Are hipsters moving to Uptown? (Chicago, Henry: limousine, home, luxury)

[Drover]

First, you don't seem to get what it takes to earn true hispter cred. The best way to earn it is to move into a marginal neighborhood, or better yet, establish some sort of eclectic business in a storefront in a marginal neighborhood. Think High Fidelity when Rob Gordon walks into his vintage vinyl record shop on the corner of Milwaukee and Honore, proclaiming it is "located in a neighborhood that attracts the bare minimum of window shoppers" and he gets by "because of the people who make a special effort to shop here" -- that is, fellow hipsters. Wicker Park was about as iffy in 1999 when that movie was shot as Uptown is today.

To that end, go back up to Uptown and go look at the area around Lawrence and Broadway. A whole lot has changed there in just a few years. Yes, parts of Uptown are still struggling, yet the Lawrence/Broadway portion of it appears to have established a critical mass of hipster and yuppie joints.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Over a period of about five years, Reagan told the story of the "Chicago welfare queen" who had 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards, and collected benefits for "four nonexisting deceased husbands," bilking the government out of "over $150,000." The real welfare recipient to whom Reagan referred was actually convicted for using two different aliases to collect $8,000. Reagan continued to use his version of the story even after the press pointed out the actual facts of the case to him.

Arguing the details of one anecdote used to illustrate a broader point is basically a way of ignoring that point. The "welfare queen" was basically a metaphor for welfare fraud, which by most accounts is only slightly less rampant today as it was 20 years ago.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Drover

First, you don't seem to get what it takes to earn true hispter cred. The best way to earn it is to move into a marginal neighborhood, or better yet, establish some sort of eclectic business in a storefront in a marginal neighborhood. Think High Fidelity when Rob Gordon walks into his vintage vinyl record shop on the corner of Milwaukee and Honore, proclaiming it is "located in a neighborhood that attracts the bare minimum of window shoppers" and he gets by "because of the people who make a special effort to shop here" -- that is, fellow hipsters. Wicker Park was about as iffy in 1999 when that movie was shot as Uptown is today.

To that end, go back up to Uptown and go look at the area around Lawrence and Broadway. A whole lot has changed there in just a few years. Yes, parts of Uptown are still struggling, yet the Lawrence/Broadway portion of it appears to have established a critical mass of hipster and yuppie joints.

More than hipsters, Gays are--and always have been--leading the charge into Uptown. That's the big difference between Uptown and the old Wicker Park--which was really colonized by artists. Every block club meeting is filled with what I've come to call the "Gay Crime-Fighting Mafia". They form 911 trees, fill out CAPS half-sheets, and form committees to address loitering, gangs, and drug sales. And they are the core of the anti-Helen Shiller regime in Uptown.

Uptown is in this really advantageous spot for gays in that it basically connects "NorthHalsted" to Andersonville. And many of the most vibrant bars in Uptown are gay bars, from the sporty "Crew" to the aptly named "Big Chicks". A new "Oscar Wilde-themed" bar is about to open next to Crew on Broadway.

The hipster infusion into Uptown seems to be a new phenomenon--but it is starting to happen. There have always been a number of radical hippie types in Uptown, but the newer brand of hipster is a recent addition.

[kellykapow]

Originally Posted by Drover

First, you don't seem to get what it takes to earn true hispter cred. The best way to earn it is to move into a marginal neighborhood, or better yet, establish some sort of eclectic business in a storefront in a marginal neighborhood. Think High Fidelity when Rob Gordon walks into his vintage vinyl record shop on the corner of Milwaukee and Honore, proclaiming it is "located in a neighborhood that attracts the bare minimum of window shoppers" and he gets by "because of the people who make a special effort to shop here" -- that is, fellow hipsters. Wicker Park was about as iffy in 1999 when that movie was shot as Uptown is today.

To that end, go back up to Uptown and go look at the area around Lawrence and Broadway. A whole lot has changed there in just a few years. Yes, parts of Uptown are still struggling, yet the Lawrence/Broadway portion of it appears to have established a critical mass of hipster and yuppie joints.

I agree about the Lawrence/Broadway area. There seems to be something worthwhile going on over there. But, in order for these supposed hipster kids to make a 'special effort to shop here,' there has to be some place they'd like to shop. Circa 1999, I wasn't in Wicker Park so I don't know what kind of shopping could be found there at that point in time. But I'd only guess that American Apparel and Urban Outfitters moved in a little later. Just a thought. I don't know of any place I'd shop in Uptown, I did notice theres a nice Borders or Barnes and Noble by the Aragon Ballroom, but other than that the only retail stores I've seen are Rainbow or the Unique Thrift Store.... but I do make my away up there occasionally to go to The Spot for dinner, or next door to the Uptown Tattoo Factory.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by kellykapow

I agree about the Lawrence/Broadway area. There seems to be something worthwhile going on over there. But, in order for these supposed hipster kids to make a 'special effort to shop here,' there has to be some place they'd like to shop. Circa 1999, I wasn't in Wicker Park so I don't know what kind of shopping could be found there at that point in time. But I'd only guess that American Apparel and Urban Outfitters moved in a little later. Just a thought. I don't know of any place I'd shop in Uptown, I did notice theres a nice Borders or Barnes and Noble by the Aragon Ballroom, but other than that the only retail stores I've seen are Rainbow or the Unique Thrift Store.... but I do make my away up there occasionally to go to The Spot for dinner, or next door to the Uptown Tattoo Factory.

Well, I'll give you a hint. It wasn't American Apparel or Urban Outfitters or Borders that made WP cool. It wasn't anything corporate. It was small business. Locally owned joints. They're around in Uptown. Not like WP, maybe, but they're out there.

[dragoro]

Originally Posted by neonwattagelimit

It seems to me that while welfare queens probably did exist, Reagan made it out to be a a far bigger problem than it actually was.

Nonsense, theyve been around long before reagan.

[bobbivalentino]

kid sister lives in uptown and flosstradamus lives there too.
that's pretty much as hipster as it gets...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by kellykapow

I agree about the Lawrence/Broadway area. There seems to be something worthwhile going on over there. But, in order for these supposed hipster kids to make a 'special effort to shop here,' there has to be some place they'd like to shop. Circa 1999, I wasn't in Wicker Park so I don't know what kind of shopping could be found there at that point in time. But I'd only guess that American Apparel and Urban Outfitters moved in a little later. Just a thought. I don't know of any place I'd shop in Uptown, I did notice theres a nice Borders or Barnes and Noble by the Aragon Ballroom, but other than that the only retail stores I've seen are Rainbow or the Unique Thrift Store.... but I do make my away up there occasionally to go to The Spot for dinner, or next door to the Uptown Tattoo Factory.

Wow, you sound quite young. Both American Apparel and Urban Outfitters are very recent additions to Wicker Park, and any real hipster avoids those places like the plague. Wicker Park was "coolest" when it was dicey and offered a sense of intimacy to the hipster scene. As more of a bourgeoise hipster myself, I'd prefer to live there now--even though my wife pines for the 90s glory days.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Wow, you sound quite young. Both American Apparel and Urban Outfitters are very recent additions to Wicker Park, and any real hipster avoids those places like the plague.

Yup. Those types of stores moving in pretty much signaled the death of Wicker Park as an artist enclave, and its morphing into Lincoln Park 2.0.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by via chicago

Yup. Those types of stores moving in pretty much signaled the death of Wicker Park as an artist enclave, and its morphing into Lincoln Park 2.0.

I think the death of Wicker Park started about 7 years ago. Those stores are just the final nails in the coffin.