Gabriel X. Michael
July 17, 2014
View of original northwest corner of Sacramento Square, now part of the West Town Academy, from the Sacramento Boulevard east service drive. Gabriel X. Michael/Chicago Patterns
Sacramento Square
This square is situated at an important transition point in the Chicago boulevard system, where Humboldt Park’s Sacramento Boulevard to the north connects into Garfield Park to the west via Franklin Boulevard. There is little green space at this turning point for the boulevard system, historically overrun by intersecting roadways and industrial traffic. It only retains one of its original corners, the southwest at Whipple Street and the Franklin Boulevard south service drive, and has some nondescript, while pleasantly shady, clusters of trees and shrubs.
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John Morris
June 11, 2014
In a small taqueria at 2829 N. Milwaukee is a vestige of the cinematic era prior to the grand movie palaces of the 1920s. A small inscription of “The Enterprise” on the limestone facade is a clue to this overlooked landmark.
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Gabriel X. Michael
April 30, 2014
4618 West Armitage Avenue, circa 1940. Photo courtesy of and copyright John Drury, Old Chicago Houses (1)
A few months ago at the Chicago Public Library, I came across the fascinating book Old Chicago Houses written by John Drury and published by University of Chicago Press in 1940. One particular story of an old Chicago farmhouse struck me: the James Von Natta home at 4618 West Armitage Avenue in present-day western part of the Hermosa neighborhood.
UPDATE: On October 2nd, 2014, a demolition permit was issued for the house at 4618 West Armitage Avenue (via Chicago Cityscape). This structure was not a part of the City of Chicago’s Historic Resources Survey in 1985, which may have at least provided a 90-day demolition delay review period, so it has seemingly fallen through the cracks of municipal historic preservation. As of today, the house was still standing in its same condition, with no apparent signs of demolition preparation yet (see photograph below). We will keep you notified of further developments on this disappointing turn of events.
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Stephanie Barto
March 24, 2014
The handsome architecture of the Saint Ignatius College Prep campus has always intrigued me. Located at 1076 West Roosevelt Road in West Town, the private Jesuit high school sits next to the equally impressive and historic Holy Family Catholic Church that catches the eye from many blocks away.
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