Dave Clark, Windy City Road Warrior » Chicago

Reminder: Stroll 66 on November 6th Chicago Walking tour

Dave Clark — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:41:11 +0000

Chicago Hilton, formerly the Stevens Hotel, where the Nov 6th tour begins

…and there is still time to join us! The tour begins at the Chicago Hilton Hotel, 720 S. Michigan Avenue, at exactly 12:06 p.m. (66 minutes after 11 a.m.!).

From the railroad era through the Route 66 era, Michigan Avenue and Jackson Boulevard were the main destinations for tourists and visitors in Chicago. Our December 6th Stroll on Chicago’s Route 66 will trace the history of lodgings, rail stations, and other attractions that brought the world to Chicago’s “route center.”
The tour will meet on Sunday, November 6th at 12:06 p.m. (66 minutes after 11 a.m.) at the historic Chicago Hilton Hotel, 720 S. Michigan Avenue. When built in 1927, it was the Stevens, the largest hotel in the world and convenient to two of Chicago’s six passenger rail stations: the Illinois Central and the Dearborn Station.
We will walk north along Michigan Avenue and discuss the Blackstone, the Congress, the Auditorium, the Richelieu, and the Stratford Hotels. Along the way, we will discuss “smoke-filled rooms,” labor unrest, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and the changing face of Chicago.
Turning west on Jackson, we will see the original starting point of Route 66, Chicago’s most musical corner, and the site of former luxury hotels: the Wellington, designed by Henry Ives Cobb; Burnham & Root’s Great Northern and Majestic; and Boyington and Jenney’s Grand Pacific. The tour will end at Adams and LaSalle, where the former Midland Hotel lives on as the W, and a bank building designed by D.H. Burnham & Company is now home to the J.W. Marriott. By the end of our walk, we will have a thorough understanding of why this corridor has been home to Chicago’s visitors for 140 years.
All participants in the tour will pay a discounted price equal to 66% of the regular $18.00 per person cost—that is only $12.00 per guest for a 2-hour adventure.
Reservations required. To register, send an email to: dave@windycityroadwarrior.com . Or Contact Me Here: http://windycityroadwarrior.com/Contact.html
Or call me at 312-432-1284.
I hope to see you Strolling Chicago’s Route 66 (and neighborhood) TOMORROW, November 6th, at 12:06!

Your Chicago: Route 66 Starting Point, CBS 2 Chicago

Dave Clark — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 06:45:11 +0000

…this segment with news anchor Kate Sullivan appeared on the CBS 2 Chicago 10 p.m. newscast on September 30th, 2011. It can be seen, along with its accompanying text, at the http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/09/30/your-chicago-route-66-starting-point/ Web page.

If this video makes you hungry for more, please contact me for a tour, a presentation to your library/museum/social group, or to buy a book or postcard!

dave@windycityroadwarrior.com or call me at 312-432-1284! Get your kicks with me on Route 66!

Another Promo for CBS 2 9/30 Route 66 Your Chicago Segment

Dave Clark — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:01:46 +0000

… this time I speak! I was asked the question why people come to Chicago from all around the world for their 66 adventure and I said, “It is the adventure of a lifetime that they’ve been looking forward to.” Enjoy!

Promo for CBS 2 Your Chicago Route 66 Segment

Dave Clark — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:10:21 +0000

as it appeared on the 9/29/11 newscast with anchor Kate Sullivan. Yours truly is the large guy in the Route 66 Aloha Shirt!

Oct 6 Stroll 66 on the 6th Chicago Walking Tour

Dave Clark — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:55:03 +0000

October 6 2011 tour begins at Dearborn Station in Chicago

…will begin at Dearborn Station and end with a bar crawl from the Berghoff to Miller’s Pub! It will begin at 6:06 p.m. (exactly 66 minutes after 5!) Along the way we will walk a street that was a notorious red light district at the turn of the 20th century (as far as I know, all the brothels are long gone). We will discuss many of the early skyscrapers of Chicago along Dearborn from Congress to Jackson, including the magnificent Monadnock Building.

When we reach the Federal Center, we will discuss its architecture and controversies about its construction and the structures demolished to build it. We will discuss the famous trial that happened in the old court building on this site in which Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion.

After visiting the breathtaking lobby of the Marquette Building featuring a dazzling Tiffany mosaic, we will next discuss the history of the Berghoff restaurant and its historic buildings dating from 1872–and how a little political intrigue in the early 1960s nearly led to their destruction.

Then, it will be time for libations! We will visit the Berghoff Bar at 17 West, where tour patrons can enjoy the ambiance and if they wish purchase a Berghoff Beer (or a Berghoff Root Beer).

Neon sign at Millers Pub, Wabash north of Adams (Route 66), Chicago

We will end the tour discussing the history of Miller’s Pub, its move from the original location on Adams around the corner to Wabash, and then patrons can enjoy a beverage if they wish at the bar!

All participants in the tour will pay a discounted price equal to 66% of the regular $18.00 per person cost—that is only $12.00 per guest for a 2-hour adventure.

Reservations required. To register, send an email to: dave@windycityroadwarrior.com . Or Contact Me Here: http://windycityroadwarrior.com/Contact.html
Or call me at 312-432-1284.

Tour subject to cancellation if fewer than 6 reservations are received by 10/5/11. The first six people to make reservations will receive a FREE set of five full-color Route 66 postcards!

I hope to see you Strolling Chicago’s Route 66 (and neighborhood) on the 6th of October at 6:06!

Recap of Sept 6 Stroll on Chicago’s Route 66

Dave Clark — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:18:22 +0000

Misting fourntain at Mary Bartelme Park, where the tour ended on September 6.

…It was a leisurely, fun, and fact-filled 2 hour tour for 15 happy folks at 1:06 p.m. on September 6th. We walked from Jackson Boulevard and Jefferson Street in Chicago, right across the street from Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant. Along the way we saw Chicago’s oldest church, a stretch of street that was Route 66 for only nine months back in 1953, Greektown’s restaurant row, beautiful restorations and reuses of buildings once part of the West Loop manufacturing district, the home of Bay’s English Muffins, and a visit to beautiful Mary Bartelme Park. To see more details of the tour, click here

I will be posting more info about next month’s Stroll on Chicago’s Route 66, happening on October 6th at 6:06 p.m.! For a sneak preview, click here

August 30th was free Gyros day

Dave Clark — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:33:42 +0000

Wrigleyville Dogs, 3737 N Clark Street

…in the metro Chicago area, thanks to an online promotion from Kronos Gyros. Coupons for free Gyros sandwiches were available on the Web, redeemable at dozens of restaurants that get their Gyros rotisseries from Kronos.
I love Gyros sandwiches, but as a Greektown resident I normally walk less than a half-block and get great food at Zeus Diner, Mr. Greek, or Greektown Gyros. These fine fast-food style restaurants are located at Halsted and Jackson (Route 66). (Zeus is my favorite, but the other two have an advantage in being open 24/7). However, none of my neighborhood eateries were participating in the Kronos promotion, so to get my free sandwich I had to take a pleasant drive up to Wrigleyville Dogs.
Wrigleyville Dogs is located at 3737 N. Clark Street, about a block north of Wrigley Field. Their website says they have been there since 1992, but the building is certainly older than that. It is a classic fast-food eatery and it has a fairly large menu for a short-order type of place. Hot Dogs, of course, but also Italian Beef and Sausage, Shish Kebob, Grecian Chicken, Burgers, Soup, and Chili. They also have Ice Cream, Shakes, Sundaes, Splits, Floats, Baklava, and Pies for dessert.
However, I was there for the free Gyros! I was impressed by the nice grill on the pita, the freshly sliced meat piled high, super-fresh tomatoes and combo of white and red onion. There was a little bit of Romaine Lettuce on the sandwich as well–something not normally on a Gyros as served down in Greektown. A nice surprise was that the tzatziki sauce was flavored with a bit of feta.
Whenever I am in Wrigleyville I will definitely consider going back to Wrigleyville Dogs–even if I have to pay for it! And I will keep a lookout next year to see if Kronos repeats the free offer in August 2012!

Come Stroll Chicago’s Route 66 on September 6th…

Dave Clark — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:23:05 +0000

…the first of a monthly series of special walking tours! What better day each month to celebrate the history and importance of Route 66 in Chicago than the 6th? Explore the Double-6 and its neighborhood every month on the 6th!

Month in and Month out, keep your eye on the 6th and if you are available and in the area, you will find me talking and walking somewhere on or about Route 66 in Chicago!

The time of day that each tour starts will vary, but it will always be 66 minutes after an hour! (The first tour on 9/6/11 will start at 12:66 p.m., a.k.a. 1:06 p.m. to most folks!)

On September 6th, we will explore the sights and history of Chicago’s West Loop and Greektown on and around Route 66. We will walk a street that was part of the 66 alignment for a short nine months back in 1953. We will talk about today’s restaurants and the early 20th century pioneers of affordable dining from which our current favorites evolved. We will discuss the changes in transportation through the decades that transformed this section of Chicago from tall-grass prairie to shipping center to railroad mecca and to highway corridor. Along the way, we will mention Lou Mitchell, architect Alfred Alschuler, Albert Loeb and his infamous son, and so much more!

This tour will explore the Near West Side and Greektown. It will start at Jackson and Jefferson, across the street from Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant. All participants in the tour will pay a discounted price equal to 66% of the regular $18.00 per person cost—that is only $12.00 per guest for a 2-hour adventure. Reservations required. Tour subject to cancellation if fewer than 6 reservations are received by 9/5/11. The first six people to make reservations will receive a FREE set of five full-color Route 66 postcards!

To register, send an email to: dave@windycityroadwarrior.com. Or Contact Me Here: http://windycityroadwarrior.com/Contact.html
You can also send me a twitter message or call me at 312-432-1284.

Future tours in the Stroll 66 on the 6th series will be scheduled for mornings, some in the afternoon, and some will be during Happy Hour after people are done with their 9-to-5s! (These might even include a bar crawl or two, or SIX!) Ideas in the planning stages include a tour/bar crawl that will start at Dearborn Station and include stops for libations at the Bar at the Berghoff and at Miller’s Pub, LaSalle Street Corridor tour, and a tour including the Hull House area, Maxwell Street, the Chicago Fire Academy, and the site of Grand Central Station. Stay tuned!

Route 66 Magazine Summer 2011 Cover Story…

Dave Clark — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:05:22 +0000

is about Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive and the Battle of Streeterville. The eastern beginning point/terminus of Route 66 is at Jackson Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago’s Grant Park.

The cover story for the Summer 2011 issue of Route 66 Magazine is about the Chicago Lakefront--Lake Shore Drive and The Battle of Streeterville.

I wrote this article to tell the story of how this parkway along the city’s beautiful lakefront came to be built–and indeed how what once was an industrial eyesore along the waterfront was transformed into the parkland we see today.

A colorful part of the story is the legend of Cap Streeter, a ne’er-do-well who founded a shanty town along the shore north of the Chicago River, much to the chagrin of his millionaire neighbors who accused him of squatting on land they claimed to own. There were three decades of gun battles, murders, forged deeds, and lawsuits to settle the question–who REALLY owned “the shallows” of Lake Michigan?

The magazine has been out since June and it may still be on some magazine stands. You can find out more information about the issue and subscribing to Route 66 Magazine at their website. Enjoy!

Online Chicago Route 66 Driving Guide

Dave Clark — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:03:21 +0000

Douglas Park Flower Hall on Route 66 (Ogden Avenue) in Chicago

Back in 2003-04, a series of five articles titled Driving Route 66 in Chicagoland was published in the Federation News, the quarterly publication of the National Historic Route 66 Federation The series began in Autumn 2003 and took readers from Ogden and Jackson in Chicago down Jackson Boulevard to Halsted Street.

In the Winter 2004 issue, we continued down Jackson through Chicago’s Loop to Lake Shore Drive. Spring 2004 saw us driving west on Adams Street from Michigan Avenue to Halsted Street in Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood. In the Summer of 2004, we continued on Adams Street to Ogden Avenue. Finally, in Autumn 2004 we took a trip down Ogden Avenue through Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood and the suburbs Cicero and Berwyn.

All five of these Driving Tour articles are now available online on this website for viewing or printing. They are in Adobe .pdf format and they are scanned as originally published in the Federation News. They are a part of my ongoing archive of articles that have appeared in the Federation News since 2002.

Some changes have inevitably occurred along Route 66 since these articles were originally published, and I try to describe those changes on the archive page. However, the general info and directions in the articles remain as useful today as when originally published.

I of course would love it if everyone would like the more detailed information available in my book, Exploring Route 66 in Chicagoland, available on this website for purchase. Please buy the book! But for those of you that would like a free overview of the Route 66 driving corridor in Chicago, please use this free resource for yourselves.