2429 W Augusta (center) facing demolition [John Morris/Chicago Patterns]
As Northwest Side neighborhoods along the Blue Line experience glowing hot growth in real estate values, original homes and flats are getting erased in favor of expensive new construction. While this trend has long been an issue in older neighborhoods near the lake or the Loop, this rapid expansion of teardown construction in these neighborhoods is a more recent phenomenon.
In years past, as successive waves of people moved into these neighborhoods, existing housing stock was a source of pride and buildings were rehabbed and improved. The change in neighborhood demographics this time is different as wealthy newcomers often opt for large single-family homes often built after tearing down an existing home.
The loss of housing stock in these areas is particularly painful as the homes getting destroyed are well over a hundred years old, many of which were erected in the aftermath of the Great Fire.
The corner of Damen and Division is always buzzing with pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. I set up a camera on a particularly colorful evening recently and recorded the transition from day into night, compressing it to about 60 seconds.
I asked a Ukrainian friend what the writing says, but the paint is too faded for a clear translation. It says something along the lines of “pay for [unintelligible] every quarter from the savings.”