earliest Cecil columns?

Factual Questions
1

ISTR explanations of Chicago local color such as the Crouch mausoleum in Lincoln Park. Have you considered putting those columns on the site?

One column I remember is the explanation of why there was a Melvina street sign (it’s no longer there) where Melvina would intersect Devon http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=rvh&resnum=0&q=devon+and+milwaukee,+chicago,+il&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image even though there is no actual street there. The front of the homes there have a sidewalk and face Edgebrook Golf Course. I speculate the course used to be a country club and the houses were part of it. But why the street sign?

2

All right, never mind. I see you’re already posting early columns. :smack:

But will you be reaching way back to stuff like the Devon/Melvina column?

3

You’ve seen the first column, right?

http://www.straightdope.com/pages/faq/firstcolumn

4

I remember the Crouch column (actually, I think it was Couch, but will check), and yes, we can put that on the site. The Melvina question rings no bells. I have the entire archive, though, so will take a look.

5

Yes, TubaDiva, I have seen it.

Thank you, Ed. I could be misremembering about Melvina, but a check at some point in the future would be appreciated.

6

Because the right-of-way is still a dedicated public street.

Chicago has lots of streets that can’t be driven, because they’re “closed to vehicular traffic,” occupied by railroads, or were never actually “improved” with any sort of paving (lots of these around Lake Calumet). One of the most interesting is a few feet away from your Melvina sign. The houses facing “Indian Road” front onto a sidewalk only. There’s no street, though I’m pretty sure there was at one point.

7

If anyone’s interested, I just realized there’s a little more data on Melvina. I’ve posted a clip from a 1938 aerial photo on my flickr account devon ave. whelan pool. 1938-11-24 0bwq07046 | From the site… | Flickr. Pre-water park Whelan Pool is the cross-shaped feature in the upper right.

The image is from the site http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/nsdihome/webdocs/ilhap/. Instructions to get to the original image are at the flickr page.