Alright good, I'm excited for the finished project of the plaza.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CsZxKZhXgAABI59.jpg

Last Monday's view of the plaza h/t Wrigley Aerials

I wish they did that office building thing in white glazed brick. Don't know why, but it just might have looked better up next to wrigley.

This new hotel is going to rock. And in a few years, all the constructuion around the field will be done, and the southern half of Wrigleyville will be all torn up and reconstructing anew with the Brown Line Flyover. Wrigleyville will be almost 100% totally different. You'll just have sprinkles of the old left. Wow. Kind of crazy to think about.

^^^What's going on at the NW corner of Clark and Patterson where the Clark Street Sports temporary store was previously? Is that a fourth small development project or is that just staging are for one or more of the other developments?

There are tens of thousands of residents in close proximity to this. I know that I for one, along with my husband, will love to have the hotel there because it means we can put family there when they come to visit.

There really aren't any good options unless you go to the hotels down on Diversey or that smaller Best Western on Broadway.

For people that live there, and especially hitting at the parents of the young people populating the neighborhood that might not want to stay in their millennial childrens digs - this hotel will be right up their alley.

I hope on non-event days that it's rationally priced, and it doesn't have too much of a "I'm brand new" and "I'm right across from Wrigley" premium on pricing that it's not an option for your everyday Joe who wants to get a room for themselves, their family, parents, friends, etc. who are visiting.

I've been familiar with the Wrigley area and in the neighborhood for 12 years now, from my experience there was always a reason that either myself or my friends, etc would have liked a hotel when having people in town.

There's definitely something going up there, it's where they use to store the Hertz cars. Is Uhaul gone now? Was there ever a Uhaul here or just Hertz?

They're building something back off the street, you can actually see it in google stretview - updated a few weeks ago.

There's not much currently right on Clark though, just the same parking lot area, whatever they're doing it almost hidden away and behind the existing building where Hertz was located pushing out into the next lot towards Patterson.

In taking another look, it seems they've punched through windows and openings in that existing building, so whatever they're doing will be extended up closer to Clark, but it's definitely not taking up that entire corner lot, it's just creeping out of the side of the existing building.

Very in-depth article in Rolling Stone

Chicago Cubs and the Last Days of Old, Weird Wrigleyville
http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/c...change-w441949

saw that yesterday. sad but inevitable probably

as the article itself stated:

so im not sure what we're all lamenting or talking about in regards to "inevitability". this piece would have been relevant perhaps in 1995.

Belmont Army went bougie a decade ago. and its not like Big Black was doing shows at cubby bear any time recently.

that said, Smartbar/Metro/Gingerman arent going anywhere.

so basically, everythings the same as it was before. drunk bros will continue flocking to see cubs games, and the Shanaham empire will remain a small cultural island in a sea of piss and puke.

yeah I agree. During the era being described, Chicago was basically a giant Cleveland. Those days are looong gone

my mom and her sister lived in a apartment a few blocks from wrigely back in the early 70s. she described the area back then as "kinda seedy and full of junkies".

things change.

Am I the oldest guy on this site. I thought it was common knowledge that Lakeview (wrigleyville is a 1984 invention) was a major bum and hooker filled dump back in the 70's. Do any of you remember when the Flubs would draw under a 1000 fans. Probably not.

i don't know, how old are you?

i was born in '76, so i have no first hand memories of what the area was like back in the '70s.

I was talking with a coworker old enough to remember attending Chicago Cardinals games back when there was two football teams in town. Told me how rough Wrigley area was. Told me how wonderful Austin was back in the day.

I moved to Lakeview (some were still trying to use the New Town name) in 1990, and it was definitely rougher then, though clearly changing. The prostitutes (many/mostly transgender) on Broadway just north of Diversey - "Hey baby, you want a date tonight?" - are a fond memory I shall always keep. The gun pointed at my head when I mugged at my front door by a guy who followed my cab home is a memory I will keep less fondly.

Back then there were way fewer bars on Clark south of Addison. I would walk up Clark and over to the Music Box on Southport, a street that was a ghost town then.

Everything looked just a little shabby then.

Ironically, Curbed just reported that the Austin neighborhood has seen the highest home price gains in the city. Not sure what the driver of that is, but I'll take it!

It's interesting to hear just how seedy so much of Chicago was until what are relatively recent times. That and all the press about the murders partly explains why it is so misperceived elsewhere.

i think thats true of all American cities. there were prostitutes and peep shows in Times Square not that long ago too.

Born in 1966.