North Avenue Bridge, Chicago IL | Nearby Businesses

1200 W North Ave
Chicago, IL

The Old Town School of Folk Music is a Chicago teaching and performing institution that launched the careers of many notable folk music artists. Founded by Folk musicians Frank Hamilton and Win Stracke, and Dawn Greening, the School opened in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago in 1957 (the original location has since been demolished). It began by offering guitar and banjo lessons in a communal teaching style and hosting performances by well-known folk musicians. Currently the school is led by executive director Bau Graves and has an enrollment of about 6,000 students per week, 2,700 of them children.HistoryFoundingThe Old Town School was originally founded by musicians Win Stracke and Frank Hamilton and opened December 1, 1957. Stracke was a classically trained singer and Hamilton was a young multi-instrumentalist and teacher of folk music; Hamilton had previously studied under Bess Lomax Hawes, daughter of folklorist John Lomax. Stracke and Hamilton met at the Gate of Horn nightclub in Chicago where they were both performing. Together Hamilton and Stracke developed a classroom technique based upon traditional oral and folk teaching methods: listening, watching, trial and error, and playing by ear. Where other music schools taught sight reading and performance, Stracke and Hamilton wanted the Old Town School "method" to retain its emphasis on participation and development of aural skills. Early Classes were held in a dining room at the home of co-founder Dawn Greening

Family Matters is an American sitcom which originated on ABC from September 15, 1989 to May 9, 1997, before moving to CBS from September 19, 1997 to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers, the series revolves around the Winslow family, a middle-class African American family living in Chicago, Illinois. Midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows' nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White), who quickly became its breakout character and eventually the show's main character. Having run for nine seasons, Family Matters is the second longest-running non-animated U.S. sitcom with a predominantly African American cast, behind only The Jeffersons (11). Having aired 215 episodes, Family Matters is ranked third, behind only Tyler Perry's House of Payne (254) and The Jeffersons (253).

Kevin Ashtari learned a couple things in the U.S. Navy: how to replace the explosives under the ejection seat of an EA-6B Prowler and how to roast a perfect batch of coffee beans on a gas-powered barbecue grill. Every step he takes to get it from raw green beans into that cup is small-scale, lovingly methodical, and hands-on. He invested in a custom-built 12-kilo roaster from the U.S. Roaster Corporation that takes up one corner of the space. "I was looking for a manual roaster without a computer," he says. Every day or two he roasts a new, small batch. Asado Coffee Roasters Named the best cup of coffee by Chicago Magazine and best roaster by Chicago Reader in 2010, Asado Coffee’s second shop in Ukrainian Village offers up coffees by the cup from Japanese drippers, café con leche and an assortment of pastries. The espresso drinks are made using The Mirage, which owner founder Kevin Ashtari calls the Holy Grail of machines in the coffee world.

The Francis J. Dewes House is a house located at 503 West Wrightwood Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The house was built in 1896 by Adolph Cudell and Arthur Hercz for brewer Francis J. Dewes. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on June 12, 1974. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 1973Wealthy German immigrants, including Wacker, Leight, Gaetner, Deever, and Schlosser, constructed luxurious mansions east of Clark Street in Chicago's Lincoln Park. Francis Dewes, a Chicago brewer and millionaire, built the most elaborate home in the Lincoln Park still standing - Dewes Mansion at 503 West Wrightwood Avenue.Architects Adolph Cudell and Arthur Hercz designed the Dewes mansion, and it was completed in 1896. Hercz was originally from Hungary, and Cudell was no stranger to building grand residences for Chicago's wealthy elite. In 1879 Cudell also designed the Rush Street mansion of prominent businessman Cyrus Hall McCormick.The Dewes mansion was built for Francis J. Dewes, a brewer. Dewes was born in Prusia in 1845, the son of a brewer and member of the German parliament. In 1868 Francis Dewes emigrated to Chicago and found employment as a bookkeeper for established brewing companies such as Rehm and Bartholomae and the Busch and Brand Brewing Company. He rose through the ranks, and in 1882 he founded his own successful brewing firm. His mansion was built to reflect his own Prussian background and European tastes.

Kid City Chicago is a family owned indoor play space designed for children to explore the function of a city through pretend play. It features a market, playhouse, dress up boutique, and much more. We are also available for parties and events. Bring your child down today and let their imagination run wild! Kid City...where fun and imagination meet! Check our Website to see our Weekend Hours!