Strange Closets

My friends Arthur Swirgon and Wyatt literally live above the store. Their three story West Garfield Park building already had a large ground floor retail space in addition to the upstairs residential apartments when they bought it a few years ago, so Arthur, a dealer of mid-century modern, antiques and African American art, decided to [...]

The sign that welcomes visitors to Forest Park says Big city access, small town charm,” says Sue Haas. “So corny but true.” Indeed, there’s a great shopping district just a few blocks away, and you can see the public park across the street from the enclosed front porch of their stylish, two-story dwelling. The park has a swimming [...]

Living above the store may sound old-fashioned, but it’s not so difficult to figure out why it still holds appeal. For one thing, it sure cuts down on the commute. Just ask my good friends, partners Arthur Swirgon and Wyatt who live above Arthur’s fantastic showroom on California Avenue in West Garfield Park. If you [...]

Some words or phrases prompt an instant physical response.  For example, I once made the mistake of reading a New Yorker article about nausea on an airline flight across the country, and I felt green around the gills for much of the flight.  Similarly, just the term ‘public speaking’ or ‘Toastmasters’ makes my heart go [...]

At the suggestion of Room Service owner Paul Lechlinski, I recently visited the West Loop loft where his friends Ted and Sharon Burdett operate their start-up design company Strand Design.  It’s Randolph Street location was once home to butchers, grocers and flower suppliers, and a few of those remain interspersed among event restaurants with trendy [...]

Thanks to Father Jason Malave for allowing me to take photos as he showed me around the parish rectory. Father Jason is an old gym buddy turned good friend, so while I’ll do my best not to tease, I can’t make any promises.  Also, I don’t call him Father Jason in real life.  Nor do [...]

When Chris was a kid growing up in Michigan’s upper peninsula, his parents warned him it was too dangerous to cross the busy street in front of his house, but they allowed him to play in the woods behind the house, a place where bears roamed and daylight was eclipsed by a dense canopy of [...]