Chicago Street Peeps

I must say... I've been stepping over and around these two lost souls on the sidewalk outside my Lincoln Park real estate office for as long as I can remember. It both saddens and pisses me off at the same time that they continue to ask me (and everyone else in the lakefront neighborhood) for booze money. The Chicago Fire Department, just steps away, is called to their aid at least once a month by unsuspecting, well intentioned passersby on the corners of Diversey and Halsted.

"One is too many and a thousand is not enough..." (Drinks, that is.) Or, so I've heard. Saddens and pisses, to be sure.

And so starts November, 2009, on the windy Chicago city streets. Nothing so bad that a drink of whiskey couldn't make worse. (Or, so I've heard...)



Geno Petro




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Lincoln Park, A Cafe Latte Society

I'm not sure I even need to comment on the above photo but I will since I nearly got clipped by a CTA bus as I dashed through the intersection of Diversey and Sheffield in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago to get the shot. I'll provide the parameters. You can draw your own double latte conclusions (hint...it is not a Volvo XC 90 dealership);

* Lincoln Park

* Athletic Club

* Parking lot

* Kid's Club morning programs

* Moms/Housewives

* Kids

* Volvos

* Starbuck's across the street

Again, I'm just the 3G messenger. And yes, I do make a Chicago Real Estate living providing shelter to the safety minded residents of this upscale lakefront community, so please, accept my fun poking as good natured commentary. It's just that it gets a little, I don't know, Stepford around here sometimes. That's all I'm saying.

Geno Petro




follow me on twitter@genopetro

Chicago Trash Talk

But, is it Art?

Approximately 11,000 Chicago City workers (including the trash dudes at this Lincoln Park location) slept in last Monday in celebration of our city's newly enacted Furlough Day cooperative. An estimated $8 million is expected to be saved this year as a result of three such days throughout the year. BTW, same deal for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

(I like the Starbuck's cup next to bag of dogshit)

Geno Petro




follow me on twitter@genopetro

The Trick To Parking In Chicago?

First you find a parking space. Then you get a car small enough to fit into the Chicago parking space. Then you hope the cars at either end cut you some good old Midwestern slack and the meter maid only tags you once a day.

And just for fun...

The showroom sticker on the above Cadillac Fleetwood boasted the following specifications in 1967:

$10,360 (out the door)

156 inch wheelbase (13 feet)

5346 pounds

(notice how no one is parked anywhere near that much chrome and iron)


The 2008 Mercedes Smart Car:

$11,590 (through the window)

73.5 inch wheelbase

1808 pounds

(notice how no one respects your social distance when you pack such a small, well... package)

The top shot of old Methuselah was taken on Pensacola in Lincoln Square, the bottom at OZ Park in Lincoln Park. (also note The Tin Man statue in the background).

What neither picture shows, though, and the original point of this mini-post, is the fact that none of the cars in the frames were parked legally to begin with and all had orange stickers on their windshields. With private Parking Spaces listed in the MLS at upwards of $35,000 near the lake, you take whatever land you can shove between two bumpers in this town. The way I figure, at $50 per ticket, a guy can park wherever he wants to for a year and a half before he really starts losing money in Chicago Real Estate.


I'm just sayin'...


Geno Petro




follow me on twitter@genopetro

Chicago Pothole Medalist

"I'm the one who gets called up about a problem. I'm the one who gets called up about the street lighting and the abandoned car. I'm the one who gets blamed if the police don't arrive. I'm the one they blame if a city truck is broken down."

Chicago Mayor, Richard M. Daley

BTW Mr. Mayor, I too, just tried to call you after fishing the remains of my BMW out of the above pot...er...sink hole on Mildred Avenue in Lincoln Park. The above pictured cones were previously reserving a pair of blue haired Realtors' Open House parking spaces in front of an MLS listed McMansion. I took the liberty to personally secure a higher and better use for the orange markers. Hope your Streets and San Man on (or rather, off) the job doesn't mind. (Hey, it's just another day in the Chicago Real Estate business---with a guerilla twist. hehe) And good luck with that 2016 Olympic Search Committee. Suggestion: On their next visit here, be sure to keep them off of what's left of our city streets or, at the very least, off the 2700 block of Mildred. Should probably keep them off the buses, too. Brutal.

Geno Petro

follow me on twitter@genopetro

540 W. Belden Avenue in Chicago

This Belden Avenue Condo is the polished gem of the neighborhood. A sparkling 2 Bedroom 800 square foot sanctuary in the heart of Lincoln Park, 540 W. Belden is just steps from the Lake, the Zoo, Cafes, and Fine Dining. Relax on the outside private deck or just lay back inside and absorb the vintage details of this high first floor unit; up-to-the-ceiling windows, exposed brick walls, and beautiful hardwood floors. Prepare a gourmet meal in the stainless steel and granite kitchen or have a glass of wine at the breakfast bar (...okay, wine bar). This is the only 2 Bedroom currently on the market in the building.

(pssst...what do you think about the fake snow on the deck I brought in? hehe)

CLICK HERE FOR VIRTUAL TOUR AND ADDITIONAL INFO!


CLICK HERE FOR 540WBELDEN.COM WEBSITE



Call, Text or Email Geno

773-720-2634

GPetro@CHEmail.com


$324,900 JUST REDUCED

Geno Petro

follow me on twitter@genopetro

"Cut!...That's a wrap, Johnny."

Tonight is one of the final nights of in-town shooting for Michael Mann's Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and a famous (infamous?) Chicago alley off of Lincoln Avenue as his final resting spot. The above picture, taken from a car window with my iPhone, is a revamped period marquee of the historic Biograph Theater located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago's North Side.The movie is scheduled for full release in 2009.

Check out the double bill in the snapshot above: Clark Gable and William Powell...pretty cool. Almost as cool as 'Iced Fresh Air.' BTW, the Biograph still stands today. It's a Chicago real estate landmark. Below is the alley where the story ends.

Geno Petro

An Insider's 'Sidewalk' Guide To Chicago's Lincoln Park--Part 1

This is the first in a continuing series of blog essays focusing on the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. I happen to reside in this historic lakefront community and while a good portion of my real estate business is also conducted here, the purpose of this project is to simply provide an insider's 'sidewalk' perspective of this ever evolving Chicago 'North Side' demographic. Each essay will focus on a specific neighborhood theme. For instance, Lincoln Park has several 'mini-neighborhoods' within its boundries including Lincoln Park West, DePaul and Wrightwood Neighbors to name a few--each unique in its own way and with its own personal story.

The spotlight may shine one week on a particular Theatre district (there are over 200 live venues nightly throughout the city) or perhaps even on this insider's choice of favorite Chicago Blues clubs, cafes and eateries (of which Lincoln Park has dozens!). On your next visit you may find yourself strolling along one of the many neighborhood Garden Walks or even peeking into the closets of a Louis Sullivan Open House or the archives of the DePaul University library. There's an almost endless array of material germane to this historic and hip Chicago neighborhood but economy of time and space dictates that I focus on one small corner at a time. So let me begin with a 'pie slice' area I refer to as...

'North of North'

North Avenue is the southern most boundry of Lincoln Park and contrary to its name, actually runs from east to west away from the lakefront. I define 'North of North' as the several block shopping district originating on North Avenue between Halsted Street and Sheffield Avenue with Clybourn Avenue slicing through both streets on the diagonal, blanketing the adjoining neighborhood areas in a northwest direction to Southport Avenue. It is here you will find the busiest retail shopping district in Near North Chicago outside of Michigan Avenue's renowned Magnificent Mile and just steps to some of the most beautiful and desirable residential streets in the city.

With the likes of Borders Books, Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn as retail 'anchors,' this once industrial annex of the city is now home to over 100 national and local stores--from 'medium box' (Best Buy and Circuit City to name a few), to boutique (Citizen K-9, Kozy's Cycle Shop and Chicago Fly Fishing {believe it or not!} ). Twenty years ago this 'corridor' was home to only scrap yards and steel fabricators. Today, thanks to prudent community efforts and wise Chicago city planning, 'North of North' is, in this writers opinion, an archetype of urban landscape architecture for the millennium.

The housing stock of choice along the actual Clybourn Corridor is a mixture of live/work loft and condominiums above sidewalk level businesses. However, a quick jog down any side street will quickly reveal a blend of turn of the century (1890's) Victorian rowhomes, mulit-million dollar new construction city mansions and renovated single family homes nestled in postcard fashion amongst the hundred year oak trees and gas lamp styled street lights.

Weaving through and along this brick contemporary urban fabric are both the Brown Line and Red Line El tracks, iron bound reminders of a previous Chicago era but a cultural transportation mainstay to this day. Be it a CEO or Administrative Assistant, these Elevated platforms are the early morning destination of choice for speedy downtown commuters after a quick local cafe stop for the prerequisite coffee and bagel 'to go.'

Every eight blocks is a mile in Chicago, a city laid out on a virtual grid by its original planners. Landlocked to the east by Lake Michigan and due to the topography of the shoreline, there are only north, south and west addresses in Lincoln Park. Any dwelling too far eastward would definitely fall into the category of 'House Boat' but if this is where one chooses to hang his hat then 'North of North' is but a few blocks to the west--and as you may have already surmised, we Chicagoans are a very direction-minded lot!

So this concludes our first early winter walk-about of one particular 'corner' of Lincoln Park. The sidewalks are clear and the climate is fair this first week of January, 2007--at least as of this writing. But there is a saying that comes to mind with any discusion of Chicago weather...just wait 10 minutes!

photo by hawthornterrace

posted by geno petro