clark street fire.

[mopinko]

big ass fire in the 'hood here. watched it from the metra platform for a while. they had quite a time puttin' that puppy out.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070423fire,1,7051301.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. My grandfather used to own a building in that block.

I wonder if it was one of his. Of course, he has been dead since 1929 and sold off his real estate to invest in the stock market before he died.

:silly:

My mother grew up on Lunt, just west of the train tracks.

On edit: My aunt and uncle lived in an apartment on the SE corner of Greenleaf and Wolcott for many years. It was converted to condo about a year ago. We were friends with neighbors of theirs, who had a daughter my age. I remember going up to that platform and checking it out. Never anything dangerous like going onto the tracks...and I am certain that there were kids who did that.

Later and for years, I took Metra downtown to get to work. I am very familiar with that platform.

I even remember saying when a train passed (back as a child) "There goes the 400". That was before Metra and when it was a train going places far beyond the suburbs. I have no clue now why it was called the 400, but it was.

[mopinko]

2. they all have numbers, but i don't think that anyone

thinks of anything but the departure/arrival times.

that building is in my precinct. is it the one with several entrances down the side of the building? 20 or so units? most of the people there refused to let me in or talk to me. i think most of them voted for the republican lite candidate. or didn't vote at all.
condos are everywhere. and lots of hostility about it. kinda pisses me off. single family homes are just crazy unaffordable, but condos give people a chance to build some equity. most of these old building conversions are not that expensive. and people are just plain jealous of the evil developers who keep the housing stock from degrading into slums. and the same people bitching about affordable housing think the living wage ordinance, and support for unions is a distraction from the alderman's job. canvassing was a trying experience.