The Des Plaines Theatre, circa 1936. Postcard image via Revitalized Des Plaines.
The newly remodeled Des Plaines Theatre is a heavenly addition to the Chicago area’s entertainment landscape. The theater opened in August 1925 as a vaudeville and movie house. The Des Plaines reopened late last year after an ambitious restoration that rolled through the pandemic. The historic theater had been empty since 2014.
The city of Des Plaines purchased the art deco theater for $1.3 million in May 2018. The city partnered with nearby Rivers Casino, which chipped in up to $ 2 million for renovations. The city [...]
All postcards are from the author’s collection and not from the web.
I once knew of simple passages where I could find adventure.
The Antique Trove in Scottsdale, Az. and Antiques on Pierce in Milwaukee each contained booths filled with bright postcards busting at the seams in rows of white memory boxes. The backsides told of new horizons, unadorned pleasures, and a longing for the reader on the other end. The postcards were neatly organized by states, countries, and themes (Baseball, birds, Christmas, diners, etc.) I visited each antique store in the last couple of months.
The collection in [...]
Ron Norkus at the Acapulco Mother Hubbard’s (Courtesy of the Norkus family.)
The wheels of life are driven by beautiful mysteries.
On the surface, Ron Norkus had a colorful and wild run on this earth. On the inside, he was driven by a generous heart and a wonderful sense of humor. Mr. Norkus was labeled as an esteemed “1970s Rush Street Hall of Famer” by his pals Jimmy Rittenberg and Johnny Blandino, one of the original general managers of the Palm Restaurant in Chicago.
Mr. Norkus died on Oct. 19 from complications of Parkinson’s Disease at his home in Dallas, Tx. He was 81 years old. He [...]
From left (Quigley, Parker, DeShields, Vandersloot.) Image via Sky in the Chi.
I’ve followed the Chicago Sky since they were founded in 2005.
I remember congenial NBA Hall of Famer Dave Cowens as the WNBA team’s first coach and I entered the franchise “Name the Team” contest. I suggested Skyliners. One of the Sky’s original minority investors was Matthew Knowles, father of then-Destiny Child lead vocalist Beyonce Knowles.
My respect for women’s basketball dates back to my first newspaper job at the Aurora Beacon-News, outside of Chicago. In 1972 I wrote a feature on Title IX, which created an equal [...]
