Driving thru the north side on the holiday

I went to the outlet malls in Kenosha, Wisconsin for the 4th. I came back into the city on Highway 41 (which at some point becomes Lake Shore Drive) and from Foster Ave we went down Clark Street. We went through just about every neighborhood along that street.

Andersonville, Uptown, Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, Near North Side and the Loop. We saw as much upscale stuff that can be seen from the point we came down until we got into the loop. A lot of this stuff I wonder why we can have this type of stuff on the south side.

As a matter of fact I heard that not long after she was elected to her seat on Chicago's City Council, Sandi Jackson said that she wants a Neimann Marcus in her ward. Very lofty goal, but I'm sure Neimann Marcus has to justify coming into a neighborhood. Surely they have to do studies and statistics and other good stuff just to be sure their store would be profitable.

Still that's not the point. To say something like that indicates that now Ald. Jackson has a bold vision and I like that. And why not a Niemann Marcus or any other upscale department store?

Why stop there? How about some fine dining in our communities. Perhaps there should be a hot competition for who has the best soul food restaurant or rib joint. And how about a shopping center not much different than Century Shopping Center on Clark and Diversey which has several stories to it and packed in there are some movie theaters and it's not even skyscraper height.

The point I'm making here is that I'm something of a hometown tourist. There are lots of things to see in and around town. I can go out and see what is being down outside of the neighborhood. Yeah it's not only an opportunity to go out and see what's out there, but it can just as easily be a chance to see how it's done elsewhere. Indeed how it can be here as well.

You know passing thru Wrigleyville, I wondered why the area around US Cellular Field doesn't bustle with as much activity. We passed 35th Street on the Dan Ryan and saw some people ready to hop on a train to get off from the south side before the game was over. Obviously there is plenty of land available there with those large parking lots around the "Cell".

Unfortunately about a couple of blocks or so down from the Cell there are some housing projects that were being refurbished. I'm sure if someone had been thinking that could have been a nice development of homes, shops, bars, etc. instead of a liquor store on the corner and a generally rough area immediately south of the ballpark. In addition to that on the expressway you can make out a school, an apartment building, and a church.

For now though Wrigleyville is the place to be immediately after a baseball game. Just as it was when we drove thru on the fourth. The game may have ended hours before we passed thru but there was plenty of activity with bouncers standing outside ready for action.

Why shouldn't the area outside of the Cell get some of that action. Sox fans should be able to go right outside the park and party. And let it spill into Bridgeport and into the developing Bronzeville neighborhood across the Ryan.

Just some observations and good fodder for urban planners and aspiring real estate moguls to consider as hopefully some of these idea can serve to enhance an area, hopefully.