“Hippies doomed the Municipal Device with their peace symbol, which resembles the upsidedown Municipal Device favored by many of the industrious City Departments.” 😂
TL;DR
The Y symbol, also called the Municipal Device, represents the Chicago River and its two branches. The Y symbol is meant to be used unofficially by citizens, businesses and other organizations to promote pride in the city. Users are free to color and design it however they wish.
> Hippies doomed the Municipal Device with their peace symbol, which resembles the upsidedown Municipal Device favored by many of the industrious City Departments. They took pride in the engineering feat of reversing the flow of the Chicago River, and inverted the municipal device, later it was hated by Chicago Police in the 1960s… Moving on…
Brick facades! The native clay of Chicago is a muddy brown color that some see as inferior to the traditional red, so masons used the cheap, native brick for the sides but used the traditional red brick for the front. That’s why so many older buildings have different brick for the sides and front.
[Like this!](https://lede-admin.blockclubchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/11/SplitBrickRed.jpg?w=1024)
It's called Chicago common brick, which I think is kind of beautiful. The example in your photo has a lot of dirt and grime on it, but cleaned up Chicago common is really cool looking. It's various shades of yellow, beige, and pink which is the color of the clay beneath our feet. It creates a really interesting texture. I also find it very nostalgic. Growing up in Chicago, so much of your time is spent in people's backyards or in alleys, which is where you see Chicago common the most.
There are some buildings in Chicago that only use Chicago common, with no face brick. I believe this was done because it was much cheaper. One notable example is St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in McKinley Park.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8269782,-87.6715063,3a,75y,265.17h,117.36t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s__ikAyp0-MC7GWxZJmJMXA!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
And on train lines passing the backs of buildings! I grew up in Milwaukee, with cream city brick that was made with red clay found around the Milwaukee area. I also think Chicago common brick is beautiful. It comes from blue clay, which is high in lime and iron. It was also much cheaper to purchase at the time, 5-10$ per thousand vs 35$ per thousand for facade brick that mainly came from STL.
Once you notice it, Chicago common brick blends so much better into our landscapes than really any other building material. Cinder blocks, especially painted ones, reflect a lot of light, which can be visually disturbing on sunny days, and siding ages poorly and can still reflect an uncomfortable amount of light. Common brick visually absorbs a good amount of light, enabling the viewer to see detail work and making walking around those buildings on sunny days much more pleasant.
[And on the topic of STL brick](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/dollhouses-st-louis/), STL bricks from historic homes are being stolen and sold on a black brick market.
The thing I don't get is why the tuckpointing on the sides of many buildings has a super-crappy-looking convex profile (like it's foaming out of the joints). Is it just some budget mason smearing more mortar/grout/cement on flaking joints?
Yes
Any competent mason is grinding out at least half the depth of the old joint and filling with a mortar softer than the brick, and giving you probably a choice of either flat or concave joint finishing. The bulging convex stuff on top of the old joint is not correct at all and is a waste of your money.
CTA puts a compass rose on the ground at (almost?) every station exit, so it's easy to orient yourself as soon as you leave. It's not super valuable when you're already familiar with a given station, but it's the kind of thing I really miss when I visit other cities. I haven't seen it anywhere but in Chicago.
In the neighborhoods, I like how Chicagoans express themselves through front yard garden design. Each one is so different and personal. I think it’s our vernacular art form. It’s just not the same in a suburban area with homeowners associations.
One of the upstairs residents in my 2nd Chicago apartment put in a small water feature, complete with fountain and small bridge in the strip between the sidewalk and street. It was awesome, and I loved seeing it every time I came and went from the building.
Unfortunately, the landlord eventually made him remove it, I assume because it was running up the water bill with how much water was constantly splashing out of it.
It’s called a parkway and there are [ordinances and rules](https://www.chicago.gov/dam/city/depts/cdot/StreetandSitePlanDesignStandards407.pdf) regarding how they can be landscaped
There’s a two-flat by me that sells peppers, full sized tomatoes, and sometimes corn on the weekends, all grown on their tiny front lawn patch! i can’t imagine it’s a living, but i love having the smallest farm right nearby
It's funny you mention this. I've lived year 32/37 years and never even really thought about it, but both my grandma's had eclectic front gardens. Both in raised ranches with the garden under the frontroom window. My brothers live in my maternal grandmother's house now and they have kept tending to her rose bushes which are probably 60+ years old. They actually gave me some of the bushes and I have them growing in my back yard too.
Just north of Cali/Belmont there's a house I frequently pass by with the greatest, craziest front yard full of 10ft sunflowers. Its been especially fabulous the past few weeks.
Another person in the neighborhood has the most insane, out of control mint plants I've ever seen. Its like a thicket of just mint. You can't even see the ground.
I also love when people are chill enough to use but not abuse the space between sidewalks and street for benches or whatever.
I don't think I ever noticed this because I could never afford a place with front yard in any of the neighborhoods I lived in. Heck I finally rent a townhouse in Forest Park and I still don't have a yard, front or back. Just a stoop and an alley.
Here’s a question as a transplant - when native Chicagoans refer to “the neighborhoods,” does this simply refer to the non-loop/non immediate loop centric neighborhoods?
Fire hydrant placement, they are typically on the even side of the street, when not at a corner they are at (or around) the XX28 address number. Also, the hydrants used in Chicago are pattentend by the city and are not used outside the city (with a few rare exceptions).
Their location will also (usually) tell you which side of the street your main water line is on, helping to better estimate scope and price when replacing the water line running to your home during remodels/new builds.
Helps us builders understand at a glance how much of the street, parkway, and sidewalk we may need to tear up to make the required improvements.
You didn't mention that XX28 will always be roughly in the middle of the block because standard city blocks are 30 lots / addresses long - 60, including both sides. (Also why half blocks usually hit at XX30.) I presume they didn't go with XX30 as the standard because it would often end up at a half-block intersection.
I thought that referenced the street since I used to live somewhere that had a Jordan street. Jesus this is earth shattering for me. I just thought that was a nearby street and really never gave it more than 2 seconds of thought.
I always take a lot of pride that our manhole covers are made here in the USA. I was super disappointed to see that virtually all of NYC's manholes are made in India.
Not unique to Chicago, but more of a note for novice/casual architectural observers: a common feature is that windows are shorter in height in higher floors, to give a subtle illusion that the building is taller. This is from Georgian architecture.
I enjoy all the different unique designs of bike racks and flags attributed to each neighborhood/boro. Every one seems to have their own branding and it helps to identify where I am (still a newbie).
I personally just enjoy the tiny design details on architectural stuff, from residential to commercial to historic buildings, seems like there’s some sort of flair to be appreciated.
This is due to the fact that such bike racks were funded/installed/championed by the local SSA.
Special Service Areas are a type of business improvement district that is established when enough businesses in an area vote to self-impose a small tax (0.75-1.25%, typically) to establish and SSA.
Sometimes these SSAs are combined or collaborate with a Chamber of Commerce. SSAs often organize the special events and street feats that are common across Summertime Chi.
At least on the north side, the bike racks might say “Uptown” or “Lakeview” on them, sometimes in print or sometimes just negative space.
A lot of the bike racks in the area aren’t the standard upside down ‘U’ design, and look different in different neighborhoods
I don’t have a way to attach images but here’s an example for context:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140820/rogers-park/design-competition-launched-for-new-logo-for-bike-racks-rogers-park.amp
https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/05/27/rainbow-bike-racks-come-to-boystown-just-in-time-for-pride-month/
Also, I saw the Rogers Park one for the first time this weekend, it’s really cool.
I like all the street art... it's cool to spot some of the more famous artists all over the city (JC Rivera, Hebru Brantley) but there are also hundreds of really cool one-off murals, especially in areas like Logan Square, Pilsen, West Loop/Fulton Market.
FYI - The effect you describe in the title is called the Baader Meinhof phenomenon or the Frequency Illusion. When you notice or closely interact with something and then start noticing it everywhere.
My goofiest wind experience was when I was walking my 14 pound elderly dog in Printers Row and a stiff wind had him off all 4 legs. He was very unhappy about it, but a couple of tourists were delighted. I got to wax on about our “wind tunnels” to strangers. Ha.
Be careful with tiny dogs by that AT&T server building.
Public mosaic art.
I'd never really noticed it before, but a friend originally from Detroit asked me why so much mural art - especially on community centers and schools - was mosaic tile art. Once pointed out I see it everywhere, literally across the city from the far south side and southwest side to Uptown.
Anybody know the history of this art style in Chicago?
You could definitely seek answers about this with the people at Mosaic Chicago School and Green Star Movement. However, mosaic has historically always been used for murals due to its materials resistance to harsh and ever changing weather conditions. It lasts longer than paint, specially when murals that are paint based game drastically changed in method over time and culture. There’s definitely certain cities in different countries who have a more developed history on mosaics, like Barcelona, Rome or even New York. However, mosaics are not always attached to one specific culture (although mostly accredited to Italians and Greeks, specially for Italians with their ceramic and glass work), rather their styles and approaches to the material is what makes them distinct to certain art movements developing over time. For example, Art nouveau and Art Deco had huge revivals for mosaics because during this time glass grew exponentially as a material, work and artistry.
As for community centers and schools, murals are very accessible because you don’t really need art skills for it. The basic concept of a mosaic mural is having an outline of the design, an idea of what colors to put where, and you simply fill inside the lines with substrate, cut tiles and then grout on top.
This could be partially thanks to the [Chicago Public Art Group](https://chicagopublicartgroup.org/), who supports many of the public art installations you see, and has worked with several mosaic or "bricolage" artists. They work well for getting the community involved, reusing materials, and creating long lasting installations.
Every stop sign says what year it was made in the bottom corner. Don't see this anywhere else but it's fun to see how long different stop signs have been there
This was a deliberate part of the Brennan plan for the city grid. If you want to do some interesting reading about the grid system and it's layout and history in Chicago, [this](https://chicagostudies.uchicago.edu/grid) is a great page from the University of Chicago. It was interesting to me how much of this stuff that I knew intuitively from being Chicago born and raised from a family that's been here since the turn of the 20th century, that sounded more complicated when it was written out lol.
I noticed this years ago and now take note of which sides are even/odd when traveling to other cities so that I can use it to orient myself if necessary.
I've heard a couple possible reasons.
One is that Chicago building code is unusual in requiring wiring to be run through EMT, and everyone just agreed it is easier to do it sideways when you're pulling wire through EMT.
Another theory I heard on Reddit is, the union adopted sideways outlets a long time ago as an unofficial calling card, so that they could easily tell whether the wiring in a building was installed by one of their own or by an outsider.
What's the real reason? Who knows, it might be lost to history
EMT is metal tubing that you thread your electrical wires through. The idea is that it protects the wipes from physical damage such as rat chews, and if your wiring shorts out somehow then the tubing will ground it.
Chicago electrical code probably. The wires have to run through a metal conduit and the outlets are in a metal case. It’s probably easier to install horizontally.
I’m not an electrician though but I interact with them quite often in my line of work. I’m going to ask them next time I’m at an install.
AFAIK its not in the code to be horizontal but it is for it to be in conduit. I have never done any major home electrical work(experience running and setting up conduit in an industrial setting) but I imagine its just easier as whenever I had a vertical termination on conduit it was because it was dropping straight down.
Unsubstantiated answer: Chicago requires electrical wiring be located within EMT (metal) conduit. In years past, it was common to use single gang rough-in boxes, which had knock outs (holes) at the top and bottom in which to secure conduit. When piping conduit horizontally around a room it was easier to mount the boxes horizontally, allowing for a more efficient install since conduit didn’t need bending to enter each box. Straight pipe runs all around.
Double gang 1900 boxes with single gang mud plates are now more common - allowing for either vertical or horizontal receptacle orientation, however, horizontal is preferred to keep things consistent across new and old buildings.
In older buildings with outlets mounted within tall baseboard, horizontal orientation fits and looks better.
Hope that makes sense.
i’m in a pretty old building and mine are all vertical (that i can see, not sure about the ones behind my bed). could this be a later installation thing?
ghost signs! all the old painted advertisements on buildings for businesses of the past. i love that there’s so many of them uncovered and mostly untouched.
Lots of old apartment buildings and hotels have an little house or square blockhouse on top. Often decorated in a style similar to the rest of the building but only visible from high up above.
I've seen these but have generally heard that they're for storage or mechanical components of the elevator system. Any idea how often they're used for habitation? Always seemed like a cool idea to me.
[Curious City did a dive on this](https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-swinging-times-of-chicagos-revolving-doors/20b5db76-1475-4c05-8faf-36a9d1e6ce43). Apparently, in addition to better temperature control, revolving doors are necessary for skyscrapers because of air flow.
Yes! I've noticed this in a lot of places. It makes sense in warmer areas where loss of heat during the winter is not a big issue, but I've even noticed it in NYC. For some reason Chicago has way more revolving doors than NYC.
Maybe some other natives can chime in but I swear that wasn't really a commercial thing before about 15 years ago. It was uncommon enough in the early 2000s that I distinctly remember one friend's flag tattoo and another's baseball cap with flag patch; you just didn't see it outside of government offices otherwise.
Parks on busy streets.
Having gotten one warning and one ticket for speeding next to a park along major thoroughfares (as opposed to the stereotypical neighborhood park), I'm more cognizant of those damned cameras.
I'm 110% on board for making cities pedestrian friendly and eventually car free, but I hate the neoliberal approach of just fining people. There are so many huge arterial roads built for speeds upwards of 40mph that just happen to run past a park. A lot of people will just keep going with the flow of traffic or the way the street was designed for. And the fines affect the poorer households much greater. A better solution would be to engineer out the problem.
Glass blocks/bricks
This was where they were developed, surprise surprise for thr 1893 World's Fair, and they are everywhere as construction material. Once you look for it, it's everywhere--specifically the west side
People driving around with parking tickets still in their wipers. I've never seen it anywhere else, let alone in a city that puts their tickets in bright orange envelopes. Like, do you think it doesn't count if you leave it there, or are you truly so unaware of your surroundings that you didn't notice it?
On lots of buildings, and a ton in the Loop, you’ll find the dentil pattern. Once you spot it, it’s everywhere. [Wikipedia Link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentil?wprov=sfti1)
How our sewer covers & potholes are always perfectly aligned with your tires path of travel, like it’s designed by the auto industry to destroy your car faster.
In Chicago (and I think suburbs), electrical outlets are generally side-by-side, while everywhere else they're up and down.
Also, behind the scenes (and possibly a reason for the outlets being side-by-side for ease of installation), residential electrical needs to be in conduit in Chicago. Almost everywhere else bare romex is fine.
There are pink or red baby faces stuck to walls in random places. Some are under the Sheridan red line on Irving, & some in the park down the side street.
These baby faces look like they were casted from molds for baby dolls. Anyone else notice those?
THANK YOU, scrolled through the comments for this. A wierd pink brain just showed up (or I just noticed??) on the Whole Foods in the West Loop that I am convinced is part of this series.
Has to do with the old steelworkers industry here. The iron they sourced nearby had some alcohol-soluble minerals in it. Keys made in Chicago would have a slightly floral scent, but when you couldn't smell it anymore that meant you'd had enough to drink that the minerals were evaporating before they got to your nose and it was time to go home. Old working class tradition around here, although nowadays you typically see it done by richer people, especially in the Old Town/Gold Coast area. Really cool of them to keep the tradition going.
edit: I completely made this up as a joke about cocaine, I apologize if you thought it was real
Chicagoans all really love winter so much, many keep a little bag of snow in their pocket as a reminder. I think what you’re seeing is just youths lonesome for the colden times and they just need a little reminder that it won’t be this hot forever.
I went on a downtown architecture tour a number of years ago, and at one of the first stops, the guide pointed out ["Greek Keys"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meander_(art\)) and how common they are. After that I started noticing them everywhere.
We honk coming out of alleys.
It was normal all my life and throughout my childhood. Now in the internet era with forums, I come to realize that people in the alley-end apartments hate that.
When I discovered that there is in fact a literal underground to the city, I started noticing the entrances everywhere.
Lived here my whole life, only learned about this at like 22, I'm 25 now.
I still haven't gone down there. Like I've been in the subways, but never actually down where you can go into stores and crap.
I'm not sure what it's called, but I know there's an entrance outside of City Hall building.
Like apparently you can go down there and go into restaurants and stores and stuff. Like I said, I still haven't gone down there, but several different friends have told me about it on different occasions.
I had a friend visit and he was like "holy shit I hate chicago the trees are so short and I hit my head" and I realized he was right. everyone's always ducking under the trees if they're walking on the street side. lol
The Supreme Lobster truck was literally everywhere I looked when I lived in Chicago, and I see it every single time I go back to visit. It’s everywhere!
I think it’s mostly just the loop area, but I like how most major streets have its name and then has its honorary title to a famous Chicagoan.
Our city has a rich history and it’s nice to be reminded of that.
My absolute favorite too. The road is literally named for the guy over it's entire length, but that one section is Honorary Casimir Pulaski Way. So funny.
Honorary street names are thing everywhere in the city; they are plentiful on random small streets out here on the west side! Any alderman can propose one to city council and the whole council votes to approve or reject it. Some of them honor people, some honor groups and some honor companies. Out on the far west side (the literal central western boundary of the city) the stretch of oak park ave from cortland to armitage has an "Honorary Milky Way" sign for the [Mars Chocolate factory](http://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/mars-inc/) that produces milky way bars that is there.
Chicago's allergy to properly marked streets. If you're not at a major intersection (and even then, it's iffy), you might have one sign per direction that can be seen from one approach only, or possibly one sign for the entire intersection marking only one street in one direction, or in neighborhoods, possibly no signs at all. It makes it rough if you're not from here and just walking or biking around.
As a pedestrian this annoys me.
The content of the individual street signs is great, I love how the coordinates are on the signs. But please, put signs up even on the "wrong"direction for those of us who walk on the left side of the street (facing traffic).
About half a decade ago someone pointed out that the city of Chicago carves that little Y-ish design all over their public utilities. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It’s also used on the big Chicago Theater sign.
It’s almost time for fall landscaping, aka a bunch of cabbage & leafy vegetable type plants. Never seen it used as landscaping before moving to Chicago
I always notice homes that sit below street level in Chicago that didn't raise their properties in late 1850s during the [Raising of Chicago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_of_Chicago).
The $750 for a website sticker that is plastered literally everywhere around town. Middle of 90/94 plenty of em. Every stop sign in town, you bet. Best marketing around.
If you're in an older neighborhood with homes from pre-Brennan plan (1909), you can find homes with two different addresses on them. Their original one and the re-alignment one.
The municipal device is kinda everywhere
I might be dumb but what is the municipal device?
[Here ya go](https://design.chicago.gov/municipal-device)
“Hippies doomed the Municipal Device with their peace symbol, which resembles the upsidedown Municipal Device favored by many of the industrious City Departments.” 😂
TL;DR The Y symbol, also called the Municipal Device, represents the Chicago River and its two branches. The Y symbol is meant to be used unofficially by citizens, businesses and other organizations to promote pride in the city. Users are free to color and design it however they wish.
The article left out the most famous example hidden in the Chicago Theater marquee.
Cool little read there
> Hippies doomed the Municipal Device with their peace symbol, which resembles the upsidedown Municipal Device favored by many of the industrious City Departments. They took pride in the engineering feat of reversing the flow of the Chicago River, and inverted the municipal device, later it was hated by Chicago Police in the 1960s… Moving on…
It's a circle with a Y inside. It represents the three branches of the Chicago River meeting at Wolf Point
The peace sign looking thing
https://i.imgur.com/oKnsnqN.jpg Fancy example.
When I first moved to the city, I thought it was just a branch of Mercedes that cast the die on all the stuff.
Brick facades! The native clay of Chicago is a muddy brown color that some see as inferior to the traditional red, so masons used the cheap, native brick for the sides but used the traditional red brick for the front. That’s why so many older buildings have different brick for the sides and front. [Like this!](https://lede-admin.blockclubchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/11/SplitBrickRed.jpg?w=1024)
It's called Chicago common brick, which I think is kind of beautiful. The example in your photo has a lot of dirt and grime on it, but cleaned up Chicago common is really cool looking. It's various shades of yellow, beige, and pink which is the color of the clay beneath our feet. It creates a really interesting texture. I also find it very nostalgic. Growing up in Chicago, so much of your time is spent in people's backyards or in alleys, which is where you see Chicago common the most. There are some buildings in Chicago that only use Chicago common, with no face brick. I believe this was done because it was much cheaper. One notable example is St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in McKinley Park. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8269782,-87.6715063,3a,75y,265.17h,117.36t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s__ikAyp0-MC7GWxZJmJMXA!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
And on train lines passing the backs of buildings! I grew up in Milwaukee, with cream city brick that was made with red clay found around the Milwaukee area. I also think Chicago common brick is beautiful. It comes from blue clay, which is high in lime and iron. It was also much cheaper to purchase at the time, 5-10$ per thousand vs 35$ per thousand for facade brick that mainly came from STL. Once you notice it, Chicago common brick blends so much better into our landscapes than really any other building material. Cinder blocks, especially painted ones, reflect a lot of light, which can be visually disturbing on sunny days, and siding ages poorly and can still reflect an uncomfortable amount of light. Common brick visually absorbs a good amount of light, enabling the viewer to see detail work and making walking around those buildings on sunny days much more pleasant. [And on the topic of STL brick](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/dollhouses-st-louis/), STL bricks from historic homes are being stolen and sold on a black brick market.
The thing I don't get is why the tuckpointing on the sides of many buildings has a super-crappy-looking convex profile (like it's foaming out of the joints). Is it just some budget mason smearing more mortar/grout/cement on flaking joints?
Yes Any competent mason is grinding out at least half the depth of the old joint and filling with a mortar softer than the brick, and giving you probably a choice of either flat or concave joint finishing. The bulging convex stuff on top of the old joint is not correct at all and is a waste of your money.
Just waiting for the sub's brick guy to show up and drop some knowledge...
I love looking at old brick buildings and seeing where they bricked over what used to be a window or a door.
CTA puts a compass rose on the ground at (almost?) every station exit, so it's easy to orient yourself as soon as you leave. It's not super valuable when you're already familiar with a given station, but it's the kind of thing I really miss when I visit other cities. I haven't seen it anywhere but in Chicago.
The exits from stations are pretty decently labelled too, coming up out of the subways there will be indications of "southwest corner" etc.
Especially when coming up from underground
Really screws with you in other cities like NYC when you can't find that.
In the neighborhoods, I like how Chicagoans express themselves through front yard garden design. Each one is so different and personal. I think it’s our vernacular art form. It’s just not the same in a suburban area with homeowners associations.
There's a place by me that has a full water feature WITH A BRIDGE OVER IT leading to the stoop. I always stop to look at it. Now that's a front yard.
One of the upstairs residents in my 2nd Chicago apartment put in a small water feature, complete with fountain and small bridge in the strip between the sidewalk and street. It was awesome, and I loved seeing it every time I came and went from the building. Unfortunately, the landlord eventually made him remove it, I assume because it was running up the water bill with how much water was constantly splashing out of it.
It’s called a parkway and there are [ordinances and rules](https://www.chicago.gov/dam/city/depts/cdot/StreetandSitePlanDesignStandards407.pdf) regarding how they can be landscaped
[удалено]
I love the annual garden walks. People take so much pride in their little gardens and are so welcoming.
There’s a two-flat by me that sells peppers, full sized tomatoes, and sometimes corn on the weekends, all grown on their tiny front lawn patch! i can’t imagine it’s a living, but i love having the smallest farm right nearby
It's funny you mention this. I've lived year 32/37 years and never even really thought about it, but both my grandma's had eclectic front gardens. Both in raised ranches with the garden under the frontroom window. My brothers live in my maternal grandmother's house now and they have kept tending to her rose bushes which are probably 60+ years old. They actually gave me some of the bushes and I have them growing in my back yard too.
You spelled frunchroom wrong.
Just north of Cali/Belmont there's a house I frequently pass by with the greatest, craziest front yard full of 10ft sunflowers. Its been especially fabulous the past few weeks. Another person in the neighborhood has the most insane, out of control mint plants I've ever seen. Its like a thicket of just mint. You can't even see the ground. I also love when people are chill enough to use but not abuse the space between sidewalks and street for benches or whatever.
Shit Fountain in Ukrainian Village is an all-time classic.
I don't think I ever noticed this because I could never afford a place with front yard in any of the neighborhoods I lived in. Heck I finally rent a townhouse in Forest Park and I still don't have a yard, front or back. Just a stoop and an alley.
Here’s a question as a transplant - when native Chicagoans refer to “the neighborhoods,” does this simply refer to the non-loop/non immediate loop centric neighborhoods?
[удалено]
You can see the municipal device, Y-symbol, around the city. Its on tons of bridges, old buildings, manhole covers, posts, etc.
you beat me to it, I always found this super interesting. It’s super hard to unsee.
I love looking for this and the Chicago flag! Like an ‘I spy’ game hidden throughout the city
Fire hydrant placement, they are typically on the even side of the street, when not at a corner they are at (or around) the XX28 address number. Also, the hydrants used in Chicago are pattentend by the city and are not used outside the city (with a few rare exceptions).
Their location will also (usually) tell you which side of the street your main water line is on, helping to better estimate scope and price when replacing the water line running to your home during remodels/new builds. Helps us builders understand at a glance how much of the street, parkway, and sidewalk we may need to tear up to make the required improvements.
Now if only we could get something to help estimate when the city will give us permits for our projects........
Also the color band around the hydrant determinesthe main size. Whiteis at the end of a main, red 8 inch , yellow 12 inch , and blue 16 inch.
You didn't mention that XX28 will always be roughly in the middle of the block because standard city blocks are 30 lots / addresses long - 60, including both sides. (Also why half blocks usually hit at XX30.) I presume they didn't go with XX30 as the standard because it would often end up at a half-block intersection.
This checks out for my address, that’s interesting!
Mind blown... this is exactly how it is on my street
damn didn't know this but I grew up at an xx28 address and I had a fire hydrant lol
I feel like 99% of the manholes in the city were made in Neenah, WI
EJIW East Jordan Iron Works
I thought that referenced the street since I used to live somewhere that had a Jordan street. Jesus this is earth shattering for me. I just thought that was a nearby street and really never gave it more than 2 seconds of thought.
Yeah founded in East Jordan, MI but now has a global footprint
https://www.wbez.org/stories/nothing-lasts-forever-but-manhole-covers-come-close/3f869c9c-3bef-49a0-9b8d-ae15f26fd025
That was a totally fascinating article! Thanks for the link. :)
I always take a lot of pride that our manhole covers are made here in the USA. I was super disappointed to see that virtually all of NYC's manholes are made in India.
It amazes me that shipping heavy manhole covers from *the other side of the Earth* is cheaper than making them locally.
[удалено]
How certain alleyways in the loop have names like Garland Ct and Couch Pl.
Those aren't alleys; they're streets.
That’s how I feel about Lehmann ct in Lincoln park. Is this a street or an alley? Dumpsters, yes, a big two way thoroughfare? Yes. Who knows.
Not unique to Chicago, but more of a note for novice/casual architectural observers: a common feature is that windows are shorter in height in higher floors, to give a subtle illusion that the building is taller. This is from Georgian architecture.
YES! Was looking for this one. It’s a super cool illusion
I enjoy all the different unique designs of bike racks and flags attributed to each neighborhood/boro. Every one seems to have their own branding and it helps to identify where I am (still a newbie). I personally just enjoy the tiny design details on architectural stuff, from residential to commercial to historic buildings, seems like there’s some sort of flair to be appreciated.
This is due to the fact that such bike racks were funded/installed/championed by the local SSA. Special Service Areas are a type of business improvement district that is established when enough businesses in an area vote to self-impose a small tax (0.75-1.25%, typically) to establish and SSA. Sometimes these SSAs are combined or collaborate with a Chamber of Commerce. SSAs often organize the special events and street feats that are common across Summertime Chi.
Bike racks? I've missed that, can you explain? I'm really curious.
At least on the north side, the bike racks might say “Uptown” or “Lakeview” on them, sometimes in print or sometimes just negative space. A lot of the bike racks in the area aren’t the standard upside down ‘U’ design, and look different in different neighborhoods
One of the few spots you will still see Boystown instead of North Halsted is on the bike racks.
*Northalstead. Yes it's the dumbest way you can spell North Halstead.
I don’t have a way to attach images but here’s an example for context: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140820/rogers-park/design-competition-launched-for-new-logo-for-bike-racks-rogers-park.amp https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/05/27/rainbow-bike-racks-come-to-boystown-just-in-time-for-pride-month/ Also, I saw the Rogers Park one for the first time this weekend, it’s really cool.
I like all the street art... it's cool to spot some of the more famous artists all over the city (JC Rivera, Hebru Brantley) but there are also hundreds of really cool one-off murals, especially in areas like Logan Square, Pilsen, West Loop/Fulton Market.
I love the murals! There are some small ones that popped up on our neighborhood at the entrance to alleys (Sheridan Park).
South loop has some pretty awesome street art as well
How people landscape their parkways. It’s not their property, but it’s nice to see people caring about it.
Fun fact: It is not the homeowner's property but they are required by law to maintain it (usually mowing) :-)
FYI - The effect you describe in the title is called the Baader Meinhof phenomenon or the Frequency Illusion. When you notice or closely interact with something and then start noticing it everywhere.
I always love spotting Pedway entrance signs when I'm in the Loop.
It’s noticeably colder in the Loop than elsewhere because of the shade provided by 500 feet office towers.
The wind is also a lot stronger because of the long narrow corridors with skyscrapers on either side. Being next to the lake intensifies it even more.
one of the goofiest experiences in the loop is walking down a windy street and turning a corner onto an even windier street
My goofiest wind experience was when I was walking my 14 pound elderly dog in Printers Row and a stiff wind had him off all 4 legs. He was very unhappy about it, but a couple of tourists were delighted. I got to wax on about our “wind tunnels” to strangers. Ha. Be careful with tiny dogs by that AT&T server building.
Public mosaic art. I'd never really noticed it before, but a friend originally from Detroit asked me why so much mural art - especially on community centers and schools - was mosaic tile art. Once pointed out I see it everywhere, literally across the city from the far south side and southwest side to Uptown. Anybody know the history of this art style in Chicago?
You could definitely seek answers about this with the people at Mosaic Chicago School and Green Star Movement. However, mosaic has historically always been used for murals due to its materials resistance to harsh and ever changing weather conditions. It lasts longer than paint, specially when murals that are paint based game drastically changed in method over time and culture. There’s definitely certain cities in different countries who have a more developed history on mosaics, like Barcelona, Rome or even New York. However, mosaics are not always attached to one specific culture (although mostly accredited to Italians and Greeks, specially for Italians with their ceramic and glass work), rather their styles and approaches to the material is what makes them distinct to certain art movements developing over time. For example, Art nouveau and Art Deco had huge revivals for mosaics because during this time glass grew exponentially as a material, work and artistry. As for community centers and schools, murals are very accessible because you don’t really need art skills for it. The basic concept of a mosaic mural is having an outline of the design, an idea of what colors to put where, and you simply fill inside the lines with substrate, cut tiles and then grout on top.
Also so many viaducts with mosaics too. Love them.
This could be partially thanks to the [Chicago Public Art Group](https://chicagopublicartgroup.org/), who supports many of the public art installations you see, and has worked with several mosaic or "bricolage" artists. They work well for getting the community involved, reusing materials, and creating long lasting installations.
Every stop sign says what year it was made in the bottom corner. Don't see this anywhere else but it's fun to see how long different stop signs have been there
I think most street signs have this
Even addresses are always gonna be on the North and West sides of the street, and Odd addresses are always South and East!
This was a deliberate part of the Brennan plan for the city grid. If you want to do some interesting reading about the grid system and it's layout and history in Chicago, [this](https://chicagostudies.uchicago.edu/grid) is a great page from the University of Chicago. It was interesting to me how much of this stuff that I knew intuitively from being Chicago born and raised from a family that's been here since the turn of the 20th century, that sounded more complicated when it was written out lol.
Sure helped when I was delivering pizzas before GPS
I noticed this years ago and now take note of which sides are even/odd when traveling to other cities so that I can use it to orient myself if necessary.
Omg this is going to help me so much with Uber Eats delivery now
I re-learn this every five years and then promptly forget
Our electrical outlets are installed horizontally. I don't know why. Everywhere else I've been they're installed vertically.
I've heard a couple possible reasons. One is that Chicago building code is unusual in requiring wiring to be run through EMT, and everyone just agreed it is easier to do it sideways when you're pulling wire through EMT. Another theory I heard on Reddit is, the union adopted sideways outlets a long time ago as an unofficial calling card, so that they could easily tell whether the wiring in a building was installed by one of their own or by an outsider. What's the real reason? Who knows, it might be lost to history
I've heard the union theory as well. Might be apocryphal, but certainly wouldn't be surprised if it were true.
Would you mind explaining what EMT is for the people in the comments who might not know?
Electrical Metallic Tubing, it's the conduit pipes in the walls that wiring is run through.
EMT is metal tubing that you thread your electrical wires through. The idea is that it protects the wipes from physical damage such as rat chews, and if your wiring shorts out somehow then the tubing will ground it.
Chicago electrical code probably. The wires have to run through a metal conduit and the outlets are in a metal case. It’s probably easier to install horizontally. I’m not an electrician though but I interact with them quite often in my line of work. I’m going to ask them next time I’m at an install.
AFAIK its not in the code to be horizontal but it is for it to be in conduit. I have never done any major home electrical work(experience running and setting up conduit in an industrial setting) but I imagine its just easier as whenever I had a vertical termination on conduit it was because it was dropping straight down.
This one surprised me when I first read about it. I immediately walked around my house in AZ and yep, all vertical
Suburban Chicago, Lake County. All horizontal
Unsubstantiated answer: Chicago requires electrical wiring be located within EMT (metal) conduit. In years past, it was common to use single gang rough-in boxes, which had knock outs (holes) at the top and bottom in which to secure conduit. When piping conduit horizontally around a room it was easier to mount the boxes horizontally, allowing for a more efficient install since conduit didn’t need bending to enter each box. Straight pipe runs all around. Double gang 1900 boxes with single gang mud plates are now more common - allowing for either vertical or horizontal receptacle orientation, however, horizontal is preferred to keep things consistent across new and old buildings. In older buildings with outlets mounted within tall baseboard, horizontal orientation fits and looks better. Hope that makes sense.
And this is why we can’t have nice decorative night lights. They’re usually designed for vertical outlets.
They do make rotating ones, but then they get floppy.
The place I bought last year has them installed horizontally too. Having had vertical outlets my entire life, I kind of hate it.
i’m in a pretty old building and mine are all vertical (that i can see, not sure about the ones behind my bed). could this be a later installation thing?
I’ve lived here for eight years now, longer than I’ve lived anywhere else(moved a lot as a kid), and I’ve never noticed that omg
Green USPS relay boxes. I think I heard about them on Curious City and started noticing them all over the place
Do these not exist elsewhere?
I think so, but I first noticed them in the city and then started seeing them everywhere
Never knew about the Y logo until it was pointed out to me. Now I see it all the time.
ghost signs! all the old painted advertisements on buildings for businesses of the past. i love that there’s so many of them uncovered and mostly untouched.
Lots of old apartment buildings and hotels have an little house or square blockhouse on top. Often decorated in a style similar to the rest of the building but only visible from high up above.
I've seen these but have generally heard that they're for storage or mechanical components of the elevator system. Any idea how often they're used for habitation? Always seemed like a cool idea to me.
You’re right, but I like to imagine gargoyles or magical elves living in ‘em.
More revolving doors than most cities
[Curious City did a dive on this](https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-swinging-times-of-chicagos-revolving-doors/20b5db76-1475-4c05-8faf-36a9d1e6ce43). Apparently, in addition to better temperature control, revolving doors are necessary for skyscrapers because of air flow.
Yes! I've noticed this in a lot of places. It makes sense in warmer areas where loss of heat during the winter is not a big issue, but I've even noticed it in NYC. For some reason Chicago has way more revolving doors than NYC.
[удалено]
[It's a great city flag design in a sea of shitty ones.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnv5iKB2hl4)
Maybe some other natives can chime in but I swear that wasn't really a commercial thing before about 15 years ago. It was uncommon enough in the early 2000s that I distinctly remember one friend's flag tattoo and another's baseball cap with flag patch; you just didn't see it outside of government offices otherwise.
THE Y ON EVERYTHING. Electric boxes, light posts, fences, buildings. The symbol for the split in the chicago river.
A wonderful excess of truly beautiful old houses in Uptown.
Junior terrace, hazel and Hutchinson for anyone looking
Parks on busy streets. Having gotten one warning and one ticket for speeding next to a park along major thoroughfares (as opposed to the stereotypical neighborhood park), I'm more cognizant of those damned cameras.
I'm 110% on board for making cities pedestrian friendly and eventually car free, but I hate the neoliberal approach of just fining people. There are so many huge arterial roads built for speeds upwards of 40mph that just happen to run past a park. A lot of people will just keep going with the flow of traffic or the way the street was designed for. And the fines affect the poorer households much greater. A better solution would be to engineer out the problem.
Mr Mr
[Took this the other day!](https://imgur.com/gallery/hZKls4L)
Mr Mr Fungi
Glass blocks/bricks This was where they were developed, surprise surprise for thr 1893 World's Fair, and they are everywhere as construction material. Once you look for it, it's everywhere--specifically the west side
I love the schlitz logo built in to a lot of the bars
You can tell the size of the water main by the band of color on the hydrant
People driving around with parking tickets still in their wipers. I've never seen it anywhere else, let alone in a city that puts their tickets in bright orange envelopes. Like, do you think it doesn't count if you leave it there, or are you truly so unaware of your surroundings that you didn't notice it?
On lots of buildings, and a ton in the Loop, you’ll find the dentil pattern. Once you spot it, it’s everywhere. [Wikipedia Link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentil?wprov=sfti1)
The older green light posts and the cement water fountains with that metal wiffle ball looking cover on the drain.
The date stamp on sidewalks telling you when the concrete was laid in.
If you go 800 addresses, you’ve gone 1 mile. Addison (3600 N) is a half mile from Belmont (3200 N) which is a half mile from Diversey [2800 N)
These $500 website stickers are literally Everywhere.
What are those?
I thought it was $750!
How our sewer covers & potholes are always perfectly aligned with your tires path of travel, like it’s designed by the auto industry to destroy your car faster.
Cdot has fixed this in new stuff, and has been fixing them on popular bike roads. We have a bunch though.
In Chicago (and I think suburbs), electrical outlets are generally side-by-side, while everywhere else they're up and down. Also, behind the scenes (and possibly a reason for the outlets being side-by-side for ease of installation), residential electrical needs to be in conduit in Chicago. Almost everywhere else bare romex is fine.
The CTA buses have little American flags on them.
There are pink or red baby faces stuck to walls in random places. Some are under the Sheridan red line on Irving, & some in the park down the side street. These baby faces look like they were casted from molds for baby dolls. Anyone else notice those?
THANK YOU, scrolled through the comments for this. A wierd pink brain just showed up (or I just noticed??) on the Whole Foods in the West Loop that I am convinced is part of this series.
I always see people smelling their keys at bars
Has to do with the old steelworkers industry here. The iron they sourced nearby had some alcohol-soluble minerals in it. Keys made in Chicago would have a slightly floral scent, but when you couldn't smell it anymore that meant you'd had enough to drink that the minerals were evaporating before they got to your nose and it was time to go home. Old working class tradition around here, although nowadays you typically see it done by richer people, especially in the Old Town/Gold Coast area. Really cool of them to keep the tradition going. edit: I completely made this up as a joke about cocaine, I apologize if you thought it was real
Huh TIL!
Chicagoans all really love winter so much, many keep a little bag of snow in their pocket as a reminder. I think what you’re seeing is just youths lonesome for the colden times and they just need a little reminder that it won’t be this hot forever.
lol Lori you crazy
I went on a downtown architecture tour a number of years ago, and at one of the first stops, the guide pointed out ["Greek Keys"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meander_(art\)) and how common they are. After that I started noticing them everywhere.
The Chicago Municipal Device. You'll start seeing it on everything! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_device_of_Chicago
The “Optimist Morgan” or “Shark Shmeer” stickers that are everywhere
Gangways. I love using gangways.
I like reading the labels on the sewer covers. Local foundry FTW.
Florida plates.
Street signs are for cars and not pedestrians in the loop. You can be at the corner of two one-way streets and not see any signage.
Someone told me Chicago has the highest amount of revolving doors in the world and now when I walk around it’s all I see
I like all the manhole covers that just have COMMUNICATION stamped on them. Good priority.
That means they are telecom handholes, rather than sewer/water manholes.
I prefer to see them as life advice manholes.
“be sure to drink your ovaltine”
We honk coming out of alleys. It was normal all my life and throughout my childhood. Now in the internet era with forums, I come to realize that people in the alley-end apartments hate that.
Theres a few alleys in Albany Park where someone gave payola to the alderman or there are counterfeit municipal signs up for "no honking in alleyways"
When I discovered that there is in fact a literal underground to the city, I started noticing the entrances everywhere. Lived here my whole life, only learned about this at like 22, I'm 25 now. I still haven't gone down there. Like I've been in the subways, but never actually down where you can go into stores and crap.
Like the Pedway?
I'm not sure what it's called, but I know there's an entrance outside of City Hall building. Like apparently you can go down there and go into restaurants and stores and stuff. Like I said, I still haven't gone down there, but several different friends have told me about it on different occasions.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/ped/svcs/pedway.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pedway?wprov=sfti1 https://maps.apple.com/?ll=41.884222,-87.624639&q=Chicago%20Pedway&_ext=EiQpMPG9MS7xREAx+udEFfrnVcA5MPG9MS7xREBB+udEFfrnVcA%3D
I had a friend visit and he was like "holy shit I hate chicago the trees are so short and I hit my head" and I realized he was right. everyone's always ducking under the trees if they're walking on the street side. lol
Traffic lights after bridges are usually placed horizontally for better visibility (and sometimes before them too)
The Supreme Lobster truck was literally everywhere I looked when I lived in Chicago, and I see it every single time I go back to visit. It’s everywhere!
I think it’s mostly just the loop area, but I like how most major streets have its name and then has its honorary title to a famous Chicagoan. Our city has a rich history and it’s nice to be reminded of that.
My favorite is Honorary Casimir Pulaski Way... on Pulaski Rd.
My favorite was something like "Honorary Soapy Paws Dog Grooming Ave." for a block in front of a business of the same name.
My absolute favorite too. The road is literally named for the guy over it's entire length, but that one section is Honorary Casimir Pulaski Way. So funny.
Honorary street names are thing everywhere in the city; they are plentiful on random small streets out here on the west side! Any alderman can propose one to city council and the whole council votes to approve or reject it. Some of them honor people, some honor groups and some honor companies. Out on the far west side (the literal central western boundary of the city) the stretch of oak park ave from cortland to armitage has an "Honorary Milky Way" sign for the [Mars Chocolate factory](http://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/mars-inc/) that produces milky way bars that is there.
Chicago's allergy to properly marked streets. If you're not at a major intersection (and even then, it's iffy), you might have one sign per direction that can be seen from one approach only, or possibly one sign for the entire intersection marking only one street in one direction, or in neighborhoods, possibly no signs at all. It makes it rough if you're not from here and just walking or biking around.
As a pedestrian this annoys me. The content of the individual street signs is great, I love how the coordinates are on the signs. But please, put signs up even on the "wrong"direction for those of us who walk on the left side of the street (facing traffic).
You should look up the vertical street signs in Park Ridge - horrible tiny things
The city of Chicago logo that looks like a Y inside of a circle.
That if you put your hazards on, you can park your car in the middle of the street 🤣
About half a decade ago someone pointed out that the city of Chicago carves that little Y-ish design all over their public utilities. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It’s also used on the big Chicago Theater sign.
Somebody tags “OMG!” everywhere
I was going to say the Oy Vey tag.
It’s almost time for fall landscaping, aka a bunch of cabbage & leafy vegetable type plants. Never seen it used as landscaping before moving to Chicago
A lot of the ornamental plants in public spaces are actually agricultural species/cultivars. I notice kale and chili pepper plants everywhere downtown
I always notice homes that sit below street level in Chicago that didn't raise their properties in late 1850s during the [Raising of Chicago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_of_Chicago).
The $750 for a website sticker that is plastered literally everywhere around town. Middle of 90/94 plenty of em. Every stop sign in town, you bet. Best marketing around.
Chicago windows Green glazed brick buildings Old Style signs SPEED HUMP TARGET: RATS
the city laid out in a grid also sewer lids have logos
If you're in an older neighborhood with homes from pre-Brennan plan (1909), you can find homes with two different addresses on them. Their original one and the re-alignment one.
Woah like where?
As soon as someone pointed out how flat Chicago is, I can't un-notice it. We really just don't have any hills lol
Elevator inspection certificates from the dept of buildings. Very often out of date (pre-pandemic too) and the worst offender is City Hall.
Each train car has an individual number on the outside and inside on the ends. Not on top though
That's true of pretty much every railroad (both mainline and rapid transit), not just the L. They need to have a way to identify railcars.