Where can you find pictures of Brighton Park in the 1970s?

Answer 1

I'm sure I could locate some pics from the early 70's.My Grandparents lived in this area until their passing. (Across from Crane Clock) if you are familiar. I believe I have pics of the library, theatre, gerties, hi-lo, niesners dept. store, archer ave. bigstore, Davis school, the shack, alot of memories here.

AnswerThese aren't from the 70's but maybe it'll help: picturingchicago AnswerI grew up in the Brighton Park area. I'm 52 years old and was wondering if there's anyway I can get copies of the pictures from Ronald. When our house was sold the pictures got lost.

When I read Ronald's msg about the Crane Clock, Hi-Lo, Gerties, Brighton Park theatre and Niesners Dept store it brought back so many memories for me.

My first job was at "Niesners" in 1969. I was in my last year of high school and on a work/school program. Kelly let me out of school early everyday I worked from 2:00 to closing. I felt very lucky to get that job.

Hi-Lo was the first big grocery store in our neighborhood.

My grandmother always said if you can see the Crane Clock you'll never be lost.

The "Shack" you are really taking me back to some good times.

"Archer Avenue Big Store" we got our school uniforms there. I went to St. Joseph and St. Anne grammer school. Kelly High School.

"Gerties" I had my first ice cream cone

"Davis" school was a grammer school except for the third floor - It was were I went my freshman year of High School,the main building was too crowded.

"McKinley Park" every Sunday, my brothers (I have nine of them no sisters)and I would go swimming at the pool and fishing in the lagoon.

Did you know the fire house right off Archer Avenue was the fire house they used in the movie "Backdraft"?

Would you happen to have a picture of the newspaper stand outside of the bank on Archer Avenue?

I would be willing to pay for copies of anything you have. Reading your e-mail has brought back so many memories.

"back-of-the-yards" On a really windy day the smell would hang over our neighborhood.

My thoughts are all over the place while sending this msg. I just can't believe I found this wed site.

If you send me some questions about what you are interested in I'll try and answer them for you.

Anne

AnswerHi, I loved reading everyone else's memories of Brighton Park in Chicago and wanted to contribute some of my own. My grandparents lived on Troy Street, off of Archer and Kedzie in Brighton Park. I remember:

• Huck Finn Donuts
• White Castles that had tall stools along the windows, but no tables and chairs.
• Archer Avenue Big Store where I got my favorite winter coat as a child and my First Holy Communiion dress.
• Fannie May Candies
• Mom showing me the windows of what used to be Petrie's clothing shop, where she worked as a teenager in the 1950s.
• My grandfather holding my hand as I walked along the black, marble ledges around Fortuna's Funeral Home.
• The small delicatessen store called "Shlizes" (may be spelled wrong) that my grandmother used to take me to. It smelled so great in there! We always bought what we called, "Grandma's Bolonia." You had to peel the skin off each slice.
• Chesdan's Pizza
• Walking through the alley to Brown's Chicken.
• A&P
• Driving to Lindy's Gertie's Ice Cream to pick up Hamburgers and French fries. The hamburgers were hot and delicious. The fries where hot, somehow soggy yet crunchy, and perfectly salty, and they kind of stuck to the wax paper bags they were put in.
• Most of all, I remember my grandparents and their perfectly beautiful, 2nd floor, 2-flat house that was built in the 1920s with gorgeous woodwork everywhere and "diamond" doorknobs in all the rooms.

AnswerWe have a nice photo of my husband's great-grandparents boarding/rooming house at 3214 South Ashland Avenue from 1966. We have proof that Maria & Philip Hector purchased the property in 1865. The house still stands, is still being used as a rooming house after all these years. It's had some re-shingling and maybe a small addition on the back, but is basically unchanged. My husband's father grew up there. Boarders used to be employees of the nearby rolling mill and the stockyards. Have some funny stories about them. AnswerThe Polish delicatessen on W.43rd St or Pope John Paul II was Sliz Delicatessen, Another happy memory of Brighton Park is Brighton Park Art & Hobby Center (now Brighton Flower Shop), Where I would get some outstanding scale model buildings you'd glue together, etc.