Do you have a stupid question about Chicago? Start here! (house, to buy)

[gardener34]

What is the deal with no truck with truck license plates on lake shore drive, yet they allow SUVs which weigh just as much on there?

[MiniMissMixxMatchMaxx]

i liked the title of this thread

[mrcastro]

Did not want to start a thread on this. But why does Elston not have a bus route? How come The foster bus stops at jefferson park, and does not travel all the way to foster/cumberland? An old guy told me that the foster bus use to travel to cumberland(or canfield i forgot what he told
me) but not anymore. Those are the only two streets I can think of.

[Golden Camel]

Originally Posted by mrcastro

Did not want to start a thread on this. But why does Elston not have a bus route? How come The foster bus stops at jefferson park, and does not travel all the way to foster/cumberland? An old guy told me that the foster bus use to travel to cumberland(or canfield i forgot what he told
me) but not anymore. Those are the only two streets I can think of.

There were actually two bus routes on Elston.
41 Elston/Clybourn ran from downtown on Clybourn to about Belmont and then moved over to Elston where it ran to the intersection of Elston and Milwaukee. (Many runs terminated officially or unofficially at the Forest Glen garage, just before Central.) It was eliminated during the great purge of 1997.

13 Elston was a rush hour bus that ran all the way downtown on Elston. The northern terminus changed over the years. I think at one point it ran all the way to Milwaukee, but was gradually pared back. 13 was eliminated well before 41, but I can't tell you exactly when.

Before the Jefferson Park 'L' station was opened Route 92 was Foster/Northwest Highway. The bus switched between Foster and NW Hwy at Milwaukee. There was Route 92W that went from Milwaukee to Canfield. When the Jefferson Park station opened, 92W was replaced by 64 Foster-Lawrence that ran west from JP over a loop consisting of Foster, Canfield, and Lawrence. Some buses ran clockwise, others counter-clockwise.

A lot of bus routes that used to run to the city limits were split when Jefferson Park was opened. I also believe that the extended 'L' line pulled a lot of ridership from the Elston routes which weren't all that far away.
Remember that Elston used to be a corridor consisting mostly of factories. When the factories went away, that put a major dent in any remaining ridership.

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by gardener34

What is the deal with no truck with truck license plates on lake shore drive, yet they allow SUVs which weigh just as much on there?

I think they mean semi-"trucks".

I could be wrong, though.

[A2DAC1985]

What is the deal with the water cannon over the river? What is the point of that?

Here's what I'm talking about (relevant footage at the 1:07 mark)


One Day in Chicago - YouTube





It seems like all the boats are waiting for it to stop shooting water before they go. But I've seen many videos where boats continue through the water stream.

So, it doesn't appear to be a "signal" to stop and go.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by A2DAC1985

What is the deal with the water cannon over the river? What is the point of that?

It's just something to look at, on a warm summer day it mists the people nearby.

[ChiGuy2.5]

Ok. I asked one of the architecture cruise guys this question and he had no idea what I was talking about.

What are the grates that exist on the sides of skyscrapers for? Sometimes they are at the very top, sometimes in the middle, sometimes throughout like in the Trump Tower. If I had to guess it would be for heating/cooling ventilation... Anyone have any more information on what they are for?

[jwaiter]

air ventilation would be my guess

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5

Ok. I asked one of the architecture cruise guys this question and he had no idea what I was talking about.

What are the grates that exist on the sides of skyscrapers for? Sometimes they are at the very top, sometimes in the middle, sometimes throughout like in the Trump Tower. If I had to guess it would be for heating/cooling ventilation... Anyone have any more information on what they are for?

They are louvers for mechanical rooms. A building as tall as Trump Tower has mechanical rooms every 20 or so floors, and the louvers are there for fresh air or exhaust air. Most of what you see are "blanks" to create the visual bands on the outside--the mechanicals don't actually use all of the louvers that you see, but Adrian Smith and the other designers decided this was a cleaner look than some haphazard pattern.