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I can't believe this place is still open. I grew up in Uptown (now live in Lakeview) and these places were all over the place. I figured when gentrification happened these places would be a thing of the past. It's hard to believe you have really expensive condos literally next door to a flop house. No wonder there is still all this random crime still happening in Uptown while the rest of the lakefront seems to have settled down over the years.
ReplyDeleteLakefront Conservative Liberal, I moved to Uptown in 1993. Back then it was a little rough around the edges. But when the gentrification process started, the neighborhood actually started to decline. Very strange.
ReplyDeletethat place should have been torn down ages ago! why in the hell is it still open?
ReplyDeleteThis is the "chicken wire" place right? Why don't the city building inspectors shut this place down for code violations? Actually, why aren't ALL these "SRO's" inspected and cited for all the code violations? They shut the Diplomat down for code violations. While I know there is a need for these type of "hotels", they aren't cheap. The Northmere on Kenmore and the Glenn on Winthrop charge $450 bucks a month for a cubby hole. Not only are they taking advantage of the less fortunate, they aren't taken care of and therefore, can become death traps. Where are the city inspectors? There are also several in the River North area that are roach and begbug infected dives. How are these building owners getting away with this?
ReplyDeleteWe lived on Beacon until 1992 and then moved out to the NW side, I ended up moving to Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York and then back here to Lakeview (Belmont Harbor) to earn a graduate degree. I looked at the possibility of moving back to the same area I moved away from almost 20 years ago but as I drove through the neighborhood I was almost scared by what I saw and then the things I heard though the media and new local friends. I find this funny because I have had to do work in some of the worst neighborhoods in America and it never fazed me but driving through the old neighborhood really knocked me off me feet for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI am guess it has everything to do with Alderman Helen Schiller. She won in 1987 by defeating regular democrat Jerome Orbach. They said back then she was going to stop all of the gentrification and displacement of the lower income residents and perhaps which was going to stop the Lincoln Park(itzation) of Uptown. I suppose she did just that. I heard that she has chilled in her old age and that she is not running for reelection. It will be interesting to see what happens with whomever replaces her.
BTW, I discovered your blog after doing some additional research on the Officer Blake issue. It just doesn't add up and I guess we may never know what really happened. I like your take on local news, keep up the good work.
towanda, many years ago on a whim, a friend and I went to the Wilson Club Hotel and pretended we were interested in renting a room. What we really wanted was a look inside. To this day, I am still kicking myself for not having a camera on me!
ReplyDeleteThe inside of that place is horrifying. And I am not being dramatic. There were roaches, waterbugs, crackheads passed out on the stairs in the hallway, incoherent babbling emanating from dark corners, and a strange smoky haze that reeked of an illegal substance, assaulted my nostrils.
The rooms are the size of a small rectangular pantry and there are no ceilings. The only thing that keeps your neighbor from climbing over the wall and into your space, is a dirty frayed fisherman’s net. The room I was shown had a locker in it and when I opened it… a huge black waterbug ran across my hand!
After a few minutes in that place, I realized just how lucky I am!
Lakefront Conservative Liberal, believe it or not, my first apartment in Uptown was on Beacon! I can’t remember the exact address, but it was in between Lawrence and Wilson. That was back in 1993.
One of the reasons I feel in love with Uptown is because it used to remind me of certain parts of New York. I used to look out my window and marvel at all the different types of people on the street.
If the neighborhood improves, I might consider moving back. Might.
And thanks for the compliment. I’m glad you enjoy my blog.
Towanda, believe it or not, when the Wilson Mens Club Hotel was in Housing Court, Alderman Schiller showed up to defend the owner. Other Aldermen go to court to make sure slumlords don't take over their wards. Alderman Schiller shows up to make sure they stay in business. Even better, the owner of the hotel is the chairman of the Public Safety committee for the Uptown Chamber of Commerce. A new alderman can't get sworn in too fast for me. Schiller has been a disaster.
ReplyDeleteElaine, is it true that the 46th ward(Uptown) has more Shelters, Sec 8, SRO's and low income housing now than anywhere else? I've read that before but really have a very hard time believing or even grasping that. I am aware of 5 SRO's between Argyle & Lawrence..that's a huge number in a mile radius. She's the reason these places aren't being inspected for city code violations? What, did she bus these people to the voting polls every election? Did she get more money for the TIF in her ward? How on earth could she get away with this? And now, there's crime everywhere there.
ReplyDeleteTimothy, I refuse to go over to Argyle now because of all the drunks, druggies and dealers over there. I was verbally attacked by one of these morons a year ago on my way to a restaurant and have been accosted to buy drugs..that was it. NO More. It's scary over there and, as I've said before, my mom didn't raise a fool:) There was a time when these type of places, maybe in the 50's-60's were needed for the working poor and people who just needed a bed for a week or so, but now, they simply house the druggies, drunks and dealers. I cannot believe that the city turns a blind eye to these violations. No wonder crime is so rampant in Uptown. How can a neighborhood change if the Alderman is for the criminals?
towanda, I was there in 1987 when Schiller was elected. There were vast amounts of allegations against her and her community organization accusing them of busing folks in from Gary with the promise of a box lunch a 5 dollar bill. I don't know how true that is since it did not happen in our precinct or polling place at Hull House on Beacon but it was reported that there was rampant fraud in other areas of the ward I am assuming those precincts with multiple SROs. It would be pretty easy to load up those places with transients since there is little needed to prove residency other than the word or records of the SRO manager. That might be why she has fought so hard to keep them there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why there are so many SRO buildings in the area is due to the film industry based in Chicago about a hundred years ago. Essanay Studios on Argyle attracted thousands of hopeful actors to the neighborhood and all these hotels and SRO buildings sprung up to meet the demand. You will notice the great variety of mansions and SRO buildings throughout the neighborhood which is remnant of the Chicago's Hollywood history. The same story is true in Hollywood, CA but the mansions have been torn down or moved into the hills. The SRO's have to be a big part of the problem with this neighborhood. It doesn't make sense to have these great expensive condos along with such a high crime rate.
JAY BOMBERG IS A MONEY HUNGRY PIECE OF SHIT THAT GIVES ALL JEWS A BAD NAME. NOT ONLY IS HE BLIGHT ON HUMANITY, HE IS HUMAN GARBAGE. ANYONE WHO WOULD RENT A PLYWOOD ROOM WITH CRACK HEADS, SELLING CRACK, (AND HE PROTECTS UM)SHOULD BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, OR SUED FOR CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. THE WILSONS MENS CLUB DUMP MUST BE SHUT DOWN AND IT'S OWNER PAY REPARATIONS TO THOSE LIVING THERE WHOM ARE EXPOSED TO THE INHUMAN CONDITIONS, CRACK SMOKE, CIGERETT SMOKE AND THE RATS, ROACHS, ECT THAT CRAWL ON THEIR BODIES UNDER THE WALLS...BOMBERG SHOULD BE GIVEN LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE AND MADE INTO THE PRISON BITCH HE IS.....
ReplyDeleteI live here,its all i can afford. I know first hand the conditions there. I, we need help. Complian, to much,we end up on the street. Agian we need help.
ReplyDeleteIf you can, photograph the conditions and email the pics to news@chicagonewsreport.com
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible. People should not have to live in such conditions. As so many politicians are fond of saying America is the most powerful and richest country on Earth. Well this proves that to be untrue. Wilson should be cleaned up and made decent for people who are less fortunate can live decently.
ReplyDelete