Old Timer Day Back in the Hood: Re-visiting Logan Square

What happened to the Mega Mall symbolizes the larger changes in Logan Square

Parson's invites a laid back vibe

A few weeks ago I visited a beer garden in Logan Square. Parson’s has a laid back vibe, but mostly I like the hospitality because my son works there. I grew up in Logan Square, less than a mile from the restaurant. I know the area - better than any of the 20 to 30 somethings who frequent the chicken and fish restaurant.

Me and the soccer dads

I was with 3 old friends, all of us CPS products and Chicago guys. One friend spent a few years two blocks away. Another grew up in Humboldt Park. Another travelled to the area to see a high school love interest. We remember the neighborhood when it looked and sounded much different, some changes we appreciate and some we lament.

All of us have gray hairs and some of us are bald. We have dad bods of some form. We’re in (relatively) good shape, could still play one full court basketball game. Our fashion is cargo shorts, golf shirts or fashionable athletic apparel. We were also one of the few multi-racial tables in a sea of hipster white.

We struck up a conversation with the two women seated next to us. One of them white and the other looked bi-racial. One response caught us all off guard.

“You boys visiting the city from the suburbs tonight? A little adventure for you dads?”

I was incredulous, “Visiting? I’m from this neighborhood.”

My friend chimed in, “Yeah, I lived two blocks away. How are you gonna say we are from the

suburbs?”

Now, mind you, my friend now lives in Lagrange - an idyllic suburb of well financed schools and manicured lawns.

Bungalow belt block

The rest of us live in Chicago's "bungalow belt" communities, which are far removed from much of anything trendy. Our communities have block parties, garages that face the alley and neighbors who get angry when you park in front of the house for too long.

“OK, look at you guys. First of all, you’re all well groomed. Look around here, it’s nothing but hipsters. You don't exactly fit the profile.”

Sorry, just had to have some fun with Hipster fashion

I looked around, and sure enough, there were very few men who made regular trips to the barber. There were guys with tattoos on their faces, unkempt man buns and mismatched clothes with strange color combinations. I got the feeling some of the staff slept in the same clothes they wore to work that day. Pat of me wanted to yell, "Get off my lawn!" Just to be that angry middle aged white guy.

“So, you had us all figured out? Thought we were suburban soccer dads?”

“Well, now that I hear you talking, I can tell I wasn’t 100% right about you all.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you all sound like you’re from the city.”

“From the city, what’s that mean?”

This time she spoke directly towards me, “You obviously didn't grow up around all white people.”

I responded with more incredulity, “First I'm not hipster enough and now I’m not white enough?” and we all had a good laugh.

“Just like most of the people who lived here 20-30 years ago, you’ve moved on." She looked around at us and asked, "Where do you all live now?”

In case you don't know where Galewood is located

She knew of South Shore and Jefferson Park, but when it got to me I said, "I live in Galewood.”

“I’m not familiar with that, is that a suburb?”

"No, it's a neighborhood in the city. It's by the Brickyard Mall."

She looked confused, “Never heard of the Brickyard. What is that?”

I shook my head, “I live west of Austin,” I paused and she still had no clue. “West of Cicero?” Still no clue. “How about Pulaski?”

“You live west of Pulaski? Is that still the city?”

English Tudor in Galewood

“Yeah, go west on Fullerton or North Avenue about four miles and there’s a little pocket of single family homes, bungalows, English Tudors and Georgians. Cops, firefighters, teachers and city workers - we all live there because of the residency requirement.”

“I had no idea, obviously I didn’t grow up in Chicago. To be honest, for most people I know Kedzie is the farthest west anyone’s comfortable adventuring.”

I looked around the beer garden and my thoughts raced. These people have no idea what it was like when there was gangs, dilapidated housing and people everywhere. There were no cafes and coffee houses, there was the Mega Mall and Father and Sons Pizza on Milwaukee. Spanish was spoken by most, and if you were white it was presumed you were Polish. The boulevards they picnic on was our football field. I remember when riding the Fullerton bus to Narragansett and the Brickyard was the end of the line and it felt so far. Now, that's where I live.

On the way out the lady told us, "Hope we didn't offend you gentlemen. Thanks for enlightening us."

The expert on identifying people not from the city, got quite an education that day. Her expertise was limited to a small sliver of recent gentrification, but was ignorant of the vast areas beyond. The vast areas of the city that represent multi-generational Chicago residents.

Funny thing, there's nobody left to tell them what was once Logan Square, or Wicker Park, Humboldt Park or Bucktown for that matter. I know more people who moved west to Galewood, Montclare, Dunning and Elmwood Park than stayed back in the old neighborhood. It's the cycle of any city and anyone's life in the city - change, new people, migrating out of the city center.

People might say, "you live so far." But I say, "No, you live far. There's more people in my neighborhood from the city and serving the city than any of these trendy neighborhoods that are 'close.'"

She got me good though. But damn, did she have to depict me as a soccer dad?