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This was once common in the inner ring suburbs of Chicago. There used to be a small grocery store in the middle of a residential block near where I lived and a

by dhosek 6y ago

This was once common in the inner ring suburbs of Chicago. There used to be a small grocery store in the middle of a residential block near where I lived and a bar in the middle of another residential block close to my elementary school. There are houses whose former mixed use (shop in the front, house in the back) are still obvious. Here's one surviving neighborhood grocery in Berwyn, IL: https://goo.gl/maps/NCd45ghd6ajfPvLB6 https://goo.gl/maps/NCd45ghd6ajfPvLB6 Unfortunately, I'm drawing a blank on the locations of some of the surviving retail-to-residential conversions that I've spotted. These are all largely a relic of an era in which housewives often didn't drive, or if they did, didn't have access to a car while their husband was at work so grocery shopping needed to be within easy walking distance of home. Many of the minor commercial streets in the inner ring suburbs have vanished as well, their customers having been consumed by larger supermarkets. It's somewhat miraculous, really, that there are still a handful of these neighborhood markets still in business.

adamredwoods 6y ago
Just a block away from a 7-11.
vidanay 6y ago
I've always liked the fact that nearly every major street in Chicago is lined with small businesses and the residential streets are no more than 4-5 blocks away from a major street.
tropdrop 6y ago
The housewives aspect of it is a strange thing to focus on - this is a relic of a time when most people did not drive, i.e. this style of living was natural to everyone, housewife or no, prior to Eisenhower-era financial incentives to build highways everywhere[1], and especially in areas of "urban blight," which, of course, were also usually the densest parts of neighborhoods/cities since the poor did not have cars. Some cities, e.g. New York, succeeded in preventing the demolishing of some of their most historic places in the name of "cleaning up." Most other places were not as successful, though many tried[2]. Chicago's aptly named Eisenhower Expressway is a great example of activist efforts often not being enough[3]. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs#Struggle_for_Greenwich_Village https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs#Struggle_for_Green... 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System#Urban_Interstates_abandoned_because_of_local_opposition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System#Urba... 3 - https://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/eisenhower/ https://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/eisenhower/
- dhosek 6y ago
  Berwyn and Cicero weren't directly impacted by the Eisenhower (although Oak Park was—something that the local populace still resents which is evidenced by the fact that the exits for the Ike (much to my wife's confusion, I-290 goes by multiple names) exist only on the borders of the village and are the only left-side exits for the entirety of the Congress Expressway's (like I said...) run). More impactful was perhaps the replacement of streetcar lines with buses and the shortening of the Douglas Park "L" to end at 54th instead of its former terminus at Oak Park Avenue. Stickney, just south of Berwyn and Cicero, was still semi-rural into the 50s when my parents' house was built and, although it has had bus service from West Towns Bus Company (now Pace), it was never not a place where cars were essential (I suppose in its pre-incorporation days and first decade, one could have gotten by with a horse and wagon). This is not a Greenwich Village situation. I mentioned housewives walking to the neighborhood store to do shopping because this was an aspect of the local culture that persisted into the 70s and early 80s. Most had their own little carts for hauling home their groceries (similar to these https://www.amazon.com/customerpicks/Explore-grocery-carts-for-seniors/1c98c46e4ee1a151031c https://www.amazon.com/customerpicks/Explore-grocery-carts-f... it's interesting to see that these are still sold, although I've not seen one in use for 30 years or so).
  - tropdrop 6y ago
    I see these little carts around San Francisco all the time! Especially used by a lot of people in Chinatown, and also by a lot of older people, but today I even saw a young lady using one! Thank you for your input about the streetcars, Berwyn and Cicero, and Oak Park. I fell in love with Chicago during my time there and always enjoy getting to know more of its history. It is a powerful city (and I hope to maybe move back to it in a few years, pending my career alignment).
goda90 6y ago
Its interesting that that neighborhood could be defined as low density, but it's at least twice a dense as my neighborhood, and I can quickly drive to neighborhoods that are half as dense as that without even hitting millionaire neighborhoods.

by dhosek 6y ago

adamredwoods 6y ago

Just a block away from a 7-11.

vidanay 6y ago

I've always liked the fact that nearly every major street in Chicago is lined with small businesses and the residential streets are no more than 4-5 blocks away from a major street.

tropdrop 6y ago

The housewives aspect of it is a strange thing to focus on - this is a relic of a time when most people did not drive, i.e. this style of living was natural to everyone, housewife or no, prior to Eisenhower-era financial incentives to build highways everywhere[1], and especially in areas of "urban blight," which, of course, were also usually the densest parts of neighborhoods/cities since the poor did not have cars. Some cities, e.g. New York, succeeded in preventing the demolishing of some of their most historic places in the name of "cleaning up." Most other places were not as successful, though many tried[2]. Chicago's aptly named Eisenhower Expressway is a great example of activist efforts often not being enough[3]. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs#Struggle_for_Greenwich_Village https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs#Struggle_for_Green... 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System#Urban_Interstates_abandoned_because_of_local_opposition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System#Urba... 3 - https://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/eisenhower/ https://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/eisenhower/

dhosek 6y ago
Berwyn and Cicero weren't directly impacted by the Eisenhower (although Oak Park was—something that the local populace still resents which is evidenced by the fact that the exits for the Ike (much to my wife's confusion, I-290 goes by multiple names) exist only on the borders of the village and are the only left-side exits for the entirety of the Congress Expressway's (like I said...) run). More impactful was perhaps the replacement of streetcar lines with buses and the shortening of the Douglas Park "L" to end at 54th instead of its former terminus at Oak Park Avenue. Stickney, just south of Berwyn and Cicero, was still semi-rural into the 50s when my parents' house was built and, although it has had bus service from West Towns Bus Company (now Pace), it was never not a place where cars were essential (I suppose in its pre-incorporation days and first decade, one could have gotten by with a horse and wagon). This is not a Greenwich Village situation. I mentioned housewives walking to the neighborhood store to do shopping because this was an aspect of the local culture that persisted into the 70s and early 80s. Most had their own little carts for hauling home their groceries (similar to these https://www.amazon.com/customerpicks/Explore-grocery-carts-for-seniors/1c98c46e4ee1a151031c https://www.amazon.com/customerpicks/Explore-grocery-carts-f... it's interesting to see that these are still sold, although I've not seen one in use for 30 years or so).
- tropdrop 6y ago
  I see these little carts around San Francisco all the time! Especially used by a lot of people in Chinatown, and also by a lot of older people, but today I even saw a young lady using one! Thank you for your input about the streetcars, Berwyn and Cicero, and Oak Park. I fell in love with Chicago during my time there and always enjoy getting to know more of its history. It is a powerful city (and I hope to maybe move back to it in a few years, pending my career alignment).

goda90 6y ago

Its interesting that that neighborhood could be defined as low density, but it's at least twice a dense as my neighborhood, and I can quickly drive to neighborhoods that are half as dense as that without even hitting millionaire neighborhoods.