It's like looking into another world - 115th & Michigan 1965

 There has to be more photos of this shopping center that existed on the SW corner of 115th & Michigan. It had been torn down in the 2000s. There was a restaurant here known as The Coffee Pot. Once there was a Christian bookstore where the pharmacy was, well the pharmacy you see here in this 1965 photograph.

Back in the late 80s to early 90s it was a Perry Drug Store, what was it during the 1960s?

And that building compared to the strip mall that's there now - and seemingly vacant once home to a Hollywood Video store - well it's an improvement if it hadn't been torn down for that strip mall.

At least the lot where the former Roseland Plaza is located can be prime real estate once the Red Line extension is in service.

If you haven't had a chance join the Roseland History FB group.

The former St. Nicholas Church in Roseland

You might see this reposted onto our ig page. In the meantime here's Eric Allix Rogers photo of this vacant church in Roseland at 113th Place and State Street.

There are some great buildings and architecture in our communities. Someone out there appreciates them, if only there was a way to keep these buildings in use so they won't meet the wrecking ball.

The former St. Nicholas church (William J. Brinkmann, circa 1900) is rotting away in Roseland

A post shared by Eric Allix Rogers (@ericallixrogers) on Apr 19, 2017 at 8:35am PDT

DNA Info: Put A Park, Not A Cell Tower, In Vacant Lot In Roseland, Residents Say

The pictures above were shot in April 2016 near 107th & King Drive of a vacant lot which as you see in the pic above is zoned for a cellphone tower. A group of Roseland activists want to see this turned into a park:

Members of the 9th Ward Greater Roseland Community Coalition said they fear the potential environmental and health threats the cell tower could bring to the empty lot at 107th Street between Vernon and Eberhart avenues.
...
The neighborhood coalition has been circulating petitions opposing the cellphone tower. Members said they want the land cleaned up and turned into a park and botanical garden.

Of course there's this:

The city did an environmental screen of the site in 2014 to identify any potential environmental concerns and said the site’s history of pollution doesn’t make it the best location for a garden.

"The site is listed as an abandoned service station, and available records identified several underground storage tank (UST) installations and removals dating back to 1953," a letter from Fleet Management to [9th ward Ald. Anthony] Beale reads. "In addition, at least three USTs were abandoned in place in 1984, and a demolition notice was issued in 1996. Although no releases have been reported for the Site, the majority of the USTs were removed or abandoned in the 1970s and early 1980s, prior to requirements to have spill protection, conduct confirmation sampling, or report releases."

The letter says that since there is no data available to confirm a release hasn't taken place, the tanks "present an environmental concern to the Site."

It was recommended that the site not be used as a community garden because there is “high potential for both current and historic USTs at the site.”

Bryant Payne, a spokesman for Beale, confirmed Friday that the land is contaminated and that before anything is built there, it would have to be cleaned up.

This is a nice lot that could see some use in the future. How successful will this group be in getting it cleaned up and hopefully a garden could be placed there instead of a cell tower?

Oh yeah a recent ig post about this lot below.

This lot was noted in a story at @dnainfochi a community group wants a garden here instead of a proposed cellphone tower. These pics were shot in April near 107th/King Drive #zoning #roseland #chicagogram #olloclip #9thward

A photo posted by The Sixth Ward (@thesixthward) on Jun 7, 2016 at 11:59am PDT

Vacant building on 111th & Edbrooke

This residential building is on the corner of 111th & Edbrooke. The next street over is Michigan Avenue. Literally here is an abandoned house/apartment building literally open to the elements as the windows on the top floor are broken. The building beyond this one is in a similar state.

You can check out these properties via Google Streetview

 

There are previous years shots of those buildings and they seemed to be in better condition than they were on my recent walk to Pullman. Wow what a difference a few years makes.

So on my recent walk to Pullman brought me past Shedd School to the Walmart in Pullman where I took shots of the future site of the Whole Foods Market distribution center. Then back west on 111th Street to hop on the Michigan bus to go back north. There are more shots to share.

Buy-N-Save Supermarket: What would YOU like to see here?

Last week I walked along 103rd Street and these two images are examples of some of the shots I had taken. Not sure how long this store at 209 E 103rd St has been closed, but it was a surprise when I found out it had been and in a boarded up state. The next is what would you like to see here? Is it possible to attract another grocer here?