Exploring ... Pilsen IV

Another new mural in Pilsen, the J-Def Peace Project, honors a local hip-hop artist that was killed in 2009.  Here are a few segments of that mural. 

Exploring ... Pilsen III

Pilsen has many vibrantly painted murals.  Here are a few scenes from one of the newer ones entitled Reach for Peace.

Exploring ... Pilsen II

There's a beautifully painted Community Center in Pilsen called Casa Aztlan. Here are a few scenes from the building.  The blank white spaces seem to indicate that the exterior is always being updated and refreshed.

 

Home

When you get off the Blue Line at the Logan Square stop, you get this reminder that you're home.

But don't try to walk through the blue door 'cause it's really a cement wall.

From Near Not Far

Love the Farmer's Markets!

After a rough Spring, things are finally starting to pop at the markets. Strawberries, Asparagus, early Cherries, Asparagus, Spring Onions, Asparagus, Rhubarb, Peas, and lots of greens. I'm one of the lucky ones in that - except for Mondays and Fridays - I can hit a market every day of the week between June and October. Many of them, including the Logan Square Market, go all winter now as well.

So there's really no reason for you to NOT Eat Your Veggies. (Although you can eat your chicken, pork, turkey, elk, beef, fish, lamb, goat, cheese, breads, tofu, eggs, all from the market, too!)

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

Found this mural in the Wicker Park area of the West Town neighborhood. The saying translates to "Nothing But the Best is Good Enough". It is a bright, colorful mural that was fun to see in the midst of a snowstorm. But, I don't quite get the connection between Mike Ditka and the cartoon penguin.

South Chicago, Muralized

The title of this mural is "South Chicago - We All Come Together As One". It is very colorful and has elements that you would definitely notice while driving around the area (the bridges, the religious symbols, the housing styles). The mural was created by an artist named Gamaliel Ramirez, with assistance from students and residents of the neighborhood. He is also the artist that did the Sea of Flags mural in Humboldt Park that was the subject of a September post. I have to admit I'm thinking of e-mailing the artist as I am curious about one of the symbols in the mural. To the far right (next to the Native American chief) is what looks like a large stalk of asparagus with eyes and blue symbols. It HAS to mean something to area residents and I am curious as to what it really is.

(Click on photo to see an enlarged version.)

City of Cities

Yesterday was Chicago's 173rd Birthday. The Chicago History Museum celebrated by having a free admissions day. The museum has a number of interesting regular exhibits and special events. One exhibit focuses on the uniqueness of Chicago neighborhoods and includes this map showing the names and boundaries of each. It is rather interesting how each neighborhood has its own "personality", allowing you to feel as though you are traveling without ever leaving your home city.

Artsy Arch

Todos Santos is a small town about an hour north of Cabo San Lucas, via a scenic drive with many "Curvas Peligrosas" (Dangerous Curves). It is an arts oriented town and this beautiful archway leads into one of the galleries.

Logan Square Firefighter's Memorial

Logan Square has a small Firefighter's Memorial Park at the intersection of Diversey, Milwaukee, and Kimball. (Milwaukee is one of a few angle streets in Chicago that create six corner intersections where they cut through the "normal" grid pattern of streets.) It is dedicated to three firemen who were killed battling a fire in February, 1985. The centerpiece of the park is a large, colorful mural depicting three firefighters as angels.

The Boston Store

Painted advertisements on buildings are an endangered species. Either the building gets torn down or another building goes up next to it that hides these old time ads. I think they are rather interesting and provide a peek at the past.

This ad for "The Boston Store" stands out amid the newer buildings in the Loop. I'd never noticed this ad before and had never heard of the Boston Store. So I "googled" it. It had quite the history in Chicago.

According to the site www.chicago.urban-history.org, where you can see an antique postcard of The Boston Store, the store was owned by Charles Netcher. He named it The Boston Store because he "hoped the New England city's reputation in merchandising would add credibility to his establishment". It expanded quickly in the late 1800s and eventually took up the corner of State and Madison. Charles Netcher's wife, Mollie, turned it into a full service department store and it was a competitor of Marshall Field's and Carson Pirie Scott. It had a cigar factory on one floor that produced three million cigars annually. It also had "a post office, a Western Union office, a savings bank, a barber shop, a first-aid station, several soda fountains and restaurants, and an observation tower 325 feet above street level. ... For the four thousand Chicagoans employed by the firm, there were private reading rooms, employee lunchrooms, and a full-sized tennis court on the roof."

By the late 1930s, business had begun to decline, apparently because Ms. Netcher didn't modernize the store or its business ways - she didn't expand to the suburbs and kept a cash-only policy. The store closed in 1948.

The building was renovated in 2001 and now has a Sears store on the first few levels.

Urban Snow Seals

I found this mural painted on a wall near the Hubbard Street Mural Project. I'm not sure if it is part of the project or not.

With the snow piled up against the wall, the artwork takes on a three-dimensional appearance.