Memoirous

Something I’ve noticed lately is a nostalgia for dive—or maybe it’s simply plain nostalgia for what used to be. I see it in blogs such as Lost City , Ghost Signs , and Uptown History . As soon as something’s gone we begin to miss it the most. Read here the Richard Nickel’s story of how he lived and died to save some of Chicago’s most fabulous landmarks. Recently I helped curate Portraits of Uptown: Photos by Bob Rehak . Between 1973 and 1977 Rehak a young copy editor at Leo Burnett ad agency downtown took photos in Uptown, preserving in film and now digitally what the neighborhood used to be. His collection of over 5,000 images is a virtually treasure trove. We had our opening reception Friday at Everybody’s Coffee and the place was packed out. I talked with several people who lived here during that time period and they all said what a great place Uptown was! Yet . . . you look at the photos and it looks like a dump, a dive, a ruined city. Trash swirling at t...