Do… or write not

Just a short post to let readers know that I am still here. I have to remind myself now and then of why I started this blog. One of the purposes is to write about connecting people with place — Milwaukee Avenue in this case — and to address the question of how to bring people to Milwaukee Avenue when the stores may not be enticing them. That’s what I’ve been doing, rather than writing.

Chicago Artists Month

The City of Chicago has deemed the month of October Chicago Artists Month. To be timely and take advantage of this city-wide focus, I am working to get Milwaukee Avenue merchants and property owners to agree to display art by local artists (and by artists whose subject matter is Logan Square) in their storefront windows for a couple of weeks in October.

I could use the help of readers in a couple of ways. First, if you know of Logan Square artists (whose work is primarily two-dimensional), please bring our attention to them here, and, if you know, let us know how to reach them via a website or gallery. (If you only have personal contact information, please direct them to this site and ask them to

Anchor opportunities (Part I)

Not without a mooring

The promise of Cheetah Gym has been broken, and [Update: Cheetah Gym is on again! (See One step backwards, two steps forward on Milwaukee Avenue.)] Milwaukee Avenue is drifting (see Without an
anchor), but this stretch of Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square is not without a mooring to make fast an anchor.

The former Grace’s Furniture store at the south end of this stretch is back on the market (rental, at least) (photo, right).

And on the north end of the stretch, the group of buildings on the west side of Milwaukee Avenue that are part of the Chicago Milwaukee-Diversey- Kimball Landmark District, all have vacancies above the first floor (and some on the first floor as well).

Without an anchor

In Milwaukee Avenue’s ebbing tide

What Milwaukee Avenue needs is to weigh anchor, to bring on board an anchor in order to set sail away from its current listing, from its listlessness, from its current downward — or at best stagnant — trend.

Special events, like this past weekend’s Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival and simultaneous sidewalk sale (photos left) can make the neighborhood a destination for a day. That in turn can serve as an introduction to the neighborhood and what it has to offer. A fixed anchor, though, can clear the way for a new direction for Milwaukee Avenue, a rising tide to lift all boats.

Impact of da Tour de Fat

What Tour de Fat — and events like it — mean for businesses

Four weeks ago, the traveling cycling spectacle known as the Tour de Fat made its Chicago debut, and it was a big fat blast! Mais bien sûr! (“But of course!” with a big fat French Belgian accent.) I wrote about it in anticipation of its coming to the neighborhood in Scene in Logan Square: Tour de Fat, and here, in hindsight, I can comment on its impact on the neighborhood.

The Tour de Fat, because it is more mobile than other events, is a rare happening that can throw a wide net and have a wide impact on the neighborhood. The day began with a bike ride through the neighborhood (see map below), including the primary commercial