Trip 95: Austin to Chinatown

Date: February 27, 2011
Trip: 95
Landmarks Visited: 11
Landmarks To-Date: 257
Landmarks Remaining: 96

On a sunny and unseasonably warm Sunday morning my friend James joined me to see some landmarks. James is a very serious amateur photographer, so you'll notice him in some of my photos holding an impressive camera.

We started out in the Austin neighborhood and then worked our way south to Chinatown. The plan worked perfectly because we arrived in Chinatown around lunchtime. Austin at one time was a separate little town, and by the size of many of the houses it must have been a relatively well off place.

1. Hitchcock House

2. Four Houses by Architect Frederick Schock

Each of these houses is impressive on its own. But the fact that the four of them have been preserved in such proximity is pretty amazing. And all four houses appear to be almost perfectly maintained.

3. Schlect House

4. Beeson House and Coach House

5. Marie Schock House

The architect built this house for his mother.

6. F. R. Schock House

This house is probably my favorite of the four because of the stonework, the second floor porch, and the number and variety of windows.

7. Jewish People's Institute

There was no signage or address on this building to identify it, so I was pleased when I noticed the menorah in the stonework. This helped confirm that we had the right building. Then I also found "J.P.I." carved in the cornerstone.

8. Site of the Origin of the Chicago Fire of 1871

This is the site of the infamous Mrs. O'Leary's barn where the Great Chicago Fire started on October 8, 1871. What's amazing is how far the site is from Fullerton Avenue, the northern most point that the fire spread. The area covered is huge.

Today the site is marked by a monument and is home to the Chicago Fire Academy.

9. Chicago & Alton Railway Bridge

This bridge wasn't easy to photograph. There wasn't any public access near the bridge, and since my dad worked for railroads his whole career I couldn't bring myself to trespass on railroad property. I have a number a railroad bridges to go on the landmarks list, so this problem will probably come up again.

10. Site of the Origins of the I&M Canal

We actually stumbled across this landmark in trying to find a good vantage point for photos of the bridge above. None of the Illinois & Michigan Canal still exists, but the design of this park is supposed to be an artistic interpretation of the canal. That's a bit of a stretch I think.

11. On Leong Merchants Association Building

The ornamentation on this building is really over the top, but given its location in the heart of Chinatown just beyond the Chinatown Gate, I think it works.

Trip 94: Saturday Afternoon Drive on the West Side

Date: February 26, 2011
Trip: 94
Landmarks Visited: 6
Landmarks To-Date: 246
Landmarks Remaining: 107

On an overcast Saturday afternoon, Shawn and I took a drive to the west side to see a few landmarks. Shawn stayed in the car and slept most of the time--somehow I don't think he's as interested in landmarks as I am.

I used my GPS to find my way between the landmarks on this trip. It let me down for the first time. I think it has a few of the residential streets mis-marked on the west side. So I couldn't find one of the landmarks planned for this trip. Still, six out of seven isn't bad.

1. Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church

2. Lindeman & Hoverson Co. Showroom & Warehouse

The building looks like it is now used for residential condos.

3. King-Nash House

To me this house is very Chicago, so it's fitting that it is in part named after Chicago political boss Patrick Nash. He lived in the house from the 1920s to the 1940s.

4. Garfield Park Fieldhouse

I had visited this fieldhouse once before for an art opening at the Peace Museum, which at least used to be housed in the building. It's probably the most ornate fieldhouse, both inside and out, that I have ever seen. And it's been incredibly well maintained by the Chicago Park District.

5. Walser House

I had driven past this house before and correctly assumed that it was a Frank Lloyd Wright design. It would make sense that there would be some Wright designs in Chicago's Austin neighborhood because it is adjacent to Oak Park, where his home and workshop were located for much of his career.

What makes this house even more unique is that it is stuck between two very nondescript more contemporary buildings. You are not at all expecting to see a Wright house when you stumble upon it.

6. Third Unitarian Church

Trip 93: 63rd Street Bathing Pavilion

Date: February 19, 2011
Trip: 93
Landmarks Visited: 1
Landmarks To-Date: 240
Landmarks Remaining: 113

On President's Day weekend I was headed to Toledo for a surprise visit to my parents. I left early Saturday morning and stopped by the 63rd Street Bathing Pavilion on the way. It was a cold, snowy morning so it wasn't too shocking that I was literally the only person on the beach. It was pretty unusual to be walking on frozen sand that crunched under my feet.

The pavilion is a big facility completely surrounded by a pretty tall wall. It looks almost like a small fortress on the beach. According to the signage there is a fountain inside the pavilion, but I wasn't able to find a vantage point where I could see it.