Flickchick –
Leo was (and is) at 79th and Sangamon – almost closed a few years ago but it was saved. I haven’t been to the old neighborhood in years but I went thru the Google maps a few weeks ago and was amazed – I recognized practicaly nothing. What a shame – it’s gone from what I remember as a vibrant, pulsing area to what appears to be a drab, look-alike urban landscape. Other than the sounds of traffic and the streetcars, one of the things I remeber the most was the smells of candy and popcorn that eminated from the 5 and 10 cent store (was it a Woolworth’s or a Grant’s?)as you walked down 63rd St.
My mother didn’t have a car back then so we walked everywhere. There was a tiny, neighborhood grocery store at the alley on 61st Street between Green and Halsted where all of us kids would go to get a nickle Coke and a gumball from the machine and sit in the alley to have a drink on a hot summer day. The owners name was Marge and she became a friend of the family. When we moved to 85th and California, my Dad would occassionally pick her up after work and bring her out to the “sticks” for dinner.
I often regret that my kids (who were raised in the suburbs of Indianapolis) never got to be exposed to the kind of childhoods we had – it seems like they missed a lot.(By the way , do you remember the “Rags, old iron” cart that used to come down the alleys collecting junk?)
FLICKCHICK –
We moved away from 61st and Green when I was about 6. Moved further south to 85th and California. Even after we moved I was still back in the area very often, my grandmother lived at 69th and Sangamon and my parents continued to bank at 63rd and Halsted. Went back to the area for high school tho. I went to Leo.
I’m new to the site and think it’s amazing. I lived at 61st and Green till I was about 6 and some of my fondest childhood memories are of the neighborhood and it’s theaters. There was nothing like 63rd and Halsted in the early 50’s. The apartment building we lived in had about 3 or 4 other kids about my age (one of the girls was about 3 years older) and our parents would let us go to the “show” as a group by ourselves. (Since it was usually to the Empress, it was just around the corner. We’d head off with (I think) 35cents each- 25 cents to get in and a dime for popcorn. What a treat that was on a hot summer day because it was “Cool Inside” and our apartment sure wasn’t. Once in awhile we were allowed to go to the Englewood but only on Saturdays. The real treat came when our parents would take us to the Southtown (we wren’t allowed to go ourselves, it was too far.) When you’re 5 or 6 years old, the Southtown was like magic. The pond in the lobby and what seemed like the largest candy counter in the world. (If I remeber there was also a nursery where the adults could leave their real little ones during the movie) I may be mistaken about the nursery but I seem to remember it. I do definitely remeber being overwhelmed by the sheer size and opulence of the place – nothin like it in todays mall boxes.
I still miss the sounds of the street cars and the fire engines at nite. When we 1st moved away to the boondocks (almost Evergreen Park) I wasn’t able to sleep at nite because it was so quiet.
Flickchick –
Leo was (and is) at 79th and Sangamon – almost closed a few years ago but it was saved. I haven’t been to the old neighborhood in years but I went thru the Google maps a few weeks ago and was amazed – I recognized practicaly nothing. What a shame – it’s gone from what I remember as a vibrant, pulsing area to what appears to be a drab, look-alike urban landscape. Other than the sounds of traffic and the streetcars, one of the things I remeber the most was the smells of candy and popcorn that eminated from the 5 and 10 cent store (was it a Woolworth’s or a Grant’s?)as you walked down 63rd St.
My mother didn’t have a car back then so we walked everywhere. There was a tiny, neighborhood grocery store at the alley on 61st Street between Green and Halsted where all of us kids would go to get a nickle Coke and a gumball from the machine and sit in the alley to have a drink on a hot summer day. The owners name was Marge and she became a friend of the family. When we moved to 85th and California, my Dad would occassionally pick her up after work and bring her out to the “sticks” for dinner.
I often regret that my kids (who were raised in the suburbs of Indianapolis) never got to be exposed to the kind of childhoods we had – it seems like they missed a lot.(By the way , do you remember the “Rags, old iron” cart that used to come down the alleys collecting junk?)
FLICKCHICK –
We moved away from 61st and Green when I was about 6. Moved further south to 85th and California. Even after we moved I was still back in the area very often, my grandmother lived at 69th and Sangamon and my parents continued to bank at 63rd and Halsted. Went back to the area for high school tho. I went to Leo.
I’m new to the site and think it’s amazing. I lived at 61st and Green till I was about 6 and some of my fondest childhood memories are of the neighborhood and it’s theaters. There was nothing like 63rd and Halsted in the early 50’s. The apartment building we lived in had about 3 or 4 other kids about my age (one of the girls was about 3 years older) and our parents would let us go to the “show” as a group by ourselves. (Since it was usually to the Empress, it was just around the corner. We’d head off with (I think) 35cents each- 25 cents to get in and a dime for popcorn. What a treat that was on a hot summer day because it was “Cool Inside” and our apartment sure wasn’t. Once in awhile we were allowed to go to the Englewood but only on Saturdays. The real treat came when our parents would take us to the Southtown (we wren’t allowed to go ourselves, it was too far.) When you’re 5 or 6 years old, the Southtown was like magic. The pond in the lobby and what seemed like the largest candy counter in the world. (If I remeber there was also a nursery where the adults could leave their real little ones during the movie) I may be mistaken about the nursery but I seem to remember it. I do definitely remeber being overwhelmed by the sheer size and opulence of the place – nothin like it in todays mall boxes.
I still miss the sounds of the street cars and the fire engines at nite. When we 1st moved away to the boondocks (almost Evergreen Park) I wasn’t able to sleep at nite because it was so quiet.