Chicago is a city all about its directions. There’s the North Side and the South Side and nothing in between them. With the exception of a few streets the city is in a grid formation, and all addresses have a north, south, east or west before the name. Many times signs tell you to go in a direction and, unless you know where you are, you would have no idea how to proceed.

At the corner of Wabash Avenue and Madison Street is the 5 North Wabash building. Originally known as the Kesner Building, it was previously commercial space and home of jewelers before converted to condos several years ago. The building has a storied past, including the setting for the book The Girl from Farris’s by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the movie The Package. Burroughs is rumored to have written Tarzan of the Apes there, and Ernest Hemingway is thought to have purchased the gun he used to commit suicide with at the Abercrombie & Fitch store there, back when A&F was a high-end sporting good store before it became the teenie-bopper clothing store. And Mr. T reportedly bought some of his jewelry there.

Up until this summer, at the corner of the building there was a compass laid into the sidewalk, showing which was which as well as the street names, as pictured below.

This photo shows the compass much clearer.

In addition to the compass was the name “Capper & Capper” which was the name of a men’s clothing store that once occupied part of the building. It is mostly obstructed by a piece of plywood as the sidewalk was vaulted and there was a hole under the board, as pictured below.

Needless to say, this sidewalk had been put to great use over the years. And partially for that reason all the sidewalks were ripped up along Wabash this summer and replaced, as pictured

As you can see, the compass is gone. With all of the heavy jackhammering that it took to remove the old sidewalk, most likely it and its letters were broken up and hauled away with the concrete. Another small piece of history lost. Though the sidewalks are much, much better and new street signage declare Wabash Avenue as Jewelers Row, they don’t tell you which direction you are going.

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Near the corner of Madison Street and Michigan Avenue in Chicago was a Chicago-style hot dog shop I would go to on occasion. All of the sudden one day this spring it was closes, with no notice of why. Shortly afterwards work was being done on the store site along with the adjacent empty. When the hot dog shop’s sign was removed, it revealed a sign that it had been covering. As seen in the first accompanying photo, it read, “Katharyn Sheahan, Since 1920.” I did a Google search on the name, and nothing came up. Assuming it was some sort of store, it had been at this location at 81 East Madison Street at one point of its history, as seen in the photo below.

On closer inspection, the sign appears to be painted on glass. Well, it was painted on glass, as it is no longer there. At some point over the summer the sign was gone, and work was done to remove the entryway altogether to make way for a Bank of America branch which occupied 3 empty stores, as can be seen in the photo below.

I have no idea if the sign was removed and possibly donated to the Chicago History Museum or simply saved by the building owner, or the paint was scraped from it and the original remains without the sign. As well, the street number sign was also removed, and I hope its fate was like the former above.

As a devout capitalist I believe change must happen. However it is also important to document and remember how we got here, for reasons that range from historic to nostalgic. If you have any knowledge as to the history of the sign or its whereabouts, please comment on this post.

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Just a short walk from my home in downtown Chicago is the new Trump International Hotel and Tower. When it is completed, it will be the second tallest building in the Windy City. Along the Chicago River on the former site of the Chicago Sun-Times, it is gleaming tower with amazing views.

Throughout its construction, its owner and namesake, Donald Trump, has made many visits to Chicago. But has he called me? No. I don’t know why, as we go way back, as the following photo shows.

This photo appeared in the Hartford Courant back in May, 1989 following the launch of “Trump: The Game” by Milton Bradley. It was taken at Milton Bradley’s headquarters in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, my hometown. As a college student, I was a fan of Trump and his capitalistic quests. When the game was launched, I was able to get a press pass to Trump’s visit thanks to connections through my college radio station, WNEK-FM. In this photo I am directly to the right of him. We both had much, much more hair then as now.

Ok, so the Donald may not remember me. I did ask him what advice he had for college students, but I never recorded his response as there was a short in my microphone cable. I am sure he has been asked that question a few times since. But the next time you’re in town Mr. Trump, I am sure I can clear my schedule to meet you for coffee, entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur.

And did you know the Hartford Courant is a Connecticut institution since 1764?

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Today in the US we celebrate Thanksgiving, in honor of the first feast after the first harvest in what would be the US back in the 1600’s. It is commonly a time when people look back on the year and reflect on what they’re thankful for.

For myself, the top of the list can only be occupied by my lovely wife and newborn daughter. Anyone who knows me and my better half don’t need this explained! She is an amazingly powerful and compassionate woman, and my best friend and confidant. Though she has only been with us for 4 months, my daughter has also proven to be not only the most beautiful person in the world, but an inspiration to all I do. Maybe I am biased as she is on my lap as I am writing this!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, whether you’re in the US or not, as we all need to recognize what we are thankful for. The accompanying photo is of a Thanksgiving card I received from Sales-Onsite, LLC – maybe I should send them next year too?

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