Some suburb pics (56K BEWARE!) (Chicago, Naperville: weddings, maintenance, living)

[Stiery23]

Could someone take pics of the homes in the area off Glenview Road south of North Shore Country Club?

[ahava]

Originally Posted by Stiery23

Wow, I was impressed by the west suburbs. But the North Shore is incredible! Nothing like the rest of the Midwest..except for maybe parts of West County in St. Louis. Could someone take pics of Lincolnshire please?

Originally Posted by Anthera

I would be interested to see Lincolnshire. I never go there per se, but drive by all the time.

I work in Lincolnshire so I'll volunteer to take some photos this week.

[Steve-o]

Before I left for WI on Saturday, I decided to hit up the weekly downtown Wheaton car show and snap some pics on the ride in, the show, and the ride out. Enjoy!





http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee208/illinoisnative/ConcertinWheatonpark.jpg (broken link)







http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee208/illinoisnative/Ivy-coveredWheatonoutdoordining.jpg (broken link)





http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee208/illinoisnative/SMARTinWheaton.jpg (broken link)

[SteelCityRising]

Absolutely breathtaking photos, everyone! Having grown up in suburbia I usually can not withstand being subjected to images of blatant sprawl, but I must admit that I am stunned by the sheer beauty of ChicagoLand. This is by far the best and most comprehensive collection of photos I have seen thus far on this forum, and that should be taken as an immense compliment coming from an individual who has photographed nearly every square inch of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Here are a few questions I did have though, and it would be wonderful if someone could please address them for me:

1. What was with that "Save Evanston; Stop The Tower" sign that was displayed in the front yard of the one photo? Was that in reference to that God-awful Chicago Spire that they plan to build in the Windy City? I think Chicago's current skyline is easily in the Top 3 in the United States for beauty, and it might even be my second pick behind Pittsburgh's skyline. I think the addition of the Spire will only serve to make the skyline appear "gawdy."
2. Just to make this rather foggy concept crystal clear to me: People in ChicagoLand actually purchase beautiful homes just to tear them down and build ostentatious McMansions on the very same lots? While I appreciate the beautiful photography of one of the contributors to the thread, I was a bit offended by her calling some homes that would be upscale in my area of Pennsylvania "tear-down candidates." You have honestly got to be kidding me. How can this be permitted to occur? I suppose infilling the suburbs is better than sprawl, but whatever happened to keeping historic neighborhoods intact? I nearly cried (literally) when I fell in love with one split-level home a few pages back on this thread and then saw that it would likely be torn down. Please save me a nice Victorian in Evanston before they are all gone!

A brief reply to each of those would suffice, as I do not wish to divert this thread off-topic. I just spent a very long amount of time falling in love with each and every photo that was posted, and I hope to see more in the weeks to come. Does anyone have any photos of Joliet, or is that not really one of Chicago's "suburbs?" What about Gary? East Chicago? I know this thread is supposed to be a feel-good one, but where do the middle-class in Greater Chicago live? Surely a CPA like myself would never be able to afford a $2,000,000 home in Evanston!

[Steve-o]

ScranBarre, I dont have photos of Joliet nor Gary or East Chicago. Personally, those towns have areas that are far too rough for me to feel comfortable going into. lol Joliet is growing like a weed, and most of the new parts of the city is just suburban sprawl, although its pretty nice. Gary? I wouldnt go through there unless I had a police escort. lol

Here are a few other pics from the weekend...












http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee208/illinoisnative/1925Indian.jpg (broken link)

If anyone objects to the car show photos, let me know. I figured Id post them because, well, theyre suburban locales, and show the community and the goings-on that take place in said parts.

[SteelCityRising]

"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to Steve-O again." Mumble, mumble. Grrrrr.....

[chet everett]

I think the car show photos are great. While I do love the cars, the fact is that you'd have to be BLIND & stupid to not realize that these show off EXACTLY what towns that sponsor such shows want to convey -- the dining, shopping, fun-living-after work kind of thing that makes SO MANY suburban Chicago towns PERFECT for families!

These kinds of things are the PERFECT excuse to go for a little walk ,buy some popcorn and/or ice cream, wave hello to the neighbors and scoff at anybody that thinks the suburbs are boring. Sure, you won't find a mass of tattooed/pierced hipsters hanging out pretending to be brooding, but you can walk home without some bum peeing on you and won't have to avert your eyes as people of indeterminate gender grope each other.

Wheaton, in particular, has a really nice mix of more traditional looking housing. Most of the teardowns near the town center do a good job of harmonizing with the existing stock.


BTW I am quite sure that no one in Evanston gives a damn about the Spire being constructed in Chicago. Those "tower" comments were/are a reference to the overly large condo tower(s) approved for Evanston itself. Too many of the elected officials buy into the nonsense that there is some sort of "sales tax pot o' gold" that comes from mixed used developments. I personally have seen MANY of these be an utter flop.

The reality of split levels is that they are difficult to renovate and the stairs are NOT ideal for either families with young kids or aging baby boomers. A tasteful teardown is generally a smart move.

In hardly any town have builders torn down well constructed larger Victorians or other homes that have reasonable room sizes and charming features. Generally there is EXCELLENT demand for attractive homes. The vast majority of teardowns have been smaller homes that are situated awkwardly on their lots. In such cases the design compromises that would need to be made to 'preserve' some of the structure would almost certainly lead to homes that are less appealing than starting from a clean slate.

[Nysee53]

ScranBarre,

1. The signs "Save Evanston, Stop the Tower" are in response to the proposed 49 story condominium/hotel tower that a North Shore developer wants to build in the center of Downtown Evanston on Fountain Square. Much of what used to be Downtown Evanston has been replaced by very large high-rise condominium towers. Many with units that are priced above $3,000,000 towards the higher floors. Many Evanstonians are opposed to all this development.

2. Evanston is actually an anti-teardown community like Oak Park, Lake Forest, and River Forest. Evanston is the most liberal when it comes to okaying teardown projects of those three, but certainly more conservative than communities like Hinsdale or Winnetka. Evanston has lost many homes due to the teardown phenomenon, as has most affluent suburbs as well as urban neighborhoods. In Chicago we definitely tend to teardown before we rehab because land is so valuable. I am a developer and my specialty is teardown development. A $500,000 home could easily turn into a $1.5 million home. It is difficult to sell older homes here in Chicago. Hinsdale, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Western Springs, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, La Grange, Evanston, Clarendon Hills, Highland Park, Deerfield, Skokie, Northbrook, Northfield, etc. have lost much of their original housing stock. Most teardowns on the North Shore tend to be tasteful, but they do teardown many homes that should be rehabbed and are very beautiful. A very pretty home at 777 Prospect Avenue in Winnetka has been lost and I thought it was one of the most beautiful homes I had ever seen.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I think the car show photos are great. While I do love the cars, the fact is that you'd have to be BLIND & stupid to not realize that these show off EXACTLY what towns that sponsor such shows want to convey -- the dining, shopping, fun-living-after work kind of thing that makes SO MANY suburban Chicago towns PERFECT for families!

These kinds of things are the PERFECT excuse to go for a little walk ,buy some popcorn and/or ice cream, wave hello to the neighbors and scoff at anybody that thinks the suburbs are boring. Sure, you won't find a mass of tattooed/pierced hipsters hanging out pretending to be brooding, but you can walk home without some bum peeing on you and won't have to avert your eyes as people of indeterminate gender grope each other.

lol

Good post! Made me chuckle a bit. Yes, Wheaton, by all means, is pretty conservative. But you do have many that attend the car shows, etc, that are heavily tattooed and pierced, even some gay couples too. In fact, some car clubs that come out to the area are as hardcore as you can get. Ever met Voodoo Larry and his Voodoo Kings car club? Larry is about 7' tall, tattooed from head to toe and is the primo definition of a greaser, as are the rest of his car club. Awesome guys to chat up at the shows!! Theyre based out of Itasca and make the trek to Wheaton occasionally. They drive the most insane traditional rods you can think of. One member was there last week with an old Caddy hearse (complete with casket and skeletons) called the "Death Wagon". That guy carries around his python at the show and gets a lot of comments, too.

[Nysee53]

On the North Shore many builders have torn down well constructed Victorians, Georgians, etc. Simply because people feel they are too small for the lots. Everyone wants their home to reach the FAR maximum, which most old homes don't.