Pilsen Plug

I also wanted to share an event that Eighteenth Street Development Corporation is helping organize: Mole de Mayo. The event is in honor of Cinco de Mayo and will take place on Saturday, May 2nd from 11:00am - 7:00pm and feature a mole cook-off.

For those of you not familiar with Mexican cuisine, mole is a traditional sauce used to accompany chicken, enchiladas and all kinds of Mexican dishes and is simply delicious!

You will also be able to enjoy traditional Mexican libations like margaritas and micheladas (Mexican Bloody Marys), an outdoor market and of course mariachis!!

So far look you can look forward to these restaurants participating:

Fogata Village
Lalo's of Maxwell Street
Cocina Mundial Mestiza
Nuevo Leon
Riques
El Sol
Fig Catering
Mexique
Zocalo

Fenced In

I recently met with a homeowner whose building is in my top 5 that I've gotten to work with so far. It's the former home of Mr. Cullerton AKA the man behind Cullerton Street. (Still working on some research on this, but I think he was an Alderman)This Italianate 2-flat is only on its 3rd owner and is remarkably in-tact. Original doors, fireplace, wood trim, etc. The windows were replaced, but with appropriate 2 over 2 double-hung (not vinyl!). The first floor has beautiful, still operable pocket doors. While they have completed most of the rehab work, the building is still in need of an appropriate fence. The building is situated most idyllically, with 2 side lots. Even though I went there on a chilly spring day, it was hard to not feel like you've stepped onto a little piece of Pilsen paradise. The owner is looking for an appropriate fence and I offered to help. I wanted to share a few examples of fences from Pilsen that might work well for them.

Interesting Blog

Check out this blog -- it has great insight on neighborhoods and the community development forces within them.

http://communitybeat.blogspot.com/2009/03/neighborhood-tourism-pilsen-main-street.html

Turner Hall

This building is missing a little more than the New Bohemian Hall in the post below. A missing cornice and pediment and cupola leave this building a little naked, but still an anchor along Ashland Avenue, just south of 18th Street. The new windows and added glass block along the central bay on the second stories leaves a little to be desired, but could easily be fixed. The original doors and segmental transom added a warmth and completeness to the building that has been lost with its contemporary iteration.

"New" Bohemian Hall

I came across these postcards the "New" Bohemian Center. Here are some now and then images. This building looks remarkably intact, the most notable feature missing is the widows walk along the roofline and some minor changes to the store front, which are pretty typical with buildings over 100 years old.

60608

After passing this tortilla factory on 18th Street just east of Ashland, for the millionth time this summer, I decided to take a photo and since it piqued my interest. The Pony Express cartouche is a definite indicator of its former function as a post office. According to Forgotten Chicago, it's one of the few old style post offices with a limestone facade.

I found an article in the Chicago Tribune date April 29, 1898 that discussed the naming rights of the post office. The article states the Bohemian residents won the right to name the post office the Pilsen station.



The current Pilsen Post Office is located on Ashland Avenue, just south of 18th Street. This post office, designed in the Moderne style, was likely a product of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the Depression era. These post larger post office replaced the smaller ones to accomodate the new sorting equipment the post office was using.

Vinyl is for Records

I couldn't be more thrilled with Preservation Chicago's Chicago 7 this year. This year they have included "Old Fashioned Wood Windows" on their list and this one really hits home to Pilsen. Here's an exerpt of their description from their website:

Everybody wants to save money on their heating bills, and we’ve all been told that replacing those old wood windows is the best way to do that. But the fact is, traditional wood double-hung windows are more cost and energy efficient, more durable, easier to maintain and simply more attractive than most any replacement window on the market.

The multi-million dollar replacement window lobby has convinced the general public that it is in their interest to pay more for an inferior version of something they already own. This explains why residential and commercial buildings all across Chicagoland are sprouting new vinyl and aluminum replacement windows. And why thousands of wood windows are being relegated to landfills. This neither conforms to the “green” movement, nor does it present a money-smart solution in these challenging economic times.


As a preservationist and as someone who is also frugal, I'm pleased Preservation Chicago has brought this issue to greater attention. Please see my first post for more articles regarding windows and energy efficiency.