Albany Park Memories

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Lawrence Avenue map 1954

Here is a detailed real estate map of Lawrence Avenue, published in 1954 by the Chicago Real Estate Board and referenced in a comment on the Chicago Patterns website article about Albany Park. Click on the link to Ryerson & Burnham Archives to zoom in on the map.

Albany Park Cool  Andy Romanoff’s 1960 photograph of bikers on Lawrence

Albany Park: The Novel

Bob and Ikey’s Wedding Andy Romanoff tries to recall photographing an Albany Park wedding 50 years ago

Celebrate the Neighborhood at Max and Benny’s Albany Park Night May 19, 2018

Champions of Albany Park Albany Park Community Center Recognizes Deborah Boys Club Alumni Support

Everyone knew his name Ned Singer’s Sports was a Lawrence Avenue institution

A few things Wrapping the loose ends of blogging in 2011 (covers Albany Park and Hollywood Park)

Images of Albany Park 1968

Images of RHS in the 1960s Part 1

Images of RHS in the 1960s Part 2

Images of RHS in the 1960s Part 3

Images of RHS in the 1960s Part 4

A Heart as Big as Albany Park Manny Weincord shares his memories of growing up and working in Albany Park

Hot dogs and baseball: An Albany Park boyhood 1940s era memories of growing up in Albany Park

Jewish History Walking Tour Highlights (2018)

I Screamed, You Screamed, We All Screamed for Loree’s

A Legend Among Legends of Chicago Hot Dog Stands Maury’s

A Look Back at the Roosevelt High School LDFs

Major League memories: an Albany Park boyhood, part two A lifelong love of the Chicago Cubs got its start in Albany Park

Name that School Which Chicago public high school was memorialized in rock and roll history?

Nighthawks in Old Albany Park  Recollections of Lawrence Avenue

The Purity Delicatessen of Albany Park

Proustian Memories of Chicago Hot Dog Stands A lot of the country’s hot dog stands trace their roots to Albany Park

Scenes from the End of the Line The Ravenswood “L” Terminal and other historical photographs of Albany Park 

The Storyteller from Albany Park Syd Lieberman

This was how they rolled in Albany Park Motorcycle mystique in Albany Park

They were singing a different tune in Albany Park in the early 1950s A guest blogger responds to “This was how they rolled in Albany Park”

A Top Hat Looks Back Charles Bordo’s memories of Albany Park 1961-62.

Unsolved Mysteries: Albany Park Edition

Von Historians Club — A Guest Blogpost

Where are  they now?   The Roosevelt Jovens

IMAGES OF ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 1960s (SERIES)

Photographs by Marc Klowden, Roosevelt Review photographer and Class of 1966.

Part 1

DEBORAH BOYS CLUB

This was Deborah Looking back at the Albany Park community center

This was Deborah, part 2 The history of the Deborah Boys Club and its famous photographer

This was Deborah, part 3 Photographs from the 2005 Deborah Boys Club reunion

Member number one of the Albany Park Deborah Boys Club

SACs

Social Athletic Clubs Directory  A listing of the clubs with members from Von Steuben, Roosevelt, Amundsen and Mather

A Funny Fellow Remembers Albany Park

Meet some Regular Fellas  This SAC dates back to the late 1950s, with members coming from Von Steuben, Roosevelt and Amundsen

Meet the Top Hats One of the SAC’s at Roosevelt

Lil Gents 1953

For Hibbard Elementary school alums:  check out this Hibbard group on facebook!

My Albany Park connection

I’m no expert on Albany Park. I never even lived there. So, why include Albany Park memories in a blog devoted to my life in Chicago?

Although we lived in Hollywood Park, part of the North Park community immediately north of Albany Park, much of my growing up during the 1960s–a wide range of formative experiences–took place within the boundaries of Albany Park.

Foster Avenue, then as now, was the clear-cut dividing line between Albany Park and North Park. At that time, however, it wasn’t so unusual to have a sense of dual citizenship in the two communities.

I’m not forgetting the differences between Albany Park and North Park during the 1960s, but I’m more interested in cross-connections. The same factors that gave me a sense of continuity between the communities may also have contributed to the area’s strength and relative well-being. Here are a few examples:

  • Elementary schools from both communities fed into the same secondary school, Von Steuben High School
  • One public library branch–Albany Park–served both communities. Its location on Foster, the fault line, made it more communal
  • Deborah Boys Club drew kids from Albany Park, North Park, Hollywood Park and Peterson Park
  • Max Strauss Jewish Community Center drew people from beyond Albany Park
  • A community action group, the  North River Commission, was founded in 1962 to represent interests of the participating communities and when necessary, “fight City Hall”
  • Many families had relatives on both sides of Foster Avenue

Join me in remembering this area, and share your stories of Albany Park.

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