The October Chicago Magazine Is Here!

I live in Denver, but still receive Chicago Magazine each month so I can keep up with what is happening in my old hometown, even if it does have a north side bias (I myself, as regular blog readers know, grew up in the south side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago).  This month's issue was especially interesting.  For example, I was shocked to see an ad offering condos for sale at Tribune Tower, the iconic home of the Chicago Tribune. Evidently, the Tribune Company sold the building to a real estate developer and last year moved their operation to an office building overlooking Millennium Park.  Is nothing sacred anymore?  I also saw that there is a new 74 story luxury condominium tower at 1000 South Michigan, designed by Helmut Jahn no less, just a block from where my sister Susan and brother-in-law George used to live.  Sounds like a perfect place for a second home during baseball season (the White Sox are supposed to be contenders next year, so it would be well worth the money).

However, what I found most interesting was a story about the Frank Lloyd Wright designed B. Harley Bradley House, located in Kankakee, Illinois. The article follows the history of the house and it's owners from the time it was built to the present day, and is a tale of suicide, kidnapping, murder, and fire.  This story attracted my attention because I have actually been in this house (seen in the photo on the right). Back when my parents and I were living in the south suburban Chicago suburb of Country Club Hills (and for the record, there were no country clubs, hills, or for that matter even trees there), we were a fairly short drive from Kankakee.  We actually had dinner at this house several times back when it was a restaurant called Yesteryear. And it was a truly enjoyable experience, dining in that fabulous house. I suspect there must have been some sort of early bird special that they offered, since this was a pretty fancy restaurant.  The house is located on a residential street by the Kankakee River, with a second Frank Lloyd Wright home right next door (built by the brother of the Bradley House owner). The restaurant eventually closed, and after a long and twisted history, the house is now a museum.  And if you are ever in Kankakee (God knows why, but if you are), be sure to visit it.