CTA BUS ROUTE #6 - JACKSON PARK EXPRESS

A while ago, because it's been so long since I did a bus route (I see it was over two months ago), I decided to just set a date. Do the 6th route on April 6th and marked it on my calendar. Wouldn't you know the morning dawned with wet, heavy snow over all the tree branches, looking beautiful, but also looking like early March. "Ah well," I said to myself, "I won't be gardening today anyway." So I caught the 10:13 train into the city (sans breakfast, but with plenty of coffee to fortify me, and a peanut butter on raisin toast in my purse). Weather prospects - cold, windy
And a rather non-informative bus sign, wouldn't you say?

The cold, green river today.

This bus departs from Wacker and Columbus (and do the CTA people realize that there is both an upper and a lower Wacker and Columbus?). Because it is not at all clear on the map that this bus departs from the upper level. Basically in front of the Swiss Hotel. It travels via Lake Shore Drive to 79th and South Shore Drive.
Fortunately I guessed right as to the departure area, because, yes, it was damn cold and windy, espceially right down there by the river and lake. I was remembering the time I had finding the start of that #4 bus.

Looking east, above. And the Seventh Day Adventist Church which rounds its corner nicely on Wacker.
11:40 am - I'm on the bus . It crosses Michigan going west on Wacker to State, where it turns south. I see that Leonard Cohen is coming to the Chicago Theatre May 5th and 6th. Past the DePaul Loop campus. And what could be more famous than the Marshall Field Clock, above?

It is crowded somewhat by Congress. There are police cars back to back next to the bus at a stop light. Left on Balbo. The South Loop Club is on the corner, a fab building which looks interesting. Past the Merle Ruskin Theatre, part of DePaul now. Across Michigan, south on Columbus to 11th, where it now becomes an express to 47th Street down Lake Shore Drive. Past the Museum Campus and Soldier Field, that space ship in the sky. It is going entirely too fast for pics, drat. Because bus riding is a great way to see the sights. I never tire of them.
The lake is grey, ominous, choppy. Waves crashing on shore. Glad I'm comfy and warm inside here. Low clouds, but no snow here. Or else it all melted. The trees have that lovely, lacy look of early spring.
As the bus turns off on 47th I see that the viaduct has a fab-u-lous mural. But can't get shot.
Left on Lake Park, same as #2, Hyde Park Express. But this one turns left on East Hyde Park, and goes through the intersection of South Hyde Park Avenue and East Hyde Park Avenue. Only in Chicago (I hope). Past the glorious houses on Hyde Park to end up facing The Museum of Science and Industry. I see that here it's very windy. There is a New Jersey license plate next to me. Right on 57th and left on Stoney Island which is 1600 East. You could take this bus to U. of C. and Doc Films, among others that go down here. Past the shuttered Hyde Park Hospital, cause of much debate over its future.

And to add to my lack of picture-taking opportunities, the windows are rather dirty, so I chose to sit on the left, which leaves the whole street between me and anything I might want to capture. We are going all down the length of Jackson Park, not inconsiderable. Hit 67th at 12:20 pm. The bus turns east here. Past a golf course and another fab building at Brandon. All the way to South Shore Drive, which is merely the southern extension of Lake Shore Drive. Past the South Shore Cultural Center, which, hallelujah, I did manage to get in the camera. (I would say on film, but those days are almost gone.) Now the bus kind've weaves in and out, east, west, south, etc. Til it reaches it's terminus at 79th. But I have noticed that along the way there are some spiffy buildings right up against the lake. They must have a marvelous view. The South Shore neighborhood contains some of the best old architecture in the city. Please, please let us preserve it.

The end is a rather bleak open space close to the lake, but I cross the street and am immediately back on a north bound bus by 12:37pm. It was so fast that I had no time to take a picture of the bus or the bus sign.

Again, dirty windows. I have been passing so very many neat old buildings and no chance to take any pictures. Down here is where Public Art #3 is. On one of those buildings, just not on this route. But very walkable from one of the stops. There is a wonderful building at 7370 South Shore, The Faulkner School (I love that name) at Cole and South Shore. 6850 is neat, and there is a glorious view of the city at 67th and South Shore. Well, down here most of the buildings are glorious too. An empty bus so far. Some forsythia struggling to out itself at 63rd. We pass the Hyde Park Academy Environmental Nature Studies Park - a teeny space.



It's the same route back, for the most part, except when we leave LSD, we travel north on Michigan, not State. And so far, wonder of wonders, not one stroller. We pass the Kenwood Academy on Lake Park, across from the terrific Original Pancake House at 49th. The Ancona School at 47th.

Little tidbit of trivia here. The reason the sidewalk on Congress past the Auditorium is enclosed is because when they widened Congress years ago, they didn't have enough room here for the sidewalk, and required the then hotel to give up some of it's lobby space for that sidewalk. I never tire of the sights on North Michigan.

I was back at the river end by 1:30. Really a very quick trip, given the distance covered. I managed the 2:40 train home. And never thought I'd be through so early.

CTA BUS ROUTE #X4 - COTTAGE GROVE EXPRESS

Another express bus. Phooey. Those only run during rush hours, which means I have to go down one afternoon, spend the nite, and return the next morning. Oh well.
I see I haven't done any since October, so I might as well get to it before gardening season hits.

On a bright sunny late afternoon, a Wednesday, January 28, I left for the big city, and the next bus route. This one leaves from Chicago and Mies Van der Rohe Drive ( right on the south side of the Museum of Contemporary Art), and I took the very first one of the afternoon, which left promptly at 3:27 pm. It was 22 degrees. I had been putting off and putting off doing another route because of the cold, but finally I figured "Hey, all those commuters have to get out in the cold to go to work; maybe I should share that experience. And sorry about these dark pictures. It wasn't dark; I don't know what happened.
The Cottage Grove Express covers the exact same route as the Cottage Grove, just less stops.
The bus had rather dirty windows (although nothing compared to the one I took back up to Hyde Park; I couldn't even see out of those - literally. But I managed some fairly nice pics. We went down Michigan Avenue again.


And here let me pose a question. What exactly is the point of the openness of the bus shelters? Yes, they shield you from rain and sun, but not cold or more importantly, wind. Basically, they are open on all four sides, street side being wide open of course, but those plastic walls on the other three sides are open at the tops, bottoms, and sides. Why?
And this time I noticed all the flags blowing in the courtyard just north of the Wrigley Building. I had never noticed those before. Maybe because they were blowing so hard in the wind. It was 19 degrees at Lake and Michigan, but toasty warm inside the bus.
Everybody is dressing in black now - a sign of the dreadful economic times? And everything along Boul Mich looked dour and gloomy, dirty snow everywhere. It was all so tired looking, and I noticed that many other buses had even filthier windows. But then, at that time, so did my own car, and just maybe my view is altered by these dirty windows, because it really is a
beautiful day out. I don't think our city should be seen this way, through dirty bus windows, but I do appreciate the enormous task of keeping them clean in winter. Lots of yellow "falling ice" signs on the sidewalks.

Again through McCormick Place which was very well shoveled and cleared. The sun is blinding on the west side of the bus when it breaks free of buildings. I couldn't take a picture if I wanted to. (I am sitting on that side.)

This picture was taken at 29th and MLK Drive.











And the quirky bench was at 35th and MLK Drive. I don't think they're too bad, considering the state of the windows.

The bus turns east at 35th to Cottage Grove. Past the James R. Doolittle, Jr. Public School, the West Point (?) Missionary Baptist Church, and still the mysterious (to me) Abraham Lincoln Centre at Pershing "since 1905". Especially the spelling of that "centre". French.
Now the playgrounds and courtyards and empty lots are all footprintless (probably not in the dictionary, but it says what I want). And I can't take any pictures because of the blinding sun. Those empty lots are beautiful now.

Washington Park at close of day.



Past the Hale Franciscan High School. It is 20 degrees at 51st Street at 4:15. Now into Hyde Park, past the Illinois National Guard Armory, that beautiful Art Deco Building. Past the Du Sable Museum, well worth a visit.



Here you get some idea of the state of the windows. Still Washington Park

There are lots and lots for "For Rent" signs now. But on a recent trek down Howard Street on the north end of Chicago, I saw the very same thing. And here I feel a need to confess. There had been a woman sitting in front of me all the way from the start who had very long, light brown dreadlocks that looked exactly like wool. They were lovely, but like the Chinese when they first saw red hair, I had this terrible urge to reach out and touch them. I resisted successfully.

In an area that I think is called Park Grove are simply the most gorgeous old buildings. And way down south, looking down the side streets (because now there are no leaves to obstruct the view), most of the homes look just like the one I live in, bungalows.
I couldn't resist this - "Founded by God" Oh, Really?





This building is called ( I think) The Brookline building. Lovely. ( below)




I did not note the time we arrived at the last stop, unfortunately, but I don't think a whole lot of time is saved between this express and the regular Cottage Grove run.
Next morning, the bus I took down from 67th, was going to turn into the express bus going back, so all I had to do was get out and take pictures. That was nice. It left at 8:15, exactly one hour after I had left those relatives' house, walked to 67th and Cottage Grove, and waited for the regular #4 to arrive and take me down to 94th. And as you can see from the pictures, the bus sign was snapped the day before, in bright sunshine.
















This express was really crowded by 90th Street already. Now on the east side of the bus, I do see poverty and unkempt homes. Burnside? Not sure. A cloudy, overcast morning. Low sky. 22 degrees, same as yesterday pm. Again past the See Thru Chinese Kitchen. One day I'm going to have to go in there. All the young men, both yesterday and today, look so angry. At the world? At 77th, at 75th, there are magnificent buildings. The bus was so crowded that I didn't have the nerve to raise my camera from my lap and take pictures. It didn't feel like the time or place to play the tourist. By the time we got to the south end of the Oak Woods Cemetery, the bus was totally crammed. The bus driver had to keep asking people to move back. The thought occured to me that there would be more room if we all weren't so large, myself included. It is nice to see, though, that the cemetary has plowed the sidewalk all along its perimeter. Unfortunately, people still were walking in the street on the other side because they couldn't see over the snow banks to that plowed sidewalk. I only knew it was there because I had driven by it in my car. At 67th at 8:37 am.

Another incredible building at 64th. (This bus has limited stops between 94th and 14th Streets.) North of the University of Chicago the bus finally unjammed. The South Shore Bank at 47th is a real beauty. At 43rd, I saw outside a child so bundled up in an orange snowsuit that he (she) actually was wobbling as he (she) stood. Reminded me of the kid in "The Christmas Story".

By 32nd, it's really getting emptier, and there is one of those neat benches here. At 14th by 9:12. And looking out, it seems very windy now. It certainly wasn't when I was standing, waiting to go south from 67th earlier.

Agora in the snow.











Right above - if you look very close, you can see the worker in the tree at the Art Institute, at 9:20 am.


I just liked the outlines of this bare tree in the garden just north of the AI.











Chicago in winter. The lights are still on the trees in Millenium Park. Do they stay on all year?

A question in the window of the McCormick Freedom Museum, which is taking its act on the road soon.
"Would freedom fall without democracy?" Food for thought.

9:30 am. Back at Chicago and Mies. I am sooo glad to be done with these rush hour routes, at least for a while.

Sixth one down

Postscript - I will not be doing the next route, the N5, South shore night bus. It runs basically during the wee small hours, and even I am not that obsessed. What could I see out the window anyway?

CTA BUS ROUTE #4 - COTTAGE GROVE

" The measure of a man's life is not the happiness he has known; at the end there should not be a balancing of happiness and sorrow, but an estimate of how well one's life has been used."
Helen Hooven Santmyer from her novel ". . . And Ladies of the Club"



This ride was taken on Saturday, September 27. And let me say right off that, to my horror, I discovered I had come away without a pen. At my age I need to take notes. So for the entire ride south I am relying solely on memory.

As noted in the last entry, I combined this one with the public art in the South Shore neighborhood.
Just finding the staging place for the #4 was not an easy task. The bus map says Columbus/S. Water. Did you know that there is a north and a south South Water? Whoever designed that? When I got off the #124 from Ogilvie, I asked the driver if he knew where to catch the #4 and he said right across the street. I was at Michigan and South Water (which East Wacker turns into across Michigan. Plus it also follows the river around and across Michigan on the upper level. It is so confusing around there as to the street names.). So as I did see the sign directly across the street, I walked over there and waited only a short while before I saw zooming down the ramp from the upper level, a #4 bus. There is no way that bus could even have gotten over to the bus sign, as there is a divider in the way, for the lower street. Whatever that is. (Much later I asked the last driver about that and he said you're supposed to stand in the middle for that bus stop. But who would know that? Why isn't the bus sign in the middle then?)

So I decide to walk down Michigan to Lake and turn east. Did you know that there's an East Lake Street across Michigan? Which ends at the Aon Building? I walk up the steps thru the building courtyard to Columbus, and there, right across the street is the staging area for bus route #4, with a bus to match. This is just south of South Water on Columbus. So I get on and begin another adventure.

From there it goes down the aforementioned ramp to turn south on Michigan all the way to 35th where it turns east to Cottage Grove. Very simple route.

We passed some great murals and some imposing center called the Lincoln Center or something like that (remember, no pen) that was established in 1905. Perhaps when I do the express route I can note this. Again fabulous buildings. The bus was never very crowded, but had very dirty windows. Consequently there aren't too many pictures. (Below, a man selling watermelons out of his truck.)
And everywhere, simply everywhere is litter, litter, litter. It really is what sets the South Side apart. Not the empty lots (we have those everywhere), or even the boarded up buildings (there are not as many as you might think), no, it is the LITTER!!!
Where is Mayor Daly's Streets and San Department? He sure wouldn't let Boul Mich look like that. It has absolutely infuriated me. Yes, the residents could do a vastly greater job, but so could the city. The residents of those neighborhoods pay taxes too. It was all I could do to resist getting off the bus and start picking stuff up, except that there is also a dearth of public trash containers. Figures. On the corner of 67th and Cottage Grove, there is not one on any corner. And it shows.

I came home and picked up every piece of litter I could spot when I walked my dog. (Above is a picture of the corner of the bus stop at 67th. Left is looking down south by the wall of the cemetery.)

But enuf of my rant. On the way south, one elderly man got on who couldn't pay. (I don't know why he wouldn't have a free pass as I do.) He had a cane and seemed lame in some way. But he had to get off at the next block, and it started me to thinking - I wonder if that's how he rides, block by block, making his way down.

The route ends in a turn-around not quite at 95th. After about one hour. Not bad. And for the first time, I could stay on this bus, he was going back up north shortly. I got off to take my pictures, and worked up the nerve to ask the driver if I could borrow a pen. He immediately whipped one out of his shirt pocket and offered it to me. I took it gratefully, climbed back on the bus, and started writing down everything I could remember.

On the way back to 67th, where I would get off to start the public art part of this day, there were some more great buildings and an odd restaurant name "See Thru Chinese Kitchen". Honest to god. What could they possibly be trying to say?

At 93rd and Cottage Grove was a fabulous building and I noticed, for the first time, that the other side of the bus had screens on the windows. A first for that. The South Shore Bank is a nifty building too. And while this building is fab, what on earth does the sign in the window mean "Martin L. King Complete Family"? (This may or may not be the bank building) See the dirty bus windows.
(One thing about all these old treasures; they are not being leveled the way they are elsewhere)

I got off at 67th, and did not get back on til 3:20. And it is here, where I did have to wait awhile that the litter really got to me, especially as this is the corner where you will find the start of the walls surrounding The Oakwoods Cemetery, where there are southern Civil War prisoners buried in a concentric circle around a monument. I have been in this place and it is interesting. (Well, but I love cemeteries)

And when the bus doors opened , and I entered, I was immediately surrounded by a wall of people. The mother and charming little girl who had been waiting with me, decided to wait for another bus. This one was mobbed. So I could not look out any windows, much less take any pictures or notes. Not until about 47th, where I finally got a window seat. And again the huge baby carriages. Blocking everything. People can not move past them easily at all. And especially those who have any sort of disability. They are quite stuck. Sometimes there would be two of these things right at the entrance. Apparently they cannot move back in the bus.

As I was scribbling away, an elderly, very smartly dressed woman sat next to me, noticed what I was doing, and started in on conversation. But she discreetly did not ask me what I was writing, only about my camera, what kind was it, how she would like to get one, and about a cruise to the Caribbean she had taken years ago, and I told her how I was seeing the city and how much I loved the old buildings. It was most enjoyable. I have noticed before that black people (god, how I hate to segregate us like that! We are all human beings, and bleed the same red color) will strike up conversations with strangers, treating us all as if we were family. While we whites curl up inside ourselves giving off an aura that says"Don't bother me; don't touch me; I don't know you." And I would never had the nerve to talk to her out of the blue. I am so glad she did. (Don't you just love the gargoyle?)

And when I finally looked up after she had left, I noticed that the drivers had changed, and I still had the old driver's pen. Some kind of supervisor was also on board now. I gave the pen back to him at the end. It began to get busy again after the bus turned west on 35th, making its way to Michigan. But it did take that odd detour, going north on Indiana, and then over on 31st, and then up on Michigan. Didn't do that going south. And now there are two #4s, constantly flying by each other, passing and repassing all the way back. Just barreling along again.

And I never tire of seeing the sights along North Michigan Avenue. There are so many. Bus arrived back at Columbus and South Water at about 4:10.

Another grand day.

Fifth one down