Mages' Moment of Madness

And the saga of Morrie Mages and his family's sporting goods empire continues. Before being sold to Community Discount some time in the early 1960s, Mages always had an interesting rash of buglaries. To everyone's dismay, the burglars were not off stealing hockey sticks and pigskin footballs but good ole fashioned guns and ammos. I wouldn't normally mention this except for the creative ways some of these robberies took place.

In 1952, the location at 6216 S. Halsted took a particualrly brutal beating when crooks brandished with crowbars and sledgehammers broke in to steal of all things guns. Kind of an oxymoron, maybe? How did they break in? They "....smashed thru a two foot brick wall and ceiling into the 'burglar proof' gun room...." Oxymoron indeed. Then there was the one that the FBI probed in 1961. They wouldn't comment on whether those guns would be resold to Cubans seeking arms. No, I am not making this up. How'd they manage to get in? The store located at 2315 W 95th Street, had it's roof cut open by the burglars. All we got nowadays is people who jimmy the locks. I can't remember ever hearing a robbery story this fun.

The first three ads are of Mages Sports Goods Stores and in order are dated 1948, 1950 and 1956. The last ad is of Morrie's sporting venture after he went broke called Morrie Mages Sports and that Chicago Tribune ad appeared in 1976.

The Former Good Shepherd Community Church

If you have ever skated past 1700 Ballard Road in Park Ridge, Illinois, you will have no doubt passed up this beauty designed by Lloyd Wright and Eric Lloyd Wright son and grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright. Lloyd Wright was also responsible for designing the great Louis Samuel home in Los Angeles, California, This building is the former Good Shepherd Community Church designed by the younger Wright in the late 1950s. A huge thank you goes out to reader and frequent commentator, BW, for scanning this photo from a brochure of the church. BW also scanned for the us a page showing the inside of the church which looks strikingly gorgeous as well as an artist's rendering of the exterior.

In 1980, Good Shepherd Community Church became Maine Township to which it still belongs to today. Maine Township has a web page with their own interesting history of themselves as well as the building. I have to be really honest here though. The current photos you can see on Maine Township's own web page are not nearly as interesting as the old black and white ones. Other than the passing of time, not much has changed.

Mages: The Stores for Sport

I have got to say, a few years ago I thought mattress shopping was a dull bore. Apparently, no one has lived the high life unless they go bed shopping. And not just a bed made out of fancy fake woods like cherry and oak, but one made out of metal. And not just any metal bed, but one that's durable. And, no, a forty dollar headboard made out of aluminum at Walmart is not durable. And not just the headboard, but the footboard too. And don't forget to include the frame. And not just any frame, but one based on a platform. Oy with the poodles already, I have never been so bored and frustrated in my life and that includes all the family weddings I have gone to where shooting myself in the head should have been an option along with taking home a piece of cake.

For the life of me, I will never understand why one location of the Bedding Experts or American Mattress can never be consistent with another location. The Bedding Experts people had this especially nasty habit of having two, three, four different locations quoting a wide range of prices for the same friggin' bed! They tout themselves as being family owned and operated yet they seem to love to commit certain acts of thievery for the poor schmuck who probably doled out $600 for the Fulton at one location only for someone to get the same bed for two hundred bucks less at another location of the same chain up the street. And when you weren't dealing with the same selections with a wide range of prices, you had the most loveliest set of uninspiring sales people to deal with, two-thirds of which seemed to have zero interest in pushing or selling the merchandise. When the chain places were too tiring and monosyllabic to deal with, there were the too few independently owned or operated businesses most of which only seemed to be interested in stocking no metal beds and showing you the same exact catalog that can be found at any Bedding Experts or American Mattress. Bored yet?

Enter this place located at 2457 N Harlem and "creatively" titled Furniture Avenue. The guy had zero metal oriented beds in this huge store, but he did show us a catalog full of affordable metal beds that we hadn't actually seen! Yay! Metal bed bought with pretty arches, a platform support at a very affordable $200. Problem solved. Except the next day, call ensues saying that the model that was purchased was out of stock at the warehouse and wouldn't be in until January! Old St. Nick has no interest in being kind to us this year. Ho, ho-HA!

For the five minutes that I was happy over those lost five days spent searching, upon leaving the store, I noticed the logo at the footstep of the door. Mages The Store for Sport. Never heard of it. But then again I am no sporting goods type of girl. Digging into the past, I found that this was a chain started in 1921 by a Russian immigrant. The senior Mages had a few sons who joined him as partners in the business in 1938. One of those sons, Morrie Mages, was a legend during the 1950s for his late night TV commercials that were dubbed "Mages Moment of Madness" by sportscaster Jack Brickhouse. Why were these ads Mages moments of madness? Because they lasted for as long as fifteen minutes. I'd say that's utter madness, but at least ole Morrie was very much interested in selling his merchandise and actually moving it out the door!

Mages grew and grew well into the 1950s and managed to accumulate about twenty locations that served not only sporting goods, but boats, hunting guns (could have used that at many of those boring weddings) and all types of outdoorsy, woodsy products imaginable. The last one to open as a Mages was located at 5901 Madison. Mages also had looked into merging with a few other companies but none of the deals went through until the early 1960s when Community Discount Centers Inc. acquired the stores, added soft goods and turned them into junior department stores. I have no way of knowing for sure, and if others could help out I would really appreciate the input, but I believe that the Community Discount that acquired Mages is the same Community Discount that also bought the long forgotten by most discount chain Shopper's World.

In Morrie Mages' obituary that appeared in the Chicago Sun Times after dying at the age of seventy-two in 1988 (A special shout out goes to my favorite business librarian, Henry, for pointing out that the man has been dead for twenty years and I swear the encounter was a lot funnier than it sounds due to hilarious facial expressions that came about as a result) it states that Mr. Mages gained a fortune after selling the chain to Community Discount. A mere few short years later, he lost most of that fortune to bad investments and started another sporting goods chain under his own name in 1967. That chain grew and was sold to MC Sporting Goods in the 1980s just before Mages passed away.

More to come this weekend. Hopefully. Enjoy my crappy nighttime photos of the former location on Harlem.

Swiss Alps Down Montrose

Yesterday's house on Montrose was correctly identified by reader BW as being at the corner of Montrose and Lowell. Today's Montrose Corner Home is a bit west of that. Once again, I am not sure where this one came from and the sign for the cross street is not visible in this picture. I do believe this is west of Cicero though.

Two years or so ago I was out and about bike riding and came across this fine home. When I stopped to grab a snapshot, some weirdo (Yes, he was a bit strange, but I guess I am not that much more normal) walking past me aptly said "It's like the Swiss Alps." I kind of agree with that assessment, but I still think a couple of other European countries fit the bill as well.

Victorian Montrose

Apologies for once again falling behind but now that I have gotten Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet out of my system, I can concentrate on anything vintage and relating to Chicago. With that said this lovely Victorian era home is located on Monstrose west of Pulaski. I don't really remember the cross street as it has been a couple of years since I took this photo. Enjoy the color, enjoy the sounds of cars whizzing past and, I promise, by the end of the week things should be back to normal on my blog.

Just A "Simple" Art Glass Home

Still hung up on school, though I much prefer not to be, I should be wrapping things up and moving along towards the break after this weekend. That's if all the interlibrary loan books I checked out don't form a crashing tower on top of my head. I do believe that this may be the last set of photos I have from Dixie Legler's fantastic book Prairie Style and what a great way to bid adieu then to end with a Frank Lloyd Wright original located in River Forest, Illinois.

It is the Roberts House built in 1908 with a tree very much embedded inside the home as seen in the third photo. Legler mentions that the roof has had to be rebuilt several times to accommodate this very old, very well alive creature. It's a very interesting looking Usonian home that "....Projects in four wings, much like the earlier Willits House. But here the living room soars a full two stories, an unusually grand statement for such a small house. Floor-to-ceiling casement windows wrap around corners to form a cathedral-like bay adorned with a diamond shaped pattern in clear glass. Although simpler than Wright's other art glass of the period, the diamond-shaped pattern screens the room for privacy and works well with the contemporary interior. Opposite the glass bay, Wright tucked a broad, deep fireplace beneath a cantilevered balcony, creating a sheltered inglenook below and a lavish open space above. Interior space flows with unusual ease. Rooms weave together on multiple levels. Walls never quite meet, corners disappear, and ceilings change from low to high and back to low again." Sounds like a great home to play Hide-and-Seek in.

I don't much particularly care that the art glass isn't as decorative as some others. I am fascinated with the simple pattern and I think it is timely and very much like something I'd want today. Wright returned in 1955 to update the home and his wondrous imagination never ceases to amaze me.

Out of This Galaxie

Still desperately trying to catch up. I have a PowerPoint presentation this evening in which I have to discuss human rights abuses in Chile during the 1970s. Not exactly a fun topic but what is fun for this blog is more vintage looks of classic cars. I was driving down Elston yesterday when my partner and I spotted this baby. It looks like a 1950s-esque Ford Galaxie. If anyone can pinpoint the exact year that would be most helpful. Until then enjoy the rest of the snow filled week and talk of Tiger Woods' indiscretions.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Square Shadows

The last couple of days of my life have been unexpectedly hectic and I never imagined it would put me a couple of days behind on the ole blog. Today, with a side dish of a good old fashioned apology, I offer another Philadelphia area art deco gem from the great book Modern American Design. This interesting home is designed by the great Beaux-Arts architect, George Howe. Known as Square Shadows this grand looking structure was designed for William Stix Wasserman (Good to know it was not the Wasserman I knew as my junior high homeroom teacher) during the period of 1932-1934.

Located in Whitemarsh, Pennslavania it isn't hard to see where Square Shadows gets its name from. I don't believe this is a photograph. To me it looks more like a planned sketch or drawing. Whatever the case it certainly captures the essence of what it's supposed to be and reminds me of the many Chicago Mid-Century Modern structures that are very similar to this. Not sure if this home is still standing but I Googled a few interesting photos of the actual home. Both are in black and white and one presents a lovely exterior shot that is very much like the drawing above, while the other is an interior shot of an awesome and funky looking staircase. Based on these photos, it appears that Mr. Howe had quite the interesting career completely ahead of his time.

Now how do I move that staircase to Chicago, Illinois?

Oak Lawn Country Day School

Today we travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And, no, unlike the subject heading this has nothing to do with Oak Lawn, Illinois but the coinky-dink of a name is the only connecting factor I can provide since none of Frank Lloyd Wright's sons had anything do with this design. Now this scanned photo from the early 1930s book Modern American Design does nothing to capture early 1930s Philadelphia or even give us much of a clue as to where the heck we are. There's no Liberty Bell. No goody cream cheese on a bagel. No detectives from the Cold Case squad solving mysteries. No sign of the Fresh Prince in his early youth. When dad phones, there's no guys in the back yelling "Get your Phili cheesesteaks here!" We just have to trust that this indeed is our beloved city of The Phil.

With that said the Oak Lawn Country Day School is a little bit hard to find any info on. Googling it doesn't seem to bring me much which leads me to believe that the school has either changed its name in the last seventy-five years or it no longer exists. Any Phili area transplants out there willing to lend a Chicagoan a hand? It certainly is an interesting little Deco-ed up building. Looks more like someone's home than an actual school. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Louis Samuel Residence Los Angeles

How does a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's son ending up being owned by famous actresses Diane Keaton and Christina Ricci? You got me. I scanned this photo from the wonderful book, Modern American Design that I received as a birthday gift from my friend Craig. While some of these are not Chicago related I am going to get around to scanning everything possible that is remotely interesting just before I hawk the book to make a nice chunk of change.

Upon looking at this fancy home, known in this rare 1930s book as the Louis Samuel Residence, located in Los Angeles, California I almost thought this was a church. In actuality Wright's oldest son, Lloyd Wright, who was born in Oak Park (Maybe I can connect this back to Chicago after all), designed the home in the late 1920s for Louis Samuel, manager of silent screen star Ramon Novarro. An interesting tale ensues between Samuel and Navarro according to this great blog, Big Orange Landmarks, in which Samuel was found to be stealing Novarro's money. Eventually, Novarro took over the home and it is now known as the Samuel-Novarro home. Big Orange Landmarks, which includes some incredible recent photos, describes the home as an "...Art Deco/Mayanesque masterpiece, one that McGrew and Julian write “may be the most beautifully sited home in Los Angeles.” The four-level home was built into the side of a hill with concrete and oxidized copper throughout (even the floors are concrete). Nearly everything was incorporated in the first floor: dining room; living room; kitchen; the home’s sole bedroom; and the lounge which lead to the outdoor swimming pool..." Eventually in the early 1990s actress Diane Keaton wound up owning it as did Christina Ricci afterwards. Hmmm, that vast concrete of space matches her forehead! Alas, she ended up putting the home on the market. Nice to know that it is indeed still standing.

Pretty In Powder Pink

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you probably won't be surprised that I love classic vintage cars. Well, I love vintage everything else so it only makes complete sense. Oftentimes when I am driving I spot many vintage vehicles skating by but it is a complete rarity that I will get to take a photo of one. Not quick enough when it comes to whipping out my camera and paying attention to possibly not hitting the next pedestrian darting out in front of me.

Today I struck gold but I was only able to capture fifty percent of those nuggets. Running around for some extraordinary Saturday errands, I managed to spot a fifties era powder blue Buick coasting down Irving Park. Unfortunately, I was coasting by in my slow ass Ford Escort with the check engine light and the bald tires so my camera wasn't exactly ready to start chasing some guy's vintage behemoth. Eventually, much later on in the day I did my usual Saturday afternoon field trip of standing in line for ten minutes at the local Dollar Tree to shelve out a whole buck for the Sunday Chicago Tribune (Yes, I am that cheap). The Dollar Tree is located over at Addison Mall and right towards the back of the strip there is a parking garage with access to the Dollar Tree. This has been my habit for a few years now and it's where I always park when going there so imagine my surprise when I pulled in and there was this beauty all powder pink and oh so gorgeous!

Instantly I knew this was a Ford Thunderbird. I am big on vintage Thunderbirds, I love them to death. One of my favorite TV shows of all time involves an immortal guy surviving by chopping off the heads of his enemies. If you can overlook the 1986 film of the same name and watch the TV show version of Highlander, then you will see how Duncan MacLeod drives an awesome looking 1964 Ford Thunderbird similar to this one. It's my favorite of the Thunderbirds. Of course that probably has more to do with the yummy man on TV that gets to drive the vehicle and not the vehicle itself. Doing some Googling and some comparisons, we see that our little powder pink hero we have photographed today is a much earlier one. Looks like it could be a 1957 Thunderbird as seen here in all it's red glory. I would love to be corrected if I am wrong or off by a year or two just in case I didn't guess right.

Real Man's Man Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is upon us once again. I am not much on celebrating holidays and Thanksgiving turkey just ain't what it used to be for me. It's also a fact that other than throwing some pasta in a pot and making a killer spicy alfredo sauce laced with red pepper flakes, I am not one to slave over a hot stove for six hours to make people happy. I would rather have someone else do the slaving while I enjoy the stuff going into my tummy. That makes ME happy. Yes, I know, I am a perfect example of the stereotypical ME generation

With that said, nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving!" best more than a good steak. Like I said, turkey's been boring me to death for a while now and I enjoy a good, medium rare steak. Ironically enough, the name of this restaurant from the 1969 Chicago Tribune archives is called, none other than, Medium Rare Steak House. What an odd duck of a name. Ah, duck, I think I'm seeing the future here. More on that in a sec. Nothing spells out stereotypical and latent, but laughably sexist like a late 1960s/early 1970s era slogan such as "The Steak Man's Steak House." In case you haven't noticed, dear readers, I am a woman and I would take that steak any day over that girly turkey. Of course, lately I have been considered manly in step with my attitude on certain subjects which we won't even get to, but, suffice it to say, a steak is for an every-person out there whether it is Thanksgiving or not.

Once located at 10301 Southwest Highway in Chicago Ridge, Medium Rare looks like it began life in or about 1968 or so and ads show up well into the 70s but suddenly stop at around 1976. One can only assume that perhaps there weren't enough manly men out there discovering the steak man's uber manly steak. Whatever happened, I am sure this was a classy 70s era steak joint with dark wood interiors, dim lighting and solid white table clothes. I can just picture this joint now swimming in a sea of bell bottoms and goofy sideburns. Man, I really missed out on the 70s. Come back! Please?

In 1982, the shell of a restaurant ushered in a new era as Marco Polo Restaurant. Even more hilarious is their own twisted and somewhat goofy slogan, "Where East Meets West." Since this was well before the Berlin Wall came down, at first I thought this was a play on communist era Europe. You know the old binoculars that your grandpa has stashed in the attic that are stamped with "Made in East Germany." (I actually have a cousin, not residing in the US, who has a pair but they actually say "Made In the USSR.") on them? Cold War era makes up for some twisted logic. But looking at the ad, it offers such specialties as Hong Kong Steak, Chow Steak Kow and egg rolls offered along with ribs as appetizers. Just your typical Chinese restaurant served American style. Though Chinese food as we know it was actually developed in the US not in China so the "East meets West" thing just kind of makes my head scratch a bit. Even more confusing is that the restaurant is named after an Italian dude that's been dead for quite a long time. Okay, so he traveled to Asia, but still, kind of mind boggling.

Apparently, the address is still in existence and residing in its place is a restaurant of an entirely different name and nature called Patsby's Restaurant & Lounge that according to Yahoo Local may actually be closed. I see that luck has not struck 10301 Southwest Highway with a long lasting eatery. Perhaps they need to go back to the Real Man's Man gimmick. Bring back the 70s steakhouse to appeal to manly men like wrestler William Regal. In fact, he did it so well in the World Wrestling Federation back in the late 1990s that he could be their spokesman and do ads in which he's "....Doing "manly" things like chopping wood, shaving with a plain razor, and squeezing his own orange juice." Not sure how any of those things (And that includes steak) make anyone a man's man but whatever works.

Happy Manly Thanksgiving!

MaMa Minelli

I love Italian food especially of the homemade variety and I have seen this place dozens of times over the years though I have never actually gone in. Yet. I thought this MaMa Minelli's tale was rather intresting for something that started off on Taylor Street.

"JOSEPHINE MINELLI: 1910-2009 - 'MaMa' knew best at food shop
Chicago Tribune (IL) - Sunday, November 22, 2009
Author: Joan Giangrasse Kates, Special to the Tribune

When customers browsed the shelves at Minelli Meat and Deli on Milwaukee Avenue in Niles, they knew that if the label said, MaMa Minelli's, it had to be good.

"I'm of Italian descent, so I'm picky when it comes to my food," said longtime customer Louise Delano. "But MaMa Minelli's is just fantastic."

Josephine Minelli was MaMa Minelli, who up until two years ago was still crafting with her own hands tasty Italian beef and pizzas, a memorable marinara sauce and her signature mouth-watering meatballs -- all from Neapolitan recipes brought over from the old country.

"With Ma, it was always a little of this and a little of that," recalled her son, Fred, who works for the family business. "She really knew how to cook. We just stayed out of her way."

Mrs. Minelli, 99, who along with her late husband opened the original Minelli's in 1957 in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood, died Tuesday, Nov. 17, at St. Matthew's Center for Health in Park Ridge of natural causes.

Born in Montefalco, Italy, near Naples, Mrs. Minelli came to the United States with her family in 1926 at age 16. They lived in Michigan for a couple years before moving to Chicago.

In 1931 Mrs. Minelli married her husband of 39 years, Phillip, also an Italian immigrant, with whom she had three sons. He died in 1970.

Mrs. Minelli lived with her family for many years on Taylor Street in the Little Italy neighborhood. She and her husband opened Minelli's at Western Avenue and Lexington Street. It was a small grocery/deli/tap room that specialized in Italian foods and beverages.

"My father handled the business end of things and she took care of the rest," said her son, Fred, who eventually began running the store with his two older brothers.

In 1970 the family closed that store and opened Minelli Brothers Italian Specialty Foods & Liquors at 7780 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Niles. The brothers operated that store until two years ago, when Mrs. Minelli's grandson, Mario, became a third-generation owner of what is now Minelli Meat and Deli at 7900 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Niles.

The new store still carries the MaMa Minelli line of pastas and sauces, Italian beef and, of course, her homemade meatballs, all made from her recipes.

"She was a wonderful cook, but more importantly she was a very sweet lady," said another longtime customer, Jacquie Krubert. "She made me feel welcome and let me brag about my grandchildren."

Other survivors include two sons, Leonard and John; 10 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday in Skaja Terrace Funeral Home, 7812 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday in St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church, 8149 W. Golf Road, Niles."

Walden Book Shop

My friend Craig has come through for me yet again. Having had a birthday recently he gave me a few rather interesting old books. Among them is this baby entitled Modern American Design by R. L. Leonard, and C. A. Glassgold. I am always curious about how old a book is, where it came from and if the same authors had similar works. I work in a library so naturally I have easy access to finding this information. Craig said the book had belonged to his deceased father many moons ago, most possibly being used as a text book while his father, an artist and professor, had been a young lad attending university. While the book certainly did not look brand new, it's still glossy pages looked to be no more than forty years old. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the book had been published in the early 1930s. Even more surprising was that the authors, Leonard and Glassgold, also had another similar book under their belt:
1931 Kem Weber Annual of American Design. Even more amazing is that this puppy is a rare book selling for almost eight hundred bucks online. Um, Craig, could you go back to your dad's book stash and dig this one out? Thank you!

I shouldn't complain though because I love my Modern American Design book. The moment I received it, I was like a little kid on Christmas morning, I couldn't wait to look through it at all. Even better is that online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, it's selling for $150 bucks. If I wait a few decades, I might be able to pay off my nursing home services when I am senile and going gaga in a drooling cup. In the meantime, I thought it would wise and generous to share some of the awesome photos with the rest of the world and of course weed through the Chicago related ones first.

Here is a lovely view of Walden's Book Shop. This Walden's most certainly has nothing to do with the familiar Walden's chain which started in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1933. The Walden's gloriously pictured above was a Chicago based mini-chain that lived throughout the 1920s, but was gone and out of business by 1932, assuming that perhaps the Depression played a part in wiping them out. Trying to pinpoint the exact location of this store is the tricky, partly impossible part. A 1926 Chicago Tribune ad shows that Walden's had two locations, one at 307 Plymouth Court and 410 North Michigan Avenue. Michigan Avenue is a much fancier address and this is quite the fancy looking store. Based on the looks of it, I would be sure if it was indeed the Michigan Avenue address except later on around 1930 or so a new Michigan Avenue address emerges at 546 North Michigan. This location also showcased the Walden Gallery of Art. Even more confusing is that by the end of 1930 a third location was added at 910 N Michigan Avenue. It's not surprising that I haven't been able to figure out which location these photos are from and even more disappointing is the fact that by 1932 Walden's was gone with another book shop having moved into the 546 N Michigan Avenue address.

With that said, whether the building is still standing or not it probably looks nothing like this today. Those elegant and gliding stairs and those cool looking, almost futuristic lamps, it's all utterly orgasmic. I wouldn't mind shopping in a book store like this if I could transport myself back in to that time and place. It's all simply amazing! Forget it, this book is soooooo being buried with me.

The Elegant Prairie

It's elegant, formal and built for exceptionally tall people only Robert Spencer himself could dream up. The McCready House, located in nearby Oak Park, Illinois, was built in 1908 and amazingly still stands today. Spencer designed a wide variety of Prairie homes in Chicago suburbs such as Hinsdale, Evanston, Riverside and, of course, River Forest where he built his own home. Spencer even managed to stamp some icons inside the Chicago boundaries as well.

Spencer's Prairie School designs strike me as a bit different than the rest. Though he uses art glass and geometric patterns on the windows, they aren't as dominating as in some other homes featured in Dixie Legler's awesome book, Prairie Style. Other slightly different kinks are the amazing facades. That doorway looks utterly gorgeous decked out in those neat patterns I have not seen on any of the other homes featured in this book. If you click on the links posted, you'll see Spencer was certainly no stranger to fancy facades. My kind of guy that Spencer!