Most Chicagoans have heard of Albany Park or Rogers Park, but to know of Hollywood Park–you had to live there. What, I’ve wondered, does it take for an attractive neighborhood to get noticed?
The Image of a Chicago Neighborhood in Memory
by Frances Archer on 03. Sep, 2010 in Chicago neighborhoods
Catching the Big One
by Frances Archer on 29. Aug, 2010 in Books
When I heard a woman who lives in my neighborhood had written a chick lit tale that takes place in Chicago, I had to read her book. It’s not often guilty pleasures take place so close to home.
Basketball At Home and Away
by Frances Archer on 23. Aug, 2010 in Books
I was, as usual, interested in the local angle. What does a book about the great college basketball coach who challenged discriminatory practices have to do with Chicago, and in particular, my old neighborhood, Hollywood Park? More than you’d expect.
The Abandoned Fieldhouse: History of a Chicago Neighborhood Park
by Frances Archer on 16. Aug, 2010 in Chicago, Public institutions
River Park has one. Jefferson Park has one. Independence Park has one. Hollywood Park was supposed to have one. Read about the Clarence Hatzfeld fieldhouse that didn’t get built.
South Pond’s Swan Song
by Frances Archer on 08. Aug, 2010 in Chicago, Public institutions
Back in early July my daughter and I visited Lincoln Park Zoo. When I saw South Pond I thought an environmental disaster had occurred. Gone were the curvilinear paths surrounding the pond. Gone was the island’s wild overgrowth. Gone were the giant swan paddleboats.
Out on the Back Porch
by Frances Archer on 01. Aug, 2010 in Chicago neighborhoods
These striking 1940s-era photographs inspired a post incorporating three of my favorite subjects: Chicago back porches, the Great West Side and the Hollywood Park neighborhood.
And the winner is …
by Frances Archer on 30. Jul, 2010 in social media
Announcing the winners of my “Chicago is a state of mind” drawing. One lucky person gets 2 tickets for a Chicago Elevated tour with guide Margaret Hicks, the other winner receives a Chicago memoir.
Garden Party
by Frances Archer on 27. Jul, 2010 in Chicago neighborhoods
The Peterson Garden Project is among the gardens that will be featured in Victory, a documentary in the making about community gardening in Chicago, highlighting the history of Victory Gardening in the 1940s and detailing the ways in which gardening now impacts Chicago neighborhoods, health, families and the city’s future. The filmmakers, Dan Lerner from Cross Town Productions and [...]
That Old Swedish-Jewish Neighborhood
by Frances Archer on 19. Jul, 2010 in Chicago neighborhoods
If you have ever passed through the North Park community on Chicago’s Far North Side, you certainly will recognize the brick two-flats flanking the Victorian. Maybe not those two-flats, but you have seen countless, identical buildings lining the neighborhood’s streets like books on a library shelf. The Victorian, on the other hand, now that’s a rare [...]
Introducing Our New Look the Chicago Way
by Frances Archer on 12. Jul, 2010 in friends
We’re having a raffle to launch the new look and new website address for Me & My Shadow. Enter to win a unique Chicago tour or a great Chicago memoir. Just leave a comment with the word Chicago.
A Blog by Frances O’Cherony Archer

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Mom and Pop–Part Two
10. Mar, 2010
- Introducing Our New Look the Chicago Way 12. Jul, 2010
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Baseball’s Been Bery Bery Good to Me
22. Mar, 2010
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Mom and Pop
08. Mar, 2010
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The Image of a Chicago Neighborhood in Memory
03. Sep, 2010
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Catching the Big One
29. Aug, 2010
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Basketball At Home and Away
23. Aug, 2010
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The Abandoned Fieldhouse: History of a Chicago Neighborhood Park
16. Aug, 2010
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Frances Archer: Bill, thanks adding to the historical record. If y...
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Bill T.: I remember the Sinclair gas station across the str...
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Frances Archer: Hi, Jeanie. Thanks for checking out my blog. Maybe...
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Jeanie: I will never forget seeing "Oklahoma" performed at...
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