The View From 1130 South Michigan

Back around 1968, my sister Susan moved to a studio apartment on the 40th floor of the building simply called 1130 South Michigan, located in downtown Chicago. Susan just loved that apartment, and the view out the window. The view was especially beautiful at night, although I did note that looking straight down, you could see the cells on the top of Chicago Police headquarters on South State Street, as well as all the action outside the liquor store at the corner of 12th and Wabash. That high-rise apartment building is where Susan met her future husband George, who also had a studio there. After they got married, they moved to a 2 bedroom apartment on the 24th floor, which had a view of Lake Michigan, as well as the headquarters of the Illinois Central Railroad, as seen in the photograph on the left. It also had a view of a giant neon Pepsi sign, which gave the time and the temperature 24/7. To me that was a great feature, but to Susan and George, not so much.

The Illinois Central no longer exists, and it's main train station and offices were torn down years ago. Grant Park was extended to Roosevelt Road, replacing those buildings.  On the south side of that park, along Roosevelt Road, are now a row of highrise apartments and condos, including NEMA Chicago, a 76 floor tower. As you can see from the photograph on the right, back in 1970 there was nothing there but railyards. Strangely enough, Susan and George never liked that 2 bedroom apartment, despite the view, and soon moved to south suburban Flossmoor, where they rented a grand apartment in a 1930s era building right across the street from the Flossmoor IC Station. I myself miss the IC, not to mention Chicago. Time for a road trip from Denver to Chicago. And soon.