A Weekend in Chicagoland!

Summer 2007.

Roachy called me about 3 weeks ago to see if I would be down to go see some baseball games and hang around in Chicagoland. This is always a good time, so I scheduled a shift change and we were on our way.

We left Friday afternoon after all of us had finished work.  Clarkson had brought each of us a bottle of water and it wasn't long before the water went to work.  Anyway, we had stopped in Mexicantown to get some alcoholic beverages; so we needed a spot to relieve ourselves.  I knew of a great spot only 2 minutes away; so Roachie got to go into his first abandoned building.

(This building isn't on the site because it's just a boring building shell)

Not soon into the trip, some Millers were cracked.  Roachie and I were enjoying ourselves...

...Clarkson not so much.  I know what it's like to drive a bunch of drunks and Clarkson stayed a lot more cheerful than I do.

By the time we got to Chicago, Roachy & I were having quite the good time - especially Roach.  Clarkson soon joined us when we each had a Jooze.  Clarkson couldn't believe the effect of the Jooze.

(Jooze = 10% Malt Liquor with caffeine, taurine & ginseng)

With the aid of Roach's Chicago knowledge, we headed to the Wrigley Field area because of its bar district.

We had to take our photographic opportunity in front of the sign.  Clarkson was really excited to be at Wrigley and the Jooze helped a bit too.

Friday was kind of lame.  We went to one bar and it was mediocre. We ended up getting to Chicago late and got to the bar at about 12:30.  After having one beer, we got to talking to some guy who said that there are after hours bars in Chicago and we should go there soon if we hope to get in.

We left said bar, and headed in the direction he pointed us. After wandering about 20 minutes, we got pointed in another direction.  This occurred until finally we asked someone who was actually going to one of the after hours bars and showed us where it was. I really wish we just wouldn't have found it; it was $15 cover charge, where Clarkson paid for a drunken Roachy and we only stayed for a few drinks because the bar was lame and Roach was swaying on his feet.

After a fun walk back to the car, we all passed out for a couple hours and saved the hotel fee.

The next day, Clarkson & Roachie woke up refreshed and energetic after a mere 3 hours.  I don't know how they did it, but I wasn't having it. I was grumpy, tired and hot and told them to leave me alone while I slept in the car, no tint, anti-shirt and in a decently busy district of Chicago. So Clarkson and Roachy left with my camera and money to go get tickets.

Here Clarkson looks sad about having to wait 3 hours to get into Wrigley Field.

...while I was asleep.

Eventually, Clarkson & Roachy came and woke me up.  I was more refreshed, but still boiling.  Lousy hot leather interior.

Harry Caray of Cubs announcing fame.

Play it again sports van.  Very nice.

We headed into a liquor store in Chicago and the owner had a picture of Sylvester Stallone Steven Seagal.

Roachy thought it was because of Stallone Seagal being from Chi-town; but he's from NYC Lansing.

Warriner gave me a heads up on this being Steven Seagal. Thanks buddy!

After pre gaming at some diner, enjoying $7 Pabst Blue Ribbon pitchers & the unreal Chicago females walking by - we eventually headed over to the actual game at Wrigley Field.

Wrigley Field has played home to the Chicago Cubs since 1916 and is the second oldest Major League Baseball park behind Fenway Park (Boston).  In 1914, the park cost $250 000 to build and housed 14,000 patrons.  Today its capacity is 41,118.

Just like most old stadiums - there was some good ole troughs to utilize.

In the seventh inning I had went in and found some girl walking out - apparently she had squatted in the troughs.  Classy.

Roachy pointed out to me that there are flags atop the scoreboard which represent all of the National League teams in their respective divisions & that they are rearranged according to the daily positional changes in the divisions.

Shortly after that, Roachy passed out. He only drank 6 beers, but has trouble staying awake while sitting. I put his sunglasses on him so that he wasn't so noticeable; but he sort of slumped into an odd, know-that-he's-passed-out position.

The usher just joked and told us that he had the right idea.  If it was Comerica; we would have been leaving him there.

Roachy did miss this.  The Cubs had a fight the day before and they were stinking it up this day as well.  So when a remotely questionable call came up, Lou Piniella came out of the dugout and started to argue.  He was ejected quickly and he kicked dirt on the umpire, kicked his hat several times and generally entertained the crowd.

The Cubs were giving out some free coffee cups to all that attended the game.  After Lou Piniella got tossed, the outfield of Wrigley littered the field with the cups.

The game ended and we left. After sleeping for numerous innings, Roachy had to use the Chicagoland facilities.

Roachy got back to sleep soon after.

After getting Clarkson to the highway, I didn't remain awake very long either.  We were on our way to Milwaukee with plans of going out that night.

Upon arrival in Milwaukee, Clarkson refused to sleep in the car again and we got a motel. We got some pizza and Clarkson / Roachy were both wiped out.  They fell asleep and I watched the hockey game in the room.  I planned on waking them up and going downtown Milwaukee after the 2nd period, then the 3rd, then the end of the basketball game; until finally I laid down and went to bed.

I know the rule about minimal sleep when in foreign areas, and I agree - it was a chump move.

The next day, while going to sleep after Clarkson and Roachy; I did wake up before them.  I wanted to check out some Milwaukee infrastructure, but doubted Clarkson would lend me his car.

So I just walked out of the hotel and went for a walk.  I found an underpass and accepted it was probably the best thing that I was going to find.

Even though we stayed a few kilometers outside of Milwaukee, there was still some decent graffiti.  DEAPO.

I spotted some rabbits on the walk as well.

I ended the path and found out that it was closed & slated for residential development.

Once I got back from my Sunday morning walk, we departed for Milwaukee.  The highway was under construction, exits were closed, and we ended up driving over some bridge exiting Milwaukee.

It was a nice view of the shore and Lake Michigan though.

We ended up turning around at the end of the bridge, laughed at some mountain bikers wearing spandex, and headed back over the bridge towards Milwaukee.

The exit we took ran by Marquette university. Very new and very clean.  Didn't look like much to ride in either meaning.

Once through Marquette, we got onto a main road surrounded by the large cityscape of Milwaukee.

Good ole' helmet less states.

An interesting building from a distance.  Didn't see the name and don't know enough about architecture to throw out any big words.  Ask Andy Ion I guess.

The Milwaukee County Courthouse.

The Milwaukee Theatre - completed in 2003, the site was the location of the old Milwaukee Auditorium (1909) and was converted from an arena into a 4 000 seat theatre and concert hall at the cost of $42 million.

We stopped in Scandinavia for a minute it seemed.

The view along the river was nice - except for all the empty beers floating about in the Milwaukee River.

I took this picture as we got into our car, but it turned out to sound like a great place.  The Hotel Wisconsin.  I read some reviews on the internet and it sounds like a very old hotel with some character.  There were some fruity types complaining about a "death trap" elevator and spooky sounds.  Fuck that. This place sounds right up my alley & when Roachy and I head back, some reservations are being made.

Random Milwaukee Streetscape.

The reason we had stopped in downtown Milwaukee was to go to a liquor mart.  Once we found one, I was happy to finally get some malt liquor - and especially excited when it's a malt liquor I've never had.

The ultimate reason we had went to Milwaukee was to see the Brewers play at Miller Park.  Milwaukee is the only ballpark I know of that has tailgating; it was great to sit in Clarkson's car and drink Jaguars while listening to Bloc Party.

The only seats available were either obstructed view or standing room.  Roachy got the standing room and hoped to sit in the bar in the outfield.  It worried us quite a bit, but we simply walked in and sat down and everything worked out fine.  Some great $6 pints and food was had.  You're only supposed to stay there an hour, but we enjoyed ourselves until about the 7th inning, when the waitress asked us to leave.

The roof and playing field of Miller Park.

After getting thrown out of the bar, we headed down and found some seats along the left foul pole about 15 seats from the playing field; enjoying the last two innings of the game.

In the 9th inning, the Brewers closer came in and had 1 out.  I saw that Joe Borchard was up to bat and told Clarkson & Roachy that we should get on our way.  This one was over.  Brewers won the game 3-0.

We were back on the road to tackle our six hour ride home.

Leaving the state of Wisconsin and its Cheese Castles, Cheese Chalets, Cheese Clubs, &c.

Classy I-94 gasoline restroom.

At least Miller Lite aint at the end of the rainbow.

Wow.  Chicago.

There was one last stop of the trip.

Gary, Indiana. 

I've wanted to come here for so long and I wasn't disappointed.  There's a few places in the ghetto, ghetto of Detroit that are wide open like this, but Gary made its first impression as a place that's wide open AND devoid of people.

I mean more devoid of people than Detroit.

Gary was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as a home for its new plant.  It hit a peak population of approximately 180,000 around 1960.  Since 1960 though, Gary has followed many other American cities in a spiral of decline catalyzed by the ups and downs of the steel industry.  Much of Gary's decline was brought on by drugs, layoffs & crime.  US Steel never went belly up, but it only employs a fraction of its former employees.

Gary has made steps in recent years towards revitalization; but the process is slow.  There are many vacant buildings and time has failed this place.

In the above picture, you can see one of the beauty marks on the face of Gary, the U.S. Steel Yard.  Built in 2002 at the cost of $45 million, it holds 6,000 people and plays home to the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the Northern League.

We hadn't stopped in Gary to see the ball park. This was one of the first places we spotted.  Clarkson suggested going in, but there was some bike gang across the street; so we just minded our business.

(The United States Post Office; architect: Howard Cheney; built: 1936.)

We settled on this place, the Gary Public School Memorial Auditorium (Image courtesy of Preserve Indiana).  Built in 1927, the current building is only an approximate 25% of its former self.  The other three fourths of the building was destroyed by a fire in the Great Gary Arson of 1997.

What remains is the entranceway and the vestibule for the former auditorium.

As soon as I had walked in, I recognized the place from somewhere on the interweb.

Nothing special, but it was wide open and had an old school feeling to it.  I liked.

A look at the doors and an entranceway.

A walk up the stairs and a look down at the main level.

Up the stairs to the third floor and we found that the roof was absent and the concrete floors beneath us were breeding a garden of life in this vanishing structure.

The building was interesting because the top floors just had giant drops where the adjacent building used to exist.  I saw another web site and you could definitely tell that the building did have an adjacent building because this wall was unfinished.

The Gary Public Schools Memorial Auditorium looks to be staying put where it is.  Although, when you have such an impoverished city, it takes time to get things done.  This building has been slated to be saved because it was originally a tribute to war victims.

That news has to be taken with a grain of salt though; after the Great Gary Arson Fire of 97', Gary officials erected a fence around the building to protect it...but it doesn't look as if the fence has been maintained since Bone Thugs won a grammy for Crossroads.

Next, we got to driving around Gary because I was dying to see this, the Gary City Methodist Church.

The Gary City Methodist Church, a dream of William Grant Sermon, who wanted a church downtown;
"the downtown church is moving out to the suburban districts. Down in the city are boarding houses, apartments & tenements full of people. Down here are saloon & dance halls & brothels where God is forgotten. The church moves & makes its rest in peaceful suburbs where this is needed, certainly, but not as deeply as in the thick of the city's life."

The church was begun in 1924 at a cost of $650 000, where U.S. Steel contributed $325 000.  The church hybrid - a trifecta composed of a commercial section, a worship area, and a social-education unit - was designed by the Lowe & Bellenbacher firm as a gothic structure composed of Bedford Indiana Limestone.

The first sermon was delivered at the church on October 3rd, 1926. 

The church also played an important role in the early cultural makeup of Gary.  In the 20's, the Ku Klux Klan was gaining strength in Indiana & wanted to show a movie called Birth of a Nation, which glamorized and glorified the Ku Klux Klan.  Paster William Sermon blocked this showing & also welcomed black worshipers to Gary Methodist at a time where African Americans were refused entrance to white churches.

At its peak, Gary Methodist had a congregation of 3000 members, with 950 members filling the sanctuary for the church service.

The 1960's brought dwindling attendance through the 60's economic downturn & social changes.  In 1973, the church was down to 300 members & by January 1975, the remaining members were unable to pay the building upkeep and vacated.  Into the 80's the building was occupied by various tenants, another congregation, a local dance center, a halfway home, office space & storefronts until it was eventually fully abandoned.

The two buildings were number 1 & 2 for Clarkson and 2 & 3 for Roachy, so this was something new to them.  While I've walked on so much floor clothes that you couldn't see the floor, it freaked them out as they thought something was concealed by the centimeters of clothing.

I couldn't find information on the internet about the segregation of the inside structure, so I'm going to assume that this is an auditorium for the social-education unit.

Anyway, this was the first part that we wondered into.

There were no chairs on the floor of the auditorium but the balcony remained with chairs intact.

Well somewhat, Roachy told me to sit there as he wanted to take a picture of me and then proceeded to lean back against some chairs, the chairs broke and Roach was surprised,

"The chairs broke!"

"Roachy, were in an abandoned building, those types of things happen."

Haha, wow.

We wondered the corridor exiting the auditorium and into an area with a fireplace and some couches.

While I'm entertained by an auditorium, the reason we had came here was the sanctuary itself.  The Detroit Hood Church doesn't count, ever since the start of going into buildings, I've wanted to get into 2 things - an old gothic church & an arena.

I got one of those things done this day and couldn't have been happier.

Along with myself, Clarkson & Roachie were both in a general sense of amazement themselves.

We came upon the memorial to Seth Thomas, aka. Devnull.

Seth was an explorer that came & went before my time.  He died on Saturday, September 23rd, one day shy of his 24th birthday.  He didn't die exploring, he stopped to take pictures of a train on his way home and was stricken dead.

Although I never met Seth, he accumulates a great amount of respect amongst the web community I associate with, so I know he was a great person.

R.I.P. brother.

I explained the memorial to Clarkson & Roachy, looked at a few pictures and came to appreciate the place Seth loved so much.

Wondering up some stairs, we found that the balconies had seen better days & proceeded to just stand at the end of the stairs and take some pictures.

We exited the sanctuary and went up some stairs where the fireplace and couches were located, finding what appeared to be an indoor basketball court.

Once above the first floor, there were windows everywhere that revealed the fact that we were surrounded by ghetto palms and gothic architecture.

We found our way to the roof and its own overgrowth of trees.

...and this roof bridge which I opted to walk around.

Back into the building and the last interesting thing we saw was a hallway with some mean six foot doors.

Anyway, after being another victim to the Great Gary Arson of 1997, Gary Methodist has faced demolition; but recent plans include demolition of part of the building and to make the sanctuary into a ruin garden.

There was one last thing to see in Gary.  Clarkson was dying for this one.

The Palace Theatre closed in 1972. 

Jackson Five Tonite.

Bye Bye Gary, I'll be seeing you again soon.

Overall a great trip; but I should've woke them up to go out in Milwaukee and I should have taken Clarkson's car instead of walking around Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

Navi.

Sources: 1. Seth Thomas Memorial

2. IBC Engineering

3. TripAdvisor - Hotel Wisconsin

4. Preserve Indiana Editorials

5. Historic Buildings of Indiana - Memorial Auditorium

6. Chicago Tribune - Neglected Church...

7. Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana

8. City of the Century: A History of Gary, Indiana

9. Hotel Wisconsin - Fodor's Travel Guide

I might've forgotten a few sources because my computer crashed when I was in mid-editing.  If I didn't credit you and you realize this, please tell me.  Definitely not intentional; these sites put in hard work and time to bring information and I fully want to credit them.

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