Showing posts with label Uptown Neighborhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uptown Neighborhood. Show all posts

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A Colorful History, too

A colorful part of the Aragon Ballroom in the Uptown neighborhood. According to the Aragon's website, it was built in 1926 at a cost of $2 million dollars (admission was 90 cents). It is named after a Spanish providence and designed to look like a Spanish palace courtyard. Through the 50s, it was a dance hall. In the late 50s, an explosion next door did a lot of damage (broken chandeliers, flying bar stools). It had to close for repairs and by the time it re-opened, the dance hall phase had passed. It next became a skating rink, then a boxing/wrestling sports arena, then a "mod-type discotheque", more rehab and refurbishing work, back to a ballroom dancing hall, then a "monster rock" marathon concert venue, yet another try at big bands and ballroom dancing, even more rehab and restoration, and back to rock concerts.

Yes, a colorful history to go with the colorful venue.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Autumn Morning Fishermen

Fishermen trying their luck at the Montrose Harbor entrance.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Surfing ... um ... Paddling?

I guess when the surf's not up, you have to improvise and get back to shore somehow. Caught this guy paddling back to shore at Montrose Beach recently.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Feathered Friends: Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Bird-watching is a new hobby. I think a lot of people presume that since Chicago is such a big city that the only birds around are pigeons, sparrows, pigeons, crows, pigeons, starlings, pigeons, robins, pigeons, seagulls, mallard ducks, geese and - did I mention - pigeons. However, Chicago is on a pretty busy migratory path and has a number of interesting year-round birds. (And there are actually over 50 different types of sparrows.)

There are several places in Chicago that are set aside as preserves to foster birdlife. One of these places is called the Magic Hedge, near Montrose Harbor. That's where we saw this Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

I was going to post all the bird photos here but I started taking so many this would have become Daily Chicago Bird. So I started another blog just on Chicago birds.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Lazy Morning Loon

Since it is still early in the boating season in Chicago, the water fowl still have the run of the harbors. This loon, in Montrose Harbor, is taking advantage of one of the last "boat-free"weekends.