Gross Park on Henderson

02/02/2023

https://www.newberry.org/blog/dinkels-bakery-the-story-of-a-lakeview-landmark

The Newberry recently acquired the archives of Dinkel's Bakery, a landmark of the Lakeview neighborhood that closed its doors in 2022.

01/13/2023

We recently watched the movie Cyrano starring Peter Dinklage. It is a musical retelling of the play Cyrano de Bergerac. This got us thinking about the S. E. Gross (Gross Park is named after him) play The Merchant Prince of Cornville and Gross' plagiarism charge against Edmond Rostand. We were happy to find a podcast that dealt with the subject and enjoyed listening to it. We suggest listening to the end of the episode because they play a fun game there.

05/23/2021

Here is an overlay of a fire map of the time on a current Google map showing where the Gross Park train station would have been located.

05/23/2021

An advertisement showing the Gross Park station located between Belmont and Melrose on what is now Ravenswood Ave. showing the speed from which you can get from Downtown to the new station and back. Note that the train tracks are on ground level and not on an embankment as they are now.

05/13/2021

The Gross Park - Brookfield connection.
S.E. Gross developed tracts in many parts of what is now Chicago, but was outside the city limits then. Our neighborhood was one such.
Another area he developed is still outside the city limits and is now the Village of Brookfield.
Last year, the Village of Brookfield marked its 127th year anniversary, and the 131st anniversary of the historic Grossdale Station. The Station, located on Brookfield Avenue next to Salt Creek, serves as the headquarters for the Brookfield Historical Society, and houses many mementoes and artifacts from Brookfield's past. It was built in 1889 by Samuel Eberly Gross, the founder of the Village of Grossdale, which was renamed Brookfield in 1905. The Station is the oldest surviving public building in Brookfield and the oldest surviving station on the Burlington commuter line.
The station was saved from demolition in 1981 through the efforts of the Brookfield Historical Society , an entirely volunteer organization, and was moved to its current location from a spot across the street just west of the present commuter station. It is currently listed on the National Register of Historical Places...the only building in Brookfield to be so listed!
Since saving the building and moving it to its current location in 1981, the Society (which uses the station as it's home) has continued to make renovations and operate the museum through the countless hours spent by many dedicated volunteers. The bottom floor is a museum of Brookfield's past. The second floor is the Station Master's living quarters that was occupied until the 1960's.

05/04/2021

Not really Cyrano De Bergerac vs. S.E. Gross, but S.E. Gross against Edmond Rostand, the author of the play Cyrano De Bergerac. Read here about the outcome of this fascinating court case.
https://www.oakpark.com/2009/07/14/say-it-aint-so-cyrano/

09/07/2019

: the view looking northwest on Lincoln Avenue at the intersection of Belmont and Ashland Avenues, Chicago, September 1969. Wieboldt’s, a general retailer, opened its Lake View outpost in 1917, which closed after the company declared bankruptcy in 1987. The structure was converted into a mixed-use building in the mid-1990s. CHM, ICHi-050048 https://bit.ly/2m0zH1s

03/23/2017

Steve Lewandowski Collection keeps on giving ....
YMCA Lake View
Google view - http://ow.ly/sv2W30aaLiY
My source: Steve Lewandowski via Original Chicago-Facebook

03/22/2017

Woolworth's location at School & Lincoln
My source: Steve Lewandowski via Original Chicago-Facebook
There is lots of commentary - read and add your own!