These blogposts are about Albany Park people and institutions. Scroll down below the links to read about my Albany Park connection.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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”

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

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

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

Nighthawks in Old Albany Park Recollections of Lawrence Avenue

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

The Storyteller from Albany Park Syd Lieberman

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.