair number of rentals and lots of empty lots.
“marginal neighborhood with nothing around?”
As Groove notes, there is at least the lake/ocean nearby. Also, the newest Chicago beach is at the end of the street at LSD, I’m not sure of a Sharks nearby but there is Chicago House of Waffles at the other end of the street, although I will agree food options are lacking. Comiskey is 5 minutes away. The South Loop is 10 minutes away with everything available on Roosevelt. Hyde Park is 10 minutes the other way.
“That runs about 50k or thereabouts, doesn’t it?”
You buy one, Groove and anon will do the demo for $40,000. Even include the backfill, but no warranty on the backfill subsiding over time.
Okay Benjamon, well that is a positive development for area homeowners.
Personally, after owning a nice place in a struggling area I’d prefer to have a smaller place at the same price in a neighborhood with more amenities.
Just a quick comparison location-wise between living here and Lincoln Square (centered around 5200 N and 2400 W)
1. This location is closer/quicker to the Loop
2. This location is closer/quicker to the Lake
3. This location is closer/quicker to LSD
4. This location is also near the Dan Ryan and Stevenson (2 more close highways than in LS)
5. Also, there is the Green Line a few blocks away, and the Red Line and Metra at 35/Dan Ryan versus the Metra and Brown line in LS about as far as the Red Line/Metra here
This location is not for everyone, but there ARE definite positives to it in relation to transportation and the lake.
“Personally, after owning a nice place in a struggling area I’d prefer to have a smaller place at the same price in a neighborhood with more amenities.”
I can definitely understand that sentiment but where will you find a smaller SFH at the same price in a nieghborhood with more amenities?
“Groove and anon will do the demo for $40,000”
Okay chris we will do it for 35k 12 pack of stella and fried liver from harolds chicken
“I can definitely understand that sentiment but where will you find a smaller SFH at the same price in a neighborhood with more amenities?”
Definitely in these ones:
Jefferson Park
Albany Park
Irving Park
Avondale
Possibly in Logan Square too.
Definitely in Portage Park as well, but I’m leaving it off the list because the area is huge and parts of it do not have convenient L access and you will be reliant on your car or the bus.
“Okay chris we will do it for 35k 12 pack of stella and fried liver from harolds chicken”
Man, you’re negotiating against us! WTH?
Actually Milkster, I daresay you will find a larger SFM in those areas for the same price.
by the way, once a LIS PENDENS FORECLOSURE is filed, what is the average timeframe before the property goes on the market?
“Man, you’re negotiating against us! WTH?”
sorry its 11pm i am hungry and hadnt had a beer in five days
Gary Lucido (December 29, 2010, 10:50 am)
“G, So let’s just be absolutely precise then on what you are saying so that we can check back in 2 years and 3 months to see who was correct. The CS index for some month in 2012 will be lower than every single reported month during 2011. Everyone please take note.”
Gary Lucido (February 28, 2012, 9:22 am)
“Here is my summary for Chicago with the usual graphs: chicagonow.com/getting-real/2012/02/chicago-home-prices-heading-towards-new-lows/ It’s basically a certainty that we will plumb new lows in the next few months. We came very close to hitting new lows for December.”
I have to ask if you would like a fourth try at this? Pretty graphs, though.
“Man, you’re negotiating against us! WTH?”
“sorry its 11pm i am hungry and hadnt had a beer in five days”
I like where this is going: No food and no beer make Groove something, something
Well, if you can count the number of days since your last drink, that would make you an alcoholic.
“Well, if you can count the number of days since your last drink, that would make you an alcoholic.”
Now our expertise goes from Real Estate trends to Medical diagnoses! 😀 He said last beer, maybe he’s switched to bourbon. Fairly sure he didn’t give it up for Lent.
“I have to ask if you would like a fourth try at this? Pretty graphs, though.”
What I would really like is for you to tell everyone when YOU think we will hit the bottom. I don’t think you ever have told us, though I don’t religiously read every post here.
“Definitely in these ones:
Jefferson Park
Albany Park
Irving Park
Avondale
Possibly in Logan Square too.”
All have the same issues as Lincoln Square I think in that they have poor access to transportation and the lake. Aren’t the houses that are going to be less than $300k in these neighborhoods also going to need lots of work too?
I understand it is all about tradeoffs, but I think there are too many things you have to give up for more amenities….transportation access, lake access, size, finishes and none of those neighborhoods are even GZ for all those tradeoffs.
Lincoln Square has the Brown Line running right through it.
“Lincoln Square has the Brown Line running right through it.”
Its convenient if you live in the South half of LS, but from Budlong or Boman its a serious hike to any rail line.
“I like where this is going: No food and no beer make Groove something, something”
yeppers its wife’s way of leading into something expensive, withhold food, beer, and ‘cough cough’ then provide my favorite-extra-special food, beer, and hint at ‘cough cough’ later, ask about something expensive.
funny thing is 99% i would have said yes with out the lead in manipulation but hey if she knows that then i would be out the extra special
“What I would really like is for you to tell everyone when YOU think we will hit the bottom. I don’t think you ever have told us, though I don’t religiously read every post here.”
Do I get four guesses, too?
“Well, if you can count the number of days since your last drink, that would make you an alcoholic.”
i agree
“Lincoln Square has the Brown Line running right through it.”
yes and we can all agree taking the brown line form LS to the loop is = not close to “convenient” transportation
But it’s a more scenic route with better eye-candy than the Red or Blue lines 😉
“This location is not for everyone, but there ARE definite positives to it in relation to transportation and the lake.”
Benjamon09 makes some good arguements. It comes down to how is the neighborhood now and what direction does it seem to be heading? Using Lincoln Square, I believe there was a time when it was somewhat sketchy and has now improved tremendiously. Any chance Grand Boulevard is in for the same future?
“But it’s a more scenic route with better eye-candy than the Red or Blue lines”
Depends on your preferred flavor of eye-candy, no? If you like ironic eye-candy, the Blue Line is your friend.
“yes and we can all agree taking the brown line form LS to the loop is = not close to “convenient” transportation”
Got it. I do think it’s convenient to many people though.
“Just a quick comparison location-wise between living here and Lincoln Square (centered around 5200 N and 2400 W)
1. This location is closer/quicker to the Loop
2. This location is closer/quicker to the Lake
3. This location is closer/quicker to LSD
4. This location is also near the Dan Ryan and Stevenson (2 more close highways than in LS)”
That’s retarded. It’s like saying if you can’t afford Lake Forest, that living in North Chicago is preferable (“ooh” lakefront, proximity) to being in Libertyville.
“If you like ironic eye-candy, the Blue Line is your friend.”
There is no eye-candy on the Blue Line, period. It’s a dysgenic, sad, depressing ride….. the exception being the sporadic non-Blue Line riders going to O’Hare for a ski vacation or legitimate business trip etc. You might see some eye-candy. Tourists are far better looking that the Blue Line locals, by a long, long shot.
“Any chance Grand Boulevard is in for the same future?”
It might… North Kenwood has really started to turn things around, but it is relatively isolated and benefits from the stability of South Kenwood and Hyde Park. Grand Boulevard doesn’t have that same neighboring stability, but once it does it could easily make a run since everything is so affordable and the great transit options.
calling the bottom has been kind of like cheering for the cubs. G please tell us when you think the cubs will win the pennant smartypants
“Do I get four guesses, too?”
Sure. Why don’t you start by taking one of those 4 guesses right now?
“Any chance Grand Boulevard is in for the same future?”
The featured home is in the neighborhood of Oakwood, not Grand Boulevard. Big difference to those who live there.
Yeah, that’s an absolutely absurd comment, it’s an easy 25-30 minutes to the Loop from Lincoln Square via the Brown Line, which probably explains why it’s the 3rd most heavily used rail line in the CTA.
“Sure. Why don’t you start by taking one of those 4 guesses right now?”
Sure, as long as I get to play by your rules. Therefore, I can make my first guess like you did 6 months AFTER I believe it has “already happened”. Then, if that fails, I will announce the bottom 9-12 months before it “happens.” Of course, I get 2 cracks at that like you took (and failed.)
It is fair that we play by the same rules, after all. Don’t you agree?
“calling the bottom has been kind of like cheering for the cubs. G please tell us when you think the cubs will win the pennant smartypants”
Sorry, if that happens I hope to God that I don’t realize it for at least 6 YEARS after it occurs.
Go Sox.
“There is no eye-candy on the Blue Line, period. It’s a dysgenic, sad, depressing ride….. the exception being the sporadic non-Blue Line riders going to O’Hare for a ski vacation or legitimate business trip etc. You might see some eye-candy. Tourists are far better looking that the Blue Line locals, by a long, long shot.”
Ouch–so you’re telling me I’m not eye candy?
so you are saying we bottom before cubs get it together. sounds reasonable.
Barely anybody reads on the Blue Line (books or newspapers), they sit there staring off into space with a vacant look on their faces. It’s like being on public transport in Ecuador.
“There is no eye-candy on the Blue Line, period. It’s a dysgenic, sad, depressing ride….. the exception being the sporadic non-Blue Line riders going to O’Hare for a ski vacation or legitimate business trip etc. You might see some eye-candy. Tourists are far better looking that the Blue Line locals, by a long, long shot.”
As a regular 6-615AM rider of the blue line, I have to agree, I look at the suitcases before the people…On the bright side, I get to hear the newest jams from Daddy Yankee played on some idiots cell phone fairly routinely.
The only place for consistent eye candy in Chicago is Nordstroms.
good location in theory.
I wandered around there recently.
WHY WHY WHY does vincennes dead end BEFORE hitting cottage grove?
I wouldnt want to live there soley based on that fact
and the fact that that particular stretch of VINCENNES LOOKS ATROCIOUS.
It is sterile and dotted with identical cookie cutter apartment buildings,
and a horrible park is there, also a super large vacant lot by there.
IM not super impressed with alot of “redevelopment” on the near south side.
SUPER SUPER dead commercially around there.
On st lawrence and vincennes and those type of streets around there
you have blocks of awesome buildings, but there is just almost nothing
of any sort of regular commercial life on these streets, when the heck is that
going to change? And why do most of the new construction buildings around
there have to be so bland?
“WHY WHY WHY does vincennes dead end BEFORE hitting cottage grove?”
Probably because they were ‘redeveloping’ the area around 35th and Cottage Grove by bulldozing everything including the street grid and some ‘planner’ probably thought that having a 5 way intersection was a bad idea and just terminating a major thoroughfare was a good idea. The South side was once an impossibly beautiful area of the city, but decades of flight and ‘renewal’ efforts by the city have forever f*cked things up. Its a crying shame when you look back at old pictures of these neighborhoods.
“Benjamon09 makes some good arguements. It comes down to how is the neighborhood now and what direction does it seem to be heading? Using Lincoln Square, I believe there was a time when it was somewhat sketchy and has now improved tremendiously. Any chance Grand Boulevard is in for the same future?”
How is the neighborhood now? It depends on the location as any “changing” neighborhood but Oakwood is definitely fine. The general neighborhood was definitely on the upswing before the crash….at the moment foreclosures are killing it, but isn’t that every where?
I still don’t get why Lincoln Square “turned” and this area did not except that 95% of Chicagoans are scared to travel south of Roosevelt much less Cermak. Why pay this price to live in Portage Park and deal with an hour+ commute and still pay for private schools when you can live here and have a 15 minute commute? Is that 45 minutes every day worth not telling your friends that you live on the south side?
“The featured home is in the neighborhood of Oakwood, not Grand Boulevard. Big difference to those who live there.”
This is as ridiculous as the Lincoln Park argument on the other page that anon (tfo) argued. I live here and Oakwood is a street not a nieghborhood. Yes, this street is very different than the overall neighborhood but it IS part of the greater Grand Boulevard neighborhood.
I would argue it has far more in common though with North Kenwood and Drexel Boulevard than it does with the rest of Grand Boulevard though (but that may be my bias of living here).
“I still don’t get why Lincoln Square “turned” and this area did not”
All things being equal, it should have turned. Alas, all things are not equal. If Chicago had a very static population growth would occur outward. As one area gentifies, the areas surrounding it would also gentrify. However, in my anecdotal experience: people who migrate here from the burbs and/or after college tend to rent in the green zone. And thus they try to buy in the green zone and if that fails, they buy near the green zone in the next-to-become-green zone.
“The featured home is in the neighborhood of Oakwood, not Grand Boulevard. Big difference to those who live there.”
While that may or may not be 100% accurate, it in no way answers the question. You must be CC royalty.
“Oakwood is a street not a nieghborhood. ”
The tribune Real Estate section, always hard up for news since the bust, has a neighborhood spotlight feature and I thought that they were trying to suggest an area called Oakland in Chicagoland as a good hidden gem. Could the poster have meant that?
here’s another pretty chart of the Chicago CSI
http://www.blytic.com/Player.aspx?key=a9b0730c7af74a1681b50f5b69c4a717
Oakland is a neighborhood, it is north of North Kenwood along the lake. It occupies Lake Meadows for instance I believe.
Oakwood is a Boulevard which this house is on. However, unlike Logan Boulevard which is in Logan Square, Oakwood Boulevard is not in a neighborhood named after it. This is probably due to it only being 4 blocks long.
“Sorry, if that happens I hope to God that I don’t realize it for at least 6 YEARS after it occurs.
Go Sox.”
I have new respect for you G and I was a Sox fan LONG before I moved to the Southside!
Jeff O, I fully agree that commercial is lacking but at the moment with so little traffic on the southside Roosevelt and Hyde Park are easily accessible from here in less than 15 minutes.
As the nieghborhood gentrifies, what to do with all the empty lots especially along State Street where former CHA highrises were? Build commercial!
Unfortunately this is a far time in the future….but I call it in 2050 or something…..
I agree Icarus, but I migrated here from the burbs and ended up here in the ‘hood. I used to commute 45+ minutes each day and now only commute 10-15 minutes. Admittedly, I don’t commute to the Loop, but for someone that did, it would be very similar.
I can’t tell you how much I’d hate to go back to that 45+ minute commute. I am glad to not be a sheep!
Helmet hoofer: the blue line is no brown line but it’s not as bad as you make it seem. I actually prefer it of all the rail lines. It’s the fastest lines by far and it has a very decent mix of people. Just the other day I heard an announcement on the train that said “no gambling eating or soliciting” and I was like, the only times I’ve seen solicitors or the three card monte guys is on the red or the brown lines, I’ve never seen it on the blue line.
There are plenty of attractive people, but you don’t like hipsters or wicker park residents so its no surprise that you find everyone unattractive.
Ben: a 45 minute commute is no doubt undesirable but sometimes if you want more than 1200 sq feet for a family of four for less than 350,000$ in an area with a good public school, you have to commute. There’s a handful of lakeshore neighborhoods, north and south of the loop, but outside of that, it’s the suburbs. Especially when it comes to high school.
TFT: suburban gangs suck too that’s why you have to isolate yourself on the north shore where you live miles and miles for riff raff. Riverside is just a shirt hike from Cicero and the city. Glencoe? That’s a long drive. Yu have to pay top dollar to live far away from the unwashed masses.
I never said space, low price, short commute AND good public schools. To do that you’d have to live AND work in the burbs and not care about the city.
One of the long time issues with this area is
#1 Lack of walkability. You’re not walking around to your local pub and to be honest – its not the safest walking around at night.
#2 Lack of neighborhood basics. Want to do your banking? Get in a car. Want to pick up groceries? Get in a car.
Generally I agree chichow, but who does their weekly grocery shopping without a car? If I need something quick, I can cross the alley to get something. If I am doing my weekly shopping, I’ll drive whether it is 5 minutes or 10 minutes.
This area does have a sizable number of AA that commute into the loop by car.
@ benjamon9
Plenty of people do their weekly shopping w/o a car. Stop in at the Dominick’s at Fullerton and Sheffield. Or the Dominick’s at Grand and Fairbanks. The point being that because you HAVE to get into a car here, you probably gravitate towards using the car vs. other locations in the city where you get the sudden urge for making something on epicurious and just run out and pick up the ingredients.
The Southside is underserved by grocery stories and big box retailers and Starbucks. Its sad and unfortunate.
“The tribune Real Estate section, always hard up for news since the bust, has a neighborhood spotlight feature and I thought that they were trying to suggest an area called Oakland in Chicagoland as a good hidden gem. Could the poster have meant that?”
There is a historic landmarked area called “Oakland” just north of Kenwood (as someone pointed out.) That is different from this house which is on Oakwood. We have chattered about some properties in Oakland in the past.
“I still don’t get why Lincoln Square “turned” and this area did not”
Isn’t this the neighborhood where the movie “Barbershop” (2002) was filmed, where the 2 dudes were wheeling around the ATM through vacant lots?
“There are plenty of attractive people, but you don’t like hipsters or wicker park residents”
home doofus: That’s just false. The majority of Blue Line riders are not wicker park/hipster residents, that’s just a few of the stops along the line. The Blue Line is like being in a poor South American country for the most part. “plenty” is not the right word. I’ve been on there and thought of actually using my iphone to video the degenerative nature of the humanity, the lousy clothes, cheap crappy coats, vapid looks, obese people, acne, idiots of every description, etc. and put it on youtube. I don’t know why you’re in denial or choose to fight me on the truth. Go look at old photos of your precious NW hoods in 1961, and see the Sunday best people put on for church or mass, compare it to the Blue Line humanity today? Come on.
“There is a historic landmarked area called “Oakland” just north of Kenwood (as someone pointed out.) That is different from this house which is on Oakwood. We have chattered about some properties in Oakland in the past.”
All my elderly friends who live in and around the Paul G Stewart apartments near Bowen at King Dr, refer to their area as Oakwood. Not Oakland and not Grand Boulevard.
Yes we should always trust the elderly….
if they live in the Stewart apartments, I think they just “think” they live on Oakwood. Just like I find it easier to say I live near Hyde Park for people to understand about where I live. It doesn’t actually make it true…
“if they live in the Stewart apartments, I think they just “think” they live on Oakwood.”
The complex spans several east-west streets off King Dr. The Stewart Apartments are designed for 65+ who can live independently. The residents very well know which block they live on and what neighborhood they live in.
Maybe you are on the other blue line that goes to the west side. The blue line between OHare and downtown is not at all like a south American country. And in 1961 the blue line only went to belmont. I ride the blue line everyday. Ive been riding the el every day since I was 17 years old and Im in my 30s now. I prefer the ease, quicknes and cleanliness of the OHare blue line over that nasty red line and overcrowded and slow brown line.
Yeah I ride the Blue Line almost every weekday as well–getting on at Logan Square or California–and it really gets jam packed between Logan Square and downtown with hipsters and pretty well heeled people.
some of chicago’s biggest personalities ride the blue line
“some of chicago’s biggest personalities ride the blue line”
Fictional jews ride the blue line?
“some of chicago’s biggest personalities ride the blue line”
yes, homedelete for example
and all those wild and wacky TSA workers!
The blue line wouldn’t suck half as bad if it met the red line at North Clybourn. How many tourists do you think take it to the GZ district and get out at Chicago or Grand thinking they will be somewhere close to their hotel and somewhere that is not horrible.
Grand and Halsted is awesome, some great italian fare around there, eyyyyy
Fictional jews ride the blue line?
yep, both the sausage king and Amar’e Stoudemire
Dan has been to South America?
Afraid to ask this Dan, but have you ever seen a movie called “The Boys from Brazil”?
“I was like, the only times I’ve seen solicitors or the three card monte guys is on the red or the brown lines, I’ve never seen it on the blue line.”
Never? Really. Not often, but maybe once every month or two, always on the way home (maybe you go home at a different time). No three card monte though.
Blue line is awesome of course. 25 min azz-to-azz today.
“How many tourists do you think take it to the GZ district and get out at Chicago or Grand thinking they will be somewhere close to their hotel and somewhere that is not horrible.”
Who cares about the tourists? Get those people and their giant suitcases off my train. (And if you must get on, go to one of teh train cars designed for your giant luggage and put it somewhere out of the way.)
“Get those people and their giant suitcases off my train. (And if you must get on, go to one of teh train cars designed for your giant luggage and put it somewhere out of the way.)”
That would be me with the suitcases. And one of the reasons I am tired commuting to hotels in Chicago and am looking forward to having a place I can just leave my stuff. I didn’t realize there were cars designed for luggage. Which ones are they and how can I tell?
Yeah looks like that some of that land around there should be sold to small business people.
Why couldnt someone buy a small plot of land on the major streets that are barren and have a 2 or 3 flat built with their own business in it? Why only do large developers get encouraged? Previously the area had smaller buildings owned by individuals. Thats what needed to rebuild this area. AND VINCENNES NEEDS TO BE RECONNECTED TO COTTAGE GROVE. Vincennes got its butt kicked majorly. Many people dont even know it exists. Give it a chance. The area was bombed out and its now post bombed out white flight. Look at Blue Island it got its but kicked, it used to go all the way to Harrison. Its larger than Vincennes, but its doing well because its connected to Major streets and doesnt END IN A DEAD END. Blue Island goes from Roosevelt to Cermak, it is more commercial but partly residential.
Vincennes is a cool street, Open it back up!!!! Totally idiotic how it is now. If I had a tank I would go north of Vincennes and bust through to Cottage Grove. It would be fun to commute by tank around there anyways!!!!
Also what is the closest EL line even by bicycle, possible 43rd street?
Why in the heck hasnt anyone fixed up that area? If people are too scared to get off the EL
WHY LIVE THERE???? There is a cool old historical super cool commercial building rotting away just east of the 43rd street EL and on the north side of the street. FIX IT UP!!!! I know it would cost alot of money. But it would be worth it. THATS WHERE I WOULD INVEST MY MONEY IN AROUND THERE. Because if that EL stop doesnt improve and the hoodlums arent told to leave then WHY LIVE THERE????? Right now no reason to buy a residential unit there
UNTIL SOMETHING IS DONE WITH 43RD!!!!
Dude I totally agree with you
“Probably because they were ‘redeveloping’ the area around 35th and Cottage Grove by bulldozing everything including the street grid and some ‘planner’ probably thought that having a 5 way intersection was a bad idea and just terminating a major thoroughfare was a good idea. The South side was once an impossibly beautiful area of the city, but decades of flight and ‘renewal’ efforts by the city have forever f*cked things up. Its a crying shame when you look back at old pictures of these neighborhoods.”
SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS EXIST in this neighborhood that havent been addressed or fixed. The urban planner who closed VIncennes gets an F. It was impossibly beautiful. And it still has the MOST AMAZING HOUSING STOCK in the city. Wake up Chicago, what the heck is going on????
Yeah too much flight and too much IDIOTIC RENEWAL. Chicago is still a bit far behind Newyorkcity FOR SURE. Do you have idiotic deadends like this in Newyork? Until the street grid is fixed and nonboring new developments are built and the EL stop area is invested in, Im not really digging this area, which is sad because the housing stock that remains is ridiculous (awesome).
“That would be me with the suitcases. And one of the reasons I am tired commuting to hotels in Chicago and am looking forward to having a place I can just leave my stuff.”
Take a cab. Where are you staying and when are you getting in/out? If river north I’d absolutely take a cab unless the traffic was *truly* horrendous. Loop is more of a toss up but I’d still take cab unless traffic is very heavy.
“I didn’t realize there were cars designed for luggage. Which ones are they and how can I tell?”
I exaggerate a bit, but your luggage will fit a lot better on the cars where the doors slide open/closed than the ones with folding doors.
“Where are you staying and when are you getting in/out?”
Usually the W in the loop. I don’t like cabs because the timing can be so varied due to traffic. Also, I’m travelling on my dime. $2 is better than $40.
Chuk, I agree and I do the same.
With an unlimited-use CTA pass, it’s basically free.
I hate taxis, always tryin’ to rip me off and jawing on their phone.
Ooops Have to correct myself. Blue Island does dead end at 21 street. Which I think is idiotic.
Yeah you get a park there, but it creates more traffic and is a neighborhood killer.
Stupid. Stupid. Is there really stupid stuff like this in New York City?
I understand small side streets dead ending, but Chicago has some strange fetish with
screwing up some decent roads (major streets and major smaller streets). That messes up
the continuity and regular life of alot of neighborhoods.
jeff o –
I’ve lived in NY most of my life.
I’m in my 30s and just learning how to drive now.
Manhattan has a very straightforward grid, but there are some very messed up streets in Brooklyn and Queens and you need to keep a map in the car.
Been gettin’ lots of practice on those 3 point turns.
You are right that gentrification has taken off more in NY.
I was in Bushwick on Saturday night.
It was unbelievable.
Bushwick used to have the demographics of a third world country with high unemployment and infant mortality.
There’s a pretty fancy crowd out there these days with businesses to cater to them.
It’s a rich, highly-stylized 30s-40s hipster demographic with money to burn.
Not the starving art-student kind of hipster.
I even saw some pretty conservative looking couples wearing North Face! – (Groove will like that.)
I accompanied my boyfriend The Wolfman on a client visit.
His client told us her customers just spend, spend, spend.
They have a lot of cash, and they don’t care how much things cost.
And it looks like the Indiana EL stop is a bit closer but isnt looking so hot as an area either
and you have to cross MLK a very wide street. Looking at the google maps image it looks a bit better
but is completely commercially dead. Sad. Someone needs to take a personal interest in making the EL stops more interesting and safe and not so so so Sad and Dead.
“Someone needs to take a personal interest in making the EL stops more interesting and safe and not so so so Sad and Dead.”
While it isn’t Grand Boulevard, UofC has been buying up properties around the Garfield Green station and is starting a remodel of one already. With their financial might and city connections they could quickly transform that particular area.
“UofC has been buying up properties around the Garfield Green station and is starting a remodel of one already”
Should be relatively easy to perk up, as it’s been mostly vacant lots, no?
“Should be relatively easy to perk up, as it’s been mostly vacant lots, no?”
Probably on the order of 80% vacant. There was a mega development proposed for this location before the crash, but with that dead on arrival it seems up for grabs.
Jeff O, a couple of notes–
Vincennes is not a busy street here. It IS a busy street further south of here and west of the Dan Ryan but Vincennes does not cross the Dan Ryan just north of 71st nor does it go through Washington Park. From Washington Park north to 35th Vincennes is very residental, has stop signs nearly every block, many blocks have speed bumps and with Cottage Grove and MLK it has no reason to be a main thouroughfare. Yes, it should connect through to 35th but it wouldn’t make Vincennes a busy street at all.
On the 43rd street El and the neighborhood in general most of the current state is due to our former alderman, Dorothy “the hat” Tillman. She was staunchly anti-development. Our ward has the most empty lots in the city and 1/2 or more are city owned. She refused to let the land be sold or developed. She made any other development nearly impossible. She knew that development would mean she would lose her power as her constinuency was people living in the public housing developments. However, as the projects came down, she lost her power and she is gone. Thank god! Our new alderman, Ald. Pat Dowell is excellent. She has been encouraging development and wants the area to improve. I know she has got CTA to spend money improving the 47th/43rd and Indiana stops on the Green Line and I know that she would love for the area around the 43rd St. El to improve. She is trying encourage residents to use the deleterious act ordinance to close down bad stores in the area. However, her desire for the area to improve along with mine and your thought that it needs to happen doesn’t suddenly make it so.
I think it is far more likely to occur though with Dowell as our alderman. She truly has done great things for the ward already!
“I think it is far more likely to occur though with Dowell as our alderman. She truly has done great things for the ward already!”
Is she still staunchly against UofC buying property in her ward?
“Is she still staunchly against UofC buying property in her ward?”
I’m not an expert on her positions…but I believe she had issues more with U of C buying land quietly and holding onto it without the community knowing the plans for it. She didn’t like that people in the community and her didn’t know about U of C buying the land around the 55th street stop until it came out in the newspapers and that when it did come out that they were buying up land, U of C wouldn’t state their plans for the land.
From what I understand, she is for development as long as it is appropriate and the commuity gets input. She was mad that U of C appeared to be doing this behind people’s backs.
I know Vincennes isnt a busy street, I would compare it to glenwood in rogers park, atleast the eastern half of it. It connects the neighborhood together. You totally screw up that neigbhorhood when you cut off a decent side street like that from a major intersection. I want to drive a tank from the dead end of vincennes to Cottage Grove, but I wont since I dont have a tank and Im not insane. Glad to hear that the alderman changed, that is often the problem for depressed areas. (Like Uptown, Which finally has decent leadership)
THanks for your comments milkster. I agree that gentrification hasnt taken off in Chicago as much as it has in NewYork. Partly for the fact that the south side fell further than alot of Newyork did save perhaps the South Bronx.
Too bad if someone is mad that U of C is quietly stockpiling land. GOOD! For god sake some of CHicago has to rise from the ashes on the south side. U of C should be accessible from the Green Line!
Good to hear that possibly Garfield stop at 55th has a future. How about the one at 63rd and Cottage grove? Lots of Vacant Land around there too.
jeffo, my first visit to Chicago was in 1993.
I came with 3 friends and we stayed at the City Suites Hotel on Belmont.
You know – The one directly under the L? LOL.
We were invited to a party at UofC and we figured we’d just take the Red Line down to Garfield and get a cab.
We lived in DC. Those were the Marion Barry days and we were pretty used to sketchy neighborhoods.
But when we got off the Red Line at Garfield it was something else.
We were getting stared down and honked at and of course there were no cabs around.
My friend Verne was wearing my tight purple suede jacket.
He was jealous when I scored it at a thrift store in Lakeview and had appropriated it.
We went to a gas station and asked the attendant who was behind bullet proof glass if he could call a car for us.
He was incredulous but sorry for us at the same time and he helped us out.
About the South Bronx, that is gentrifying too.
There’s an artist’s community along Bruckner Blvd. and plenty of antiques stores.
Dan –
I hate anti-social behavior on the L.
One of the things which irks me most about L riders is when they spit.
Either on the trains or directly on the platform, and I’ve seen all types do it.
But even worse, a couple of months ago I was on the Red Line and this guy was just sitting there openly picking his nose.
He picked away for a couple of stops.
I made eye contact with him, put my hands on my hips and said “GROSS”.
He held my gaze and kept picking.
He was not phased in the least.
Party at U of C?
Haha!
We were invited to the party by Verne’s friends who were actually Art Institute students, but they lived in Hyde Park and yes, there were a bunch of UofC students there.
It really is a shame Chicago didn’t get the Olympics.
I would have really appreciated the resulting infrastructure bump. In this case, we might have finally
gotten the high speed rail link between O’hare and downtown like London or Tokyo.
and yes – we likely would have dearly paid for it because of cost overruns due to bad budgeting, corruption, increased road traffic from Oak Brook…
Oops! I posted my links of what happens when you end up in the wrong neighborhood in Chicago in the wrong thread. sorrys!
Wow Milkster. That must have been scary in 1993. Not too different today. Im pretty brave, but not that Brave. Its ridiculous to have such a drop off STILL we you are in Hyde Park and then travel west. It just shouldnt be.
“But when we got off the Red Line at Garfield it was something else.
We were getting stared down and honked at and of course there were no cabs around.”
Nothing unusual for Hyde Parkers to use that station then or now, or even the early 80’s, from my experience. You just transfer to the #55 bus. Not much excitement except late night, but where isn’t that true for the Red Line? Besides, isn’t “stared down and honked at” a part of the standard urban experience for women?
The Howard line connected to the now green line on the South Side prior to the color coding in the 1990’s. That meant the transfer-free route back then landed you at the other Garfield station in the middle of a hood, not in the middle of a super highway. That station was always a bit more of a crapshoot than the Dan Ryan station. Not just dice games, but numerous fight offers and purse snatchings, too, any time of the day. There was a liquor store maybe 10 steps from the old station entrance that drew a crowd all day long. The old station was under the tracks and allowed for a quick getaway around the side. The under el denizens in back once cheered on a young purse snatcher that I witnessed, as if at a Pop Warner game. I’d say chased, but the crowd closed ranks after the maybe 12 year old passed through for the TD. It was made clear that the fight offers would not remain optional there, so I stumbled back across the empty bottles and obliged. Holy crap, I’m now flooded with other great memories of that line…
In mid-90s I found Green Garfield station way more sketchy, so much so that I rode it twice early on and then never again–the extra distance to the Ryan was worth peace of mind. Dude threw a bottle from the street up to smash against the car I was riding in, never saw that before or since.
Catching the eastbound 55 on the south side of the overpass in the cold and, especially, dark is no picnic. Protip, wait in the station until you can see the bus coming down the blvd, then hustle across to board.
completely unrelated to but in the same theme as G’s story, my first unusual experience on the red line back in the 90’s was when, in the middle of the day light hours, I witnessed some homeless looking guy climb up the el platform from the tracks. His face bleeding in numerous places, from his nose, his cheek, etc; He walked up to me and said “Is my face bleeding?” I said, “Yeah, it’s bleeding pretty bad. You better get that taken care of.” He said “Yeah, I had to jump out of the train while it was moving.” He turned around and limped to the exit. That’s City Livin(tm)!
Somehow I made back to the Garfield Red Line station after the party but I must have been wasted because I have no recollection of how I got there.
I just remember that my friends decided to crash in Hyde Park but I wanted to go back to Belmont.
And I remember riding the Red Line back to the City Suites and that there were security guards on the train with muzzled German Shepherds.
I also remember laying eyes on Cabrini-Green for the first time from the windows of the L.
(Would that have been the Brown Line?)
One of my friends pointed it out and said “That’s the “Good Times” ghetto, you know?”
And we were all like “Wow” and totally in awe because it was just so archetypal.
“How about the one at 63rd and Cottage grove? Lots of Vacant Land around there too.”
While UofC has been spending a lot of capital building up their South campus recently, there still remains the handshake promise from the 1960s that the school would not pass beyond 61st. Whether they continue to uphold that promise or not remains to be seen.
Thinking about it all brings back good memories for me too because after growing up in Toronto, DC was just nowheresville to me. I came to Chicago and I was like yes, this is a REAL place and I was instantly smitten with all of it.
Handshake promise? Whats that worth? Who did they shake hands with?
http://facilities.uchicago.edu/construction/61-drexel.shtml
okay its 61st street. I think there is a good chance that U of C’s
influence will make it to 63rd street. Maybe not the campus,
but U of C is investing alot of money in the surrounding area.
Because its in their own best interest and the cities……………
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uchicagomagazine/3615058954/
http://bit.ly/wRwwOR
Jeffo –
Thought of you this morning when I saw this article: “No Longer Burning, the South Bronx Gentrifies”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/nyregion/grand-concourse-neighborhood-in-the-south-bronx-gentrifies.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=nyregion
They disclose recent co-op sales prices.
(Practically everything in NY is co-ops and not condos.)
It’s amazing how much has changed in that neighborhood.