God In Chicago

My destination matches the stately brick mansions on this stretch of Woodlawn Avenue. Tan brick archways, adorned with Christmas lights and wreaths, form open hallways on either side of the hall.The walls rise to meet a series of large wooden beams, which run from left to right, and form the base of the hall’s A-frame ceiling. A traditional Christmas carol plays from the large organ pipes which hang over the front stage.Inside, a handful of people are scattered across the padded dark wood benches of the main hall. A man greets me, and two older people in light blue robes smile gently at me, and wish me Happy New Year. A few minutes later, a young woman in a dark robe introduced herself and welcomed me into this space.The event moves peacefully through a series of organ-backed hymns, poems read by the main speaker, and written meditations which were read aloud in unison by everyone in the hall. The eight-person, blue-robed choir provided musical interludes between the readings from the side of the front stage.

47th Street has to be the most industrial side street in this city. To drive down this street is to pass through a living monument to the part of the city that manufactured and shipped food, equipment, and materials for the entire country.My destination matches the architectural mood of the confident buildings on this boulevard. The front entrance has the look of an athletic fieldhouse. Its large stone base supports the swooping arched roof which frames the frosted glass windows of the structure’s front entrance.An elderly lady in stiletto heels accidentally drops a bracelet. We exchange good morning greetings as I pick it up and hand it to her. Inside the lobby, two ushers are discussing whether a chair should be placed in front of the auditorium door entrance. I pass them and walk inside the auditorium. The building’s arched roof is even more impressive on the inside.Small groups of people are scattered around the padded seats of this hall, waiting for the event to begin. Most of the people assembled so far

This morning, as I drive by the sleek glass windows of international schools, boutique clothing stores, upscale movie theaters, bike lanes, and restaurants I can’t help but flashback to a time when these blocks were anything but sunny, open, brightly-colored, and inviting.I thought about the people and families who lived near this stretch of Halsted Street just one generation ago. I wondered if they could have ever known now valuable their neighborhood would become...once they left.I cross North Avenue into the theater district, passed the Royal George and Steppenwolf. My destination - a large city high school - sit quietly, with a handful of cars parked in its parking lot.Four stone Greek columns frame the facade of the building’s front entrance. Colorful banners touting the school’s academic programs hand on the outside of the two-story brick structure.Inside, I pass by a dormant metal detector and I am greeted by a friendly lady who directs me down the hallway towards the auditorium. Tall gray lockers are

There was very light traffic as I passed McCormick Place onto South Lake Shore Drive. On the right side of the road, I noticed a newly-erected, simple square stone sculpture with the words "You Are Beautiful" engraved large enough for all passersby to read, even at 45-50 miles per hour.As the lake gleamed in the sunlight to my left, I passed the Museum of Science and Industry, the Jackson Park marina, and the 63rd Street beach house. I continued on, down the stately brick three-story townhouses along Jeffrey Boulevard.As I arrived at 79th Street, the streets were quiet, the shops were closed, many stores were boarded up, and many buildings looked like it had been a while since a store operated there.A short walk from the lakefront, the polygon-shaped brick structure which was my destination emerged on my left. A handful of people were scattered around this deceptively spacious auditorium when I walked in. On stage, six singers were running through their final rehearsals and sound checks.Midway through the eve

A lot is happening on the streets surrounding my destination. A beautiful mural brightens up the exterior wall of a small warehouse as two men tend to a community garden. Next to the street, trolley train tracks end abruptly at the building I am about to enter.A train car has been permanently parked in the parking lot. It looks like it could be a small breakfast-and-coffee spot, but I can’t tell. There’s an electric generator line running into it, so something cool is happening in there.My destination is unique building, on a unique intersection, in a unique section of the city. It is a large four-story polygon structure, formed by a diagonal street, which makes the building appear larger. Its brick exterior is suddenly interrupted on one side by another building covered in black-and-white sketch illustrations.I walk into the single door entrance, into a dimly lit loft like space. Murals and artistic illustrations line the exposed brick walls of the main staircase. A few neon signs shine patiently from the in

I drive down Garfield Blvd. into a part of the city which has come to acquire a reputation for being dark and dangerous. On this morning the streets are peaceful, and bright with sunlight. A viaduct stands over the street a few blocks in the distance, underneath a few CTA ‘L’ trains parked on the tracks above.This is a space that looks like it holds many stories and many histories.A short flight of stairs opens into the auditorium. The red carpet on the center aisle divides the two sections of padded dark wood benches and hardwood floors.Sets of frosted stained glass windows - shaped like a baseball home plate - line the walls. Dark wood chairs, podiums, and tables form the front stage. A glance at the front of the brochure I received when I entered stated: Founded 1887 - Present Edifice Erected - 1923I thought about the people who constructed this building, and who formed the first community that assembled in this space on a regular basis. This city was a very different place 94 years ago. I wondered what th

Although different industries run the city now, and different groups of people live in this neighborhood; as I approach my destination – which is across the street from a concrete mixing facility and the Chicago Tribune newspaper printing warehouse – I am reminded that old Chicago is still here…at least for now.The first sign that I was in for a quality experience appeared in the middle of Chicago Avenue, in the crosswalk that led to my destination. There were two millennial-aged people serving as crossing guards, equipped with hand-held stop signs and pausing the traffic for the streams of people walking towards a building set back from the street.I was warmly greeted by two more young people as I walked through the front door. The best way to describe my immediate impression is that it felt like I walked into a really dope underground silent party, film screening, or art show. This is a young and diverse crowd. The tables in the middle of the lobby remind me of the first week of college, where the campus is

This must be one of the most diverse blocks in the city. To my left, a renovated three-story brick apartment building housing a hair salon in its storefront. Next to it, a vacant lot is fenced off. Across the street, a small mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant sits next to a car repair shop, which sits next to a Walgreens.My destination was on the other side of a vacant lot next to a hair salon. It is a nondescript two-story brick office building and blends in perfectly with the surroundings.I’m running a few minutes late, so the sound of music was already coming from the auditorium as I walked through the fiberglass doors and up the stairwell to the second floor. Later on, a speaker came to the podium on the front stage and gave a presentation about the good work this organization was doing in the surrounding neighborhoods through their food pantry.The speaker noted that this partnership - between members of two different immigrant groups residing in Albany Park - was doing such a good job of providing “food for

The rain begins to fall as I make my way north through the middle of the west side. Traveling through this section of the city can only be described as passing by block after block of what used to be. As I turn on Madison Street, I passed a boarded-up, trash-filled, abandoned building; where campaign posters for a local politician hang ironically from a chain link fence.Even this majestic building which is my destination used to be something else: a center of life for a community of Irish Catholic Chicagoans who have who have long since migrated away from the surrounding neighborhood of West Garfield Park.Your first impulse when entering this hall is to look up towards the ceiling, and along the walls. Two sets of large stained glass windows depicting what I assume are scenes from the Bible rest in the walls closest to me. In the middle of the hall, a pair of beautiful circular stained glass windows face each other from opposite sides of the hall.This is such a traditionally religious space, built from a very

Crossing the Dan Ryan Expressway on 79th Street, I entered a section of the south side with wide side streets, brick bungalows and two-story homes with larger-than-average front lawns. When I arrived at my destination, two well-dressed older gentlemen were standing by the building entrance, next to another elderly man who was in a wheelchair. The front lobby is warm and inviting. I walked through the wood double doors into the auditorium, which feels like someone connected three country cabins. About halfway to the front, in a middle of one of the rows of padded benches, a lady was standing and praying in front of a small group of people. I took a seat and looked around. Most people in the audience were older, and it was obvious that they know each other and are comfortable with each other.I was greeted and welcomed by three people as others entered and took their seats. A bright blue neon light lit up a stained-glass cross at the top of the wall behind the front stage. Along the sides of the auditorium, bru

A podcast about Chicago would be incomplete without a ride on Lake Shore Drive, the beautiful highway that traces the lakefront, taking you from the city’s northernmost neighborhoods to those at its southern edge.Lake Shore Drive is best experienced when there is lighter traffic, either at night with the city lights on one side and the dark abyss of the lake on the other, or in the morning, where the full life of the lake is on display. The joggers and cyclists along the lakefront, the 40-mile per hour, easy riding place of the traffic, the miles of parks and trees which run along the drive , and the breath-taking architecture of the city unfold as you go from the south to the north side.I have taken the drive today all the way to the northern end of Lake Shore Drive, which deposits travelers in the neighborhood of Edgewater, just blocks from the lake. I drive through quiet, tree-lined blocks of pretty good sized two-story homes, spacious two and three story homes, and brick apartment buildings. It’s the kind

I see two men standing and talking by the side of the off ramp as I exit off the expressway onto Central Avenue, They are not holding any signs. They are not even facing the cars stopped at the red light. Yet, it looks like if they had a cool indoor place to go, they would rather be there.Across the street, in the median, another man paces slowly amidst the foam cups, plastic bags, and other litter scattered around the on-ramp to the expressway. I glance to my right, and see a whole pile of garbage dumped along the side of this exit.I made my way down Central through the Austin neighborhood on the city’s west side. I arrived on a beautiful stretch of Jackson Boulevard populated by well-maintained lawns, brick two-flats with a late 1950s architectural design, and one-story bungalows.What I did not know as I walked up the short set of concrete stairs towards the front entrance of my destination, was that just six weeks earlier two men had been murdered by gunfire on these very same steps, at nearly the same tim

The west loop is marked by quiet and clean streets, new and renovated 3-5 story condominiums, lofts and offices - most of them converted from the warehouses and fresh food markets that once dominated this part of the city. People walking with their kids, or with their dogs. The scene looks like the architectural renderings you see for new real estate developments.Colorful vertical banners mark the parking lots and guide the way to the building’s front entrance. Two steps into the lobby, and the scene looked like the opening of an independent film screening, art exhibition, or album listening party.There was a bustling coffee stand where young professionals and college students were gathered and talking in small groups. Nearby, more people were congregated and socializing, waiting for the auditorium doors to be opened. What was clear in my first few minutes in this building, was that this space had been carefully and meticulously designed for this crowd. And the people assembled in here this morning looked lik

I exit Lake Shore Drive and pass by the gleaming new Marriott hotel, the stately Hyatt hotel, and the massive McCormick Place convention center. I pull up to a quiet, semi-industrial stretch of Wabash Avenue. An ‘L’ train passes by on the elevated tracks a block away.At this intersection, there’s a brick warehouse with brick-filled windows. Alternate colored bricks along the window bays mark where the original windows once were.The parking lot next to the brick warehouse is cordoned off by a chain link fence, which has the words Pray for Peace affixed to it. Small construction equipment and vehicles are parked in the parking lot across the street.Standing proudly at this same intersection is my destination, a stone, cathedral-like structure. It seems to serve as a marker to a time way before this part of the city looked like it does today. Three bell towers form the street-facing corners of the building. A large set of vertical stained glass windows rest in the middle of the building’s exterior facade.Two old

Quiet side streets of neatly-kept bungalows and two-story brick flats surround this stretch of Cicero Avenue; one of Chicago’s busiest, most industrial , and – on this morning – pothole ridden thoroughfares.The front entrance of my destination was bustling with activity as I approached on this warm summer morning. Two mini-buses were parked by the curbside, having recently dropped off people for the event.The four sets of fiberglass doors remind me of the entrance to a movie theater. A short set of steps leads me into a modern and lively foyer. As I look around, it seems like my initial hunch was right, this building must have been an old-school movie theater in its previous life.I see two theater-like entrances, with signs Ages 1-4 and Ages K-5 above their respective doorways. To my right, a series of iPads rest on stands for people to register for upcoming events and/or make donations. An alternative rock inspirational song is playing over the speakers in the main auditorium, which is a grand hall.Midway th

The streets are quiet as I turn onto a one-way residential stretch of Washington Blvd. My destination sits at the corner, facing a mix of old and new three-story brick townhomes and greystones along Washington Boulevard and a vacant lot along Albany Avenue. I get out of my car and walk to the curb. A single, empty glass bottle lays on the grass.Cars are parked in the grass-and-rock lot next to my destination. A group of senior citizens enter the building through a side door next to the large stone stairs at the front entrance. As I stood at the base of the stairs, I glanced to my right to see a pole tied to the trunk of a tree, holding a small fiberglass basketball backboard and rim.I enter through the glass double doors into the inviting and well-appointed auditorium. Oak benches with blue padded cushions give the main floor the feel of a library. Light colored brick walls frame tall frosted windows, which filter the incoming sunlight. An eight-person, all-male band led the audience in song as the event beg

Only a few sections of Chicago’s borders transition as seamlessly between the city and one of its neighboring suburbs. If you cross North Avenue on any of the side streets in this neighborhood, you would not notice any difference between the well-maintained lawns, tree-lined streets, and brick single family homes of the city's Galewood neighborhood and those of its border suburb, Oak Park. Even my destination, with its small stone chapel design, blends in nicely with the neighborhood; facing North Avenue from the Chicago side. I walked through the open wooden double doors at the front entrance. A small group of people were chatting and catching up in the small lobby as I walked by. An older man greeted me and introduced himself.The inside of the main hall matched its countryside chapel exterior. Small yellow and blue stained glass windows filtered the sunlight shining in. In the back corner, colorful coffee mugs decorated the walls of a coffee stand. The two sections of padded chairs in the hall were flanked

It is a hot and humid mid-July morning as I walk east through the neighborhood of Lincoln Park. The main streets are home to clothing boutiques and specialty pastry shops. The quiet, tree-lined side streets are populated with brick townhomes.The neighborhood ends at the entrance of Lincoln Park, the 1,200-acre expanse along the northern section of the city’s 26 miles of lakefront parkland. At this intersection, the city skyline appears like a picturesque mountain range behind the massive brick structure which is my destination. Several sets of dark wood double doors with carved mouldings line the street-level entrance. Inside, I can hear the hum of voices as I walk through the chandelier-lit side corridor which wraps around the main auditorium. The corridor’s stately brick arches open into a cavernous hall.On the main level of this large hall, there are four sections of pull-down wooden seats that remind you of a school auditorium. Overhead, the tiled stone ceiling reminds you of an old European cathedral.A c

One mile away from Oakwood Beach and the shores of Lake Michigan, in the heart of the historic south side neighborhood of Bronzeville, sits a quiet set of streets directly four and a half miles south of the city’s Magnificient Mile.On this hot summer morning, I walk through a series of peaceful blocks populated by a scattered collection of stately greystones, older brick two-flats, and newly constructed townhomes. I walk past a beautiful, modern building that is home to a community service organization providing resources and assistance to youth who find themselves homeless.A few minutes after I arrive in the sunlit lobby of my destination, I discover that the event times have changed. I am one hour early. So I decided to walk the long way back to my car and planned to go get some coffee and wait.To my pleasant surprise, there was a soul food restaurant open for a brunch just a block away. I took this unexpected detour and enjoyed a nice chicken and waffles breakfast, and made my way back to the event one hou

It’s a warm and sunny summer morning as I board the train headed into the city. The canyoned streets of the Loop are quiet as I walk by the closed office towers, banks, coffee shops, and upscale clothing boutiques.I pass by the occasional family or small group of tourists, who are taking photos of the surrounding architecture and making their way to visit the skydeck at the Willis (Sears) Tower.The pace picks up as I exit the’L’ into the River North section of downtown, which is comprised of the blocks that lie behind the city’s famous Magnificent Mile stretch of Michigan Avenue. People are sitting outside of coffee shops, and packing luggage into the back of SUV taxis parked in hotel driveways.The exterior of my destination looks like a library on an Ivy League campus, or the entrance to a large museum. A quick bit of online research revealed that this building was constructed nearly 100 years ago by a professional organization for surgeons, and was designed in the French renaissance style. Which makes sense