Chicago Drive

Had the day off from work and the weather was really nice outside. Went out for a few errands (bank, diapers, coffee), which would normally take me about 30 minutes since Babys R'Us, Starbucks, and Chase are all within a mile. I ended up on a leisurely drive with the sunroof and windows down and found myself in downtown Chicago. At every stop light I tried to take a picture of the scenery.

The west side of Chicago is quite gritty and industrial. A lot of it is still very run down. These pics are of some of the better preserved buildings.

Fair bit of low-end retail serving the predominantly African-American and Hispanic communities of the west side.

About halfway from Oak Park into the Loop you start seeing evidence of condo-mania. New condos next to old warehouses. Wonder how the prices are holding up?