River North Old and New

River North Old and New

Photographs from the 1950s and Today

In 1953 and 1954, photographer Mildred Mead documented the area immediately north of the Loop for a revitalization scheme called the Fort Dearborn Project. She took particular note of the state of residential and commercial spaces, and in particular the fact that much of the area seemed to be in decline.

This paper compares some of Mead's photos with the same sites as they appear today. Mead photographed a neighborhood that doesn't exist anymore. (Literally – only the post office calls River North "Ft. Dearborn" anymore.) Most of the buildings are gone, and the residents who made them their own seem to have moved on as well. People look different. Cars look dramatically different. Once-barren sidewalks are now full of trees. And even in those few instances where the buildings have stayed, they have been converted into things their old owners would never have recognized. While the site of 2010's famous Topolobampo restaurant also had a restaurant in 1954, for example, much of the structure was given over to the Are You Buggy? Pesticide Company. This was not a neighborhood for world-class dining courtesy of celebrity chefs.

Looking at the east side of Clark Street between Erie and Huron. The sidewalk grate is the only thing that remains.

Looking across Chicago Avenue at the Access Living building between LaSalle and Clark. In 1954 the same site was occupied by one of the oldest police stations in the city.

Superior between Wells and LaSalle – a throwback wedged between two new condo developments. When Mildred Mead photographed the building on September 23, 1954, the tree hadn't even appeared yet. The parking lot in the foreground is now the Howard Johnson's.

View of the northwest corner of Ohio and Dearborn.

Looking east at 641 N. Clark Street. Photographer Mildred Mead labeled her photo: "Part of the north side Montmartre – 641 N Clark St."

View north along Wells Street from between Grand and Illinois.

View across Clark Street to 447-449 North Clark in 2010 and 1954. These are the same buildings, only with fire escapes and street-level clutter.

State and Illinois looking east in 2010 and 1954. Note the onion dome of the Intercontinental Hotel, on North Michigan Avenue, in the background.

 

Mead's photos are from the Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. The contemporary photos were taken March, 2010 by the author.

 

© 2010 Andrew J. Schaefer All rights reserved.