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The End of Marina City

In 2005 this blog began with the subtitle, ‘The life and times of a former New Yorker living in downtown Chicago.’ I’ve almost left downtown twice since then. At the end of this month, I finally will. I’m heading to Edgewater–and realizing more than just my address is moving on.

CTA Ignores Transit Needs of Downtown Residents

Last spring, Ron Huberman’s CTA planning masters came up with a rotten plan to shut off all weekend ‘L’ service on Lake Street and Wabash Avenue to speed up track work. I and others lambasted the plan, and it was revised. Unfortunately, it was only revised to miss the downtown festival season. It’s still designed to make life easier for people who visit downtown, not for the thouands of Chicagoans, like me, who actually live in the neighborhood.

Little House in the Big (Concrete) Woods

If you’ve ever wondered about the fading little Victorian rowhouse now since last year sandwiched between two high-rise condo buildings on Superior between LaSalle and Wells–as in ‘how that hell did that manage to stay there?’–wonder no more. The Sun-Times has the story.

Downtown Trader Joe’s By End of Year

The end of 2006 cannot come fast enough for this home cook. That’s because by then, the much-anticipated downtown Chicago Trader Joe’s will be open in River North.