South Shore Cultural Center

After our visit to the archives at University of Chicago, we were heading toward Lake Shore Drive and home. Suddenly I had an idea, in the middle of the street, right in front of a cop. "Dana! Please pull over!" Dana pulled over, and the cop cruised on by. "Let's try to find the South Shore Country Club! It should be nearby, just off of the lakeshore." Great Grandma Lucke mentioned going to a dance at the country club in her 1922 diary, and Frances Vandervoort of the Hyde Park Historical Society had mentioned the striking beauty of the place when we first met her over the summer. She said it was open to the public, and that we absolutely had to check it out! Today, Dana & I had a chance to explore the place together. A quick Google Maps search on my smart phone told us to head further south a few miles down Lake Shore Drive. And with that, we were off on another adventure.

We just hoped it would be open late.

And it was!

Columns leading up to the Cultural Center, in the Mediterranean Revival Style.
Horse stables are nearby: in a bygone era, Al Capone housed horses there.
In stark contrast, the horses of Chicago's mounted authority live here today.

It must be mentioned that the folks who work at the Cultural Center are very kind, knowledgable and professional. They showed a genuine interest in our story, and shared the rich history of the place with us.

One hundred years ago, the South Shore Cultural Center was a stylish country club. In the 1970's, it was in severe disrepair and nearly torn down. The Park District purchased it and it is now a historical gem, right on the lakeshore. Such a gem, in fact, that President and First Lady Obama had their wedding reception here. A bit of history: Al Capone had his horse stables here. Today, the stables house the horses for Chicago's mounted authority. 



If these old doors could talk!
From the entrance at the South Shore Cultural Center.
Our great grandmother passed through here,
along with Al Capone and so many other characters.

 

Wild Parrots in Chicago?

Opposite the entrance door is The Parrot Cage, a fine restaurant where today culinary students dish up entrees for politicians like the Daley's and the general public alike.  One hundred years ago, it used to be a tea room, where ladies would host gatherings and parties in our great grandmother's day. According to a super informative and historically passionate host, the Parrot Cage is named after a pet store truck that tipped over some time ago, freeing large green parrots which today thrive in the hundreds in Chicago's south side. Or, as other sources allege, maybe the parrots escaped from a pet store or a home where they were kept as pets.

My fiance recently saw a flock of parrots down there & wondered how that could be possible? Who knew parrots could thrive in our crazy Chicago climate?

While there are no concrete answers, there is lots of great information about and photos of these intelligent, adaptive parrots, compiled by enthusiasts and wildlife experts alike.

Dana did some research and provided me with these links:

http://chicago.about.com/b/2008/11/25/the-parrots-of-hyde-park.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2323394_find-wild-parrots-chicago.html

http://www.monkparakeet.com/jmsouth/

And from Chicago Wilderness magazine: http://www.chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2003/monkparakeets.html





From Chicago Wilderness Magazine: Chicago's parakeets have built nests
on electric transformer poles, braces under the El tracks,
and (shown here) on the back of a satellite dish. Photo by Joe Nowak.
 http://www.chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2003/monkparakeets.html

  

The truth of the roots of these wild parrots in Chicago may never be known, but it's fun to imagine & speculate!

An insightful response & update from Frances Vandervoort of the Hyde Park Historical Society on December 1st:

...The parrots are another story.  They escaped from a shipment from So. America, where they damage crops.  They've not made it to Illinois farms yet --- there's plenty for them to eat in the city, but they will.  Farmers, watch out!  The birds are aggressive, displacing native species.  Many Hyde Parkers love them, however.  Their first Hyde Park nest was across from Mayor Harold Washington's apt. on east 51st St. near the Lake.  He loved them, and many people love them because he did.

 

Down the hall from the restaurant is the theater room, where dances were held in the 1920's. So, this is one of the places where our great grandmother danced the night away, back in the winter of 1922!

Dana in the theater room where our great grandmother danced in the 1920's.

Me and Dana in today's ballroom. In the 1920's it was a formal dining area.