Roadside Art Online
The Western Avenue And Vicinity Gallery

Archer Avenue, Chicago. A jewelbox of a tavern whose moderne flourish is totally unexpected and out of place	Abundant Life Mission, Rogers Avenue near Sheridan Road, Chicago. The applique columns and pediment are outstanding examples of make-do church architecture.	Abundant Life Mission, Rogers Avenue near Sheridan Road, Chicago	Omega Church of God in Christ, Berwyn and Winthrop, Chicago (church is gone)
Omega Church of God in Christ, Berwyn and Winthrop, Chicago (church is gone).	The Art Deco steeple at Queen of Angels Church, Western Avenue at Sunnyside, Chicago	More deco details at Queen of Angels Church, Western Avenue at Sunnyside, Chicago	Queen of Angels Church, Western Avenue at Sunnyside, Chicago
Mikro Kodesh Anshe Tiktin, Foster Avenue near California, Chicago. The synagogue, now razed, was a classic '50s box	Unexpected architectural fantasy on an ordinary street. An 1890 house remodeled by Bruce Goff in 1948. Winona near Broadway, Chicago	Winona near Broadway, Chicago	Winona near Broadway, Chicago
Winona near Broadway, Chicago	Winona near Broadway, Chicago	An ultra-Mansardian fanasty. The window treatments and curves move it beyond mere period piece. Addison at Wolcott, Chicago	The massively Mansard roof also contributes to this building's exceptional character. There are a handful of similar examples on Chicago's North Side, not all by the same architect. Addison at Wolcott, Chicago
Addison at Wolcott, Chicago	Chicago (Bridgeport neighborhood), 1990s. Brilliant use of Mansard fragments	Known locally as the "professional building," this was added to the neighborhood long before it achieved National Register status. Lakewood Avenue near Catalpa, Chicago	This beautifully kept garage is located in a National Register district of homes from the 1890s and early 1900s. Magnolia Avenue near Balmoral, Chicago
Magnolia Avenue near Balmoral, Chicago	Park Forest, Illinois. A nicely preserved 1950s suburban classic	The old Park Forest Plaza and clock tower. The Plaza was a pioneering shopping mall built in the 1950s. Besides creating a new model for retail stores, it also became a prime teen hangout spot in the 1960s and early '70s. Construction of new malls in the 1970s, especially the enclosed Lincoln Mall in Matteson, ultimately put it out of business	The current tribute to the old clock tower. The plaza fell into decrepitude long ago and went through successive attempts at revitalization. The orginal clock tower is long gone
Twin Walter Burley Griffin houses on Magnolia in Chicago	Twin Walter Burley Griffin houses on Magnolia in Chicago	Trumbull School, Foster Avenue at Ashland, Chicago. A fine example of Dwight Perkins' Chicago school (literally) architecture	The Chicago skyline is nice, but I love the ancient Illinois Central commuter train station at Roosevelt Road, now replaced
A holdout whose days were numbered	Clark Street near Gregory, Chicago. They don't make commercial buildings like this one anymore	Clark Street near Gregory, Chicago	Clark Street near Gregory, Chicago
The entrance to the former Essanay movie studio on Argyle Street in Chicago. Chaplin made movies here in 1915	Argyle Street, Chicago	Some nice detailing on an apartment building in my neighborhood	Erickson Jewelry on Clark Street in Chicago is now closed, one of the last Swedish businesses in Andersonville. Its Vitrolite sign is also one of the last of its kind
Erickson Jewelry, Clark Street in Chicago	Erickson's neon is not so bad either. Clark Steet, Chicago	Crossroads Hotel, Pulaski Road and 53rd, Chicago. I love the variance in this geomatrically symmetrical facade	Hot Grill Restaurant, Cicero Avenue, Cicero, Illinois

Sample some of Chicago's neighborhood modernism.