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| The Clay Pit looking North from the top of the natural gas tank from about Albion and Albany Avenues, West Ridge community, West Rogers Park, neighborhood, Chicago (1945). CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE |
The “Clay Pit” was a multi-acre wildlife area that served in the 1930s as a source of material for making bricks. It seemed gigantic, stretching eight blocks north to south and several wide, defined by the streets Whipple (east), Pratt (south), Kedzie (west), and Touhy (north). The Entrance to People's Gas, Light, and Coke facility was on Whipple Street.
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| The Clay Pit at Touhy and Kedzie, looking southeast. Circa 1950 |
Its wilderness-like atmosphere included swamps and ponds with reeds, brush, trees, birds, squirrels, skunks, snakes, frogs, and fish.
By Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Dr. Gale, In the upper left hand corner of the photograph there is a long building running north-south. My parents told me of going to stables along the canal to ride horses, with their friends in the 30's, and with dates in the 40's. Could this have been a stable?
ReplyDeleteWe (teens) used to rent-a-horse at that stable circa 1950s.
DeleteWhen these photos were taken, the large gas holders contained gas made from coal until the early 60s when natural gas pipelines were built and underground storage made the big tanks obsolete
ReplyDelete