The Northtown Branch of the Chicago Public Library at 6435 North California closed the week of December 16th, 2018, after 56 years of service to the West Ridge community.
The building was designed by City Architect Paul Gerhardt Jr., and built for the economical sum of $174,438. A new Northtown Branch will open in the winter of 2019 at the North-West corner of Pratt Bouldvard and Western Avenue.
This was my Library branch all through grammar and high school, as I lived only ½ block west on Arthur Avenue. All the employees knew me by name. As a young kid with a childrens library card, I was allowed to check out books from the adult side of the library. The library was a retreat from home... anytime I wanted to 'escape' I was always allowed to go to the library. I read a LOT of books!
THE NEW NORTHTOWN LIBRARY IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
The new Northtown Chicago Public Library Branch is a mixed-use structure being built at the north-west corner of Western Avenue and Pratt Boulevard; 6800 North Western Avenue.
The four-story project was designed by Chicago-based global architecture firm Perkins+Will, which has designed more than a dozen library projects. The West Ridge project features a glassy, 16,000-square-foot ground-floor library space topped by 44 affordable senior housing units.
Modular housing units wind above from the west to the east, enlivening the typical residential corridor while creating roof gardens that acknowledge the public park to the east and the quiet residential neighborhood to the west. Double height glazed lobbies connect the library to the senior housing, inspiring community interaction between the inside and outside, the public and private.
The library is anchored at both ends with vibrant community spaces, one showcasing teens and technology, while a community room and lobby at the opposite end will house an artist-in-residence, and be available to the community after regular library hours. Creating one large open space for visual connection throughout also meant creating intuitive identities and zones for patrons. Shaping of the stacks and the lighting above helps create paths and destinations visible across the space.
Born in Greensburg, Kentucky, William H. Herndon was one of many Kentucky-born men who influenced Lincoln’s life.
William H. Herndon - Lincoln's Law Partner.
While working at Joshua Speed’s store as a clerk in Springfield, Illinois, Herndon would end up getting to know and become close friends with Abraham Lincoln. Herndon, referred to as “Billy” by Lincoln, was invited by Lincoln to practice law in the law office of (Stephen) Logan and Lincoln in 1841. By 1844, Lincoln was ready to start his own practice and asked Herndon, who was nine years younger than Lincoln, to be his law partner.
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, Springfield, Illinois.
Years later, Herndon explained, “I confess I was surprised when he invited me to become his partner. I was young in the practice and was painfully aware of my want of ability and experience; but when he remarked in his earnest honest way, ‘Billy, I can trust you, if you can trust me.’ I felt relieved and accepted his generous proposal.” Even though Lincoln was the senior partner, he split the fees evenly with Herndon throughout their partnership. They were law partners for sixteen years until Lincoln left for the White House in February of 1861. On Sunday, February 10, 1861, before Lincoln left, he would pay one final visit to Herndon in their law office. They discussed the good old days and some unfinished legal work. Before Lincoln left, he requested that Herndon keep the sign of Lincoln and Herndon up. “Let it hang there undisturbed. Give our clients to understand that the election of a President makes no change in the firm of Lincoln and Herndon. If I live I’m coming back some time, and then we’ll go right on practicing law as if nothing had ever happened.” And as he left, he grabbed Herndon’s hand and said “good-bye.” After Lincoln’s death, Herndon continued his law career and wrote a bibliography on Lincoln called "Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life. (in pdf)" In addition to a law partner, Herndon was also an important political ally throughout Lincoln’s public life. Both men were part of the Whig and Republican Parties and both were against the institution of slavery. There was a mutual respect between the two men, and Herndon wrote of Lincoln: “I was with Mr. Lincoln for about twenty-five years, and I can truthfully say I never knew him to do a wrong thing, never knew him to do a mean thing, never knew him to do any little dirty trick.” Herndon died in Springfield, Illinois on March 18, 1891. He is buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery, the same cemetery in which his friend Abraham Lincoln lies. Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
By the turn of the 20th century, a lot of Rogers Park lakefront was still Birch and Oak Forests which, not surprisingly, gave its name to Birchwood Avenue. The subdivision of Birchwood Beach extended from Birchwood Avenue south to Touhy Avenue for about 1/2 mile and west to the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad tracks (today's CTA Red Line) in the Rogers Park community of Chicago. At the rate the native birch trees are dying out and getting cut down it won't be long before the great forest will become extinct.
Dr. Ward Green Klarke, interviewed in November of 1927. While I did not come to Rogers Park to live until 1906, I remember coming to the district as early as 1884 to hunt. Ducks found Rogers Park a good lighting place and we came here for the excellent hunting to be found. At that time there were no cross streets between Pratt and Touhy Avenues. I remember when Carter Harrison was mayor and Sheridan Road was improved from a sandy stretch to a cinder path. That was in 1894 and the time of the bicycle craze, and people riding their bikes used to venture north of Devon Avenue because the wooded land was beautiful.
White Birch Woods in the Rogers Park community of Chicago, Illinois.
Then the Birchwood District was covered with white birch and now (in 1927) you cannot find one in the whole of Rogers Park.
Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. Accounts from Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society
Heinrich (Henry) Harms (1832-1914) is considered the founding father of Niles Centre (Niles Centre, Incorporated 1888; Americanized to Niles Center1910; Renamed to Skokie 1940). Harms, born in Prussia immigrated to the United States in 1851. He purchased a farm and built a home on the current site of the Skokie Village Hall in 1854. In 1858, Harms became Skokie’s first merchant when he opened a general store at what is now the intersection of Lincoln and Oakton. Throughout his life, Harms served in various civic positions: township constable, supervisor and commissioner of highways, and Cook County Drainage Commissioner. He founded three school districts in Niles Township, and began operating Skokie’s first post office in 1863, becoming the area’s first postmaster.
Henry Harms First Home.
At one point, Harms owned 1,800 acres of Cook County real estate. Much of the area surrounding the current Lincoln and Oakton intersection to the west, south, and east was part of the Harms farm - Oakton Street was once called Harms Avenue. The Lincoln Avenue planked toll road, which ran between present day Galitz Avenue in Skokie and Halsted Street in Chicago, was developed by Harms. Harms’ many contributions earned him the title of founder. Father to fourteen children.
Henry Harms third and last house at 5319 Oakton Street, Skokie.
Oil painting depicts the house owned by Henry Harms. This 1869 farmhouse was built of hand-made bricks, located near the current site of the Skokie Public Library on Oakton Street. The house is shown with a porch and tall trees covered with colorful autumn leaves.
Harms Park was a privately-owned picnic grove located at the northeast corner of Western and Berteau Avenues in Chicago.
Harms Park Restaurant and Picnic Grounds became a park in 1893, lasting until 1946, when the land was re-developed for private housing.
Many events and festivals were held in Harms Park, most notably the Chicago Old Settlers’ Picnic, which celebrated Chicago’s oldest citizens. 1937 marked Chicago’s hundreth year as a city, and the Chicago Charter Jubilee held various celebrations and events, among them this picnic, which was held annually until 1946.
Present day Harms Road and Harms Woods are named in his honor. Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Montgomery Ward, founded by Arron Montgomery Ward (1843-1913), was one of the giants of Chicago's retail industry. In the 1930s, the company expanded beyond its initial mail-order business. They built hundreds of department stores across the country. Wards found it hard to break into the department store retail, especially in cities with established shopping districts like Chicago's State Street. Montgomery Ward offered special promotions to stand out from crosstown rivals like Sears, The Fair Stores, and Marshall Field'sduring the holiday shopping season. Ward handed out free coloring books to children for several years in the 1930s, and this was popular, but the store lost money on each book.
Robert May standing with his creation "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in front of his home in Skokie, Illinois, on December 19, 1949.
A copywriter named Robert L. May was assigned to create a new coloring book for the stores to pass out for free. The company hoped that creating its own book would save money and give them a unique promotion. That book would become the world-famous Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
When creating Rudolph, May drew upon existing children's stories, Christmas folklore, and his own memories and feelings. In a later interview, May said, "I'd always been the smallest in the class. Frail, poorly coordinated, I was never asked to join the school teams."
DC Comics - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was 1st published in 1950.
May grafted those memories of ostracization onto a story inspired by The Ugly Duckling. He also drew upon the wildly popular poem "'Twas The Night Before Christmas." It provided the rhyming meter used in Rudolph and helped May decide to use a reindeer in his story. May's four-year-old daughter, Barabara, was also part of his inspiration. She loved going to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and seeing her favorites, the deer and reindeer. Seeing that made May feel certain that kids would like and identify with Rudolph. He also tested out the rhymes on her before publishing. May considered naming the reindeer "Rollo" or "Reginald" before deciding upon using the name "Rudolph." Initially, the idea of Rudolph having a red nose was not liked. Red noses are a universal indication of drunkenness. Understandably, that's not an association the Wards executives wanted. Making the protagonist of a kids' book look drunk is, of course, a bad idea. The lively illustrations by artist Denver Gillen convinced the executives in the end.
Little Golden Book; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, 1958.
A recent scholarly paper affirmed that Rudolph's famous red nose is ideal for guidance on a foggy night. Red light carried further in refractive light, which means Santa made a very astute decision in asking Rudolph to lead his sleigh. Before publication, the president of Montgomery Ward hoped that the book would bring "a tremendous amount of Christmas traffic." The book went far beyond that and became a staple of Christmas around the country. The store published and distributed 2.4 million copies of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1939. Any further publication was impossible because of the wartime limitations on paper. After World War II ended, May asked for the rights to the story he created. Inspired by either goodwill or short-sightedness, the company signed over the ownership of Rudolph to May. May had new editions printed, which unexpectedly sold millions of copies, which May earned royalties for.
In 1949, May asked his brother-in-law, the songwriter Johnny Marks, to turn the story into a song, and Bing Crosby famously declined to perform it. Into the breach stepped the "singing cowboy" Gene Autry. That song version hit #1 on the 'Pop' and 'C&W' charts, selling over 25 million copies. It's still one of the best-selling songs of all time! The book and song made Rudolph a permanent part of Christmas worldwide.
SONG
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, 1949
Gene Autry, featuring the Pinafores.
SONG LYRICS
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen But do you recall The most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Had a very shiny nose And if you ever saw it You would even say it glows All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say "Rudolph, with your nose so bright Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" Then how the reindeer loved him As they shouted out with glee "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer You'll go down in history" Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Had a very shiny nose And if you ever saw it You would even say it glows All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say "Rudolph, with your nose so bright Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" Then how the reindeer loved him As they shouted out with glee "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer You'll go down in history"
The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, LP. It has been adapted in numerous forms, including a popular song, the iconic 1964 television special and sequels, and a feature film and sequel. Character Arts, LLC manages the licensing for the Rudolph Company. In many countries, Rudolph has become a figure of Christmas folklore. 2014 marked the 75th anniversary of the character and the 50th anniversary of the television special. A series of postage stamps featuring Rudolph was issued by the United States Postal Service on November 6, 2014.
sidebar
Wards was my client in 1997-98. My project was a complete overhaul of their website. I received the authentic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" story from the Montgomery Ward archives.
