September 9-13, 1979: At the Cullinane Offices in Boston
	Return to Index for 1979

I have been in my highrise for about five years now, and I should probably take this opportunity to tell you a bit about it.

First, where is it generally located in the Chicago area? The answer is that it's just 16 blocks north and two blocks west of the center of Chicago's house numbering scheme. The zero-zero center of that scheme is the intersection of State Street and Madison Street.

This makes it very convenient to downtown. A bus will get me to the center of town in five or ten minutes, or I can simply walk. And that's one of the nice things about 1660 North Lasalle- just about everything is within walking distance.

Let's zero in a little closer with the map at right. Now you can see that 1660 North LaSalle is located on LaSalle Street (one of Chicago's main north-south boulevards downtown), just north of North Avenue. North Avenue, to many people, is the dividing line between downtown Chicago and "the north side", although in recent years that boundary is just as often assumed to be the Chicago River- located about 500 north.

The street system in Chicago is mostly a gigantic grid, although there are some streets that radiate out from the lakefront like spokes on a wheel, but these streets don't begin angling northwest or southwest in the downtown area. Below North Avenue the grid (except for Lake Shore Drive, of course) is pretty absolute. In fact, as you can see, Clark street turns from due north to northwest right near 1660.

1660 North LaSalle is neatly located in the block between North Avenue, Wells Street, Eugenie Street, and LaSalle Street, right at the south end of Lincoln Park (one of the largest city parks in the United States). I might say that even though Lincoln Park is actually a hundred parks down the list in size, the majority of the US city parks larger than it is are located not entirely within an urban area, but rather adjacent to it. For comparison, Lincoln Park is 2.5 times larger than Central Park in New York City.

Near the location of my condo building are not only Lincoln Park, but also the famous Second City Improv Theatre, the Chicago Historical Museum, the Moody Church, and many other attractions.

Let's switch to an aerial view, and you can get a better idea of what the area around my building looks like.

As you can see, the building is situated at the northeast corner of its block; the front entrance is on LaSalle Street. I might mention that when I first moved into the building (back before it became a condominium), it was called Eugenie Square- named for the street that bordered it on the north. When the building converted to a condominium a few years back and I decided to buy my unit (for $80,000), the name of the building was changed to 1660 North LaSalle, to take advantage of the fact that lots more people knew where LaSalle Street than had ever heard of Eugenie Street.

Attached to the building is its parking garage, and the ground floor of that garage is permanently leased to the Treasure Island Supermarket. Treasure Island is actually a chain, although its markets further out from the center of Chicago are much larger. Even so, the market has all of what I need, albeit at prices a bit higher than its stores out in the suburbs.

Across LaSalle Street is the Moody Church, and across Clark Street is the Chicago Historical Society and Museum. Beyond that to the east is Lincoln Park- all the way to the shore of Lake Michigan. The park runs for some 17 miles north along the lakeshore, and contains a zoo, a conservatory, a few marinas, and a huge number of ball fields, recreational facilities, and so on. It is where I do my jogging. Even though Lake Shore Drive goes through the park, the foot paths and bridle paths either go under it or over it.

Finally, let's take a look at the building itself. As I mentioned at the outset, the building was originally Eugenie Square, changing its name to 1660 North LaSalle in 1975 when it became a condominium. As of the date of this album page, it still has that name, although I can say that a few years from now it will change its name again- to The Parkview. That was it's name when I left in 1985 to move to Dallas.

But I can also report that some years after that its name was changed back to 1660 North LaSalle, probably for the same reason it was changed from Eugenie Square; the address distinguishes it from the many, many other condos and apartments that actually have views of Lincoln Park. And, again, everyone knows where LaSalle Street is.

The building is 42 stories tall and there are 12 units on each floor. At the corners, the units are two-bedroom, two-bath (01, 02, 11, and 12). Each floor also has four one-bedroom units and two each of two different floorplans of studio/efficiency units. I lived on the 36th floor at the southwest corner. I had expansive views all the way from the northwest to the east- including simply amazing views of downtown Chicago. There were no buildings blocking my view; the next tall buildings to the south and southeast (towards downtown) are between four and eight blocks away, and so they don't impede my view. The tallest building nearby, on the other side of Wells Street due west, is shorter than 1660, and so I can see over it as far west as the weather will allow. (I recall that the week I moved in, I put my mattress in the middle of the living room because the view was so spectacular.

The building has the typical amenities- laundry, recreation room, cleaners, restaurant, concierge, and such- and with the attached grocery store was ideal for me. The first couple of years I was here, I just parked on the street, but as the area became more congested over the years with more highrises, a leased a space in the garage.

Our pool is located on the ground just south of the building itself, and it operates between mid-April and mid-October. That's where today's pictures were taken.

I have only one complaint about the building. Like almost all highrises, it has a building-wide HVAC system, and that system either cools or heats; you can't switch back and forth (in individual units) between the two. Nor is it easy for the building to do so; it takes 48 hours to switch it over from one to the other. So this building, like most others, has set a date in the spring to switch from heating to cooling, and a date in the fall to switch back. With the vagaries of Chicago's weather, there are always days, or even weeks, around these times when one might wish the turnover hadn't happened or when one might wish the turnover would happen sooner. I like to sleep in a cold room. In the Chicago winter, all I have to do is open a window, but in the summer I rely on the building's AC system. If it gets warm in Chicago before the turnover to cooling, there can be some nights when sleeping is harder for me. But these days don't occur very often and, even so, I travel so much that I avoid most of them anyway.

I like living here very much; the building is very nice, my two-bedroom apartment is plenty big enough, the views are fantastic, and everything (including the airport limousine stop) is within walking distance. And I love Chicago.

The Summer of 1979 was a typical one at the Parkview pool. All the familiar faces were there. Diane Glickman, is at left, Susie James is in the middle, and facing the camera with an odd expression is my travel agent Steve Goldberg. It is very convenient having Steve in the building, and he is very good at arranging my travel (and I am happy to help him earn more commissions). He is also qute a character, and lives in a large studio on the sixth floor (along with his three cockatiels).

Chicago has a reputation for its winters, but it can get quite warm in the summer- sometimes reaching the mid-90s. On a day like today, with a temperature in the upper 80s, the pool is a popular place to be. Most people just lay in the sun and work on their tans, although I either bring a book or my backgammon set in case there is someone who wants to play. Here are two more pictures that I took today:

The Girls Club That's Linda Rappin at left (she is a waitress at Bones, an upscale BBQ place), Diane (a buyer for Marshall Field), Diane's friend Patricia, and Susan (who I seem to recall works for the city).

Me I had Diane take this picture; I wish it had turned out better.

	September 9-13, 1979: At the Cullinane Offices in Boston
	Return to Index for 1979