Your June 3 editorial advocating pulling down the 63rd Street elevated is well-supported. Facing change and accommodating it are imperative in all aspects of life. When I was in high school in Chicago, I worked after school in the old Star Department Store just west of the then-Illinois Central tracks. It was located on 63rd Street. The old Tower Theater was on the north side of the street just east of the IC tracks. The neighborhood was safe, rich with good retail emporiums and the elevated was an important part of the ambience of the neighborhood.
Years later, after moving Downstate, I was called upon to attend a bar association gathering. The American Bar Headquarters was then on the south side of the Midway just west of Kenwood. Inadvertently I took from the Loop an Illinois Central commuter electric to the 63rd Street station. I walked west on 63rd to Kenwood and north on Kenwood to the association headquarters. I was subjected to catcalls, threats, stone-throwing, and it was a chilling experience. The Woodlawn area will never stand a chance to return to its former good-neighbor atmosphere unless the “L” is brought down. Bring on the maracas of public support to accomplish this result! It would be a long stride toward reopening what was a choice neighborhood-type area.
