It was sixteen degrees...

...last night when we got off the bus at Halsted and Diversey, making it our coldest Hike yet. (I think.)

We resumed our project of tracing the Chicago Marathon course by picking it up again at Diversey and Clark, but walking south this time. It was our fifth leg of the trip, and (some of us) made it all the way down to around Mile Eleven and a half, to the Brown Line stop at Chicago and Franklin. We're almost halfway to the finish!

The Hike started off much like last week's in that it was a stroll of sorts down Memory Lane for me. From 1982 until 1985 I lived in a studio apartment just off the corner of Fullerton and Clark. I was young, still new to the city and in the process of "finding" myself. In hindsight, it was probably the most consequential period in my life. Oh, and I met my future wife, Julie, (of 31 years!) during that time.

We turned right (south) on Clark at Diversey and right away I began reminiscing about all of my old haunts from the '80s. If you're familiar with the area, and were around back then, you might remember Hanig's Slipper Box on the corner where there is now a Starbucks. The store, which had a blue awning, opened in 1944 and closed after 70 years in 2014. (I bought more than one pair of shoes there.) This article says "the decision to close was based on the rent, which the shoe store could not afford to support." That's not hard to believe, as Lincoln Park has gentrified probably more than any other neighborhood in the city.

A couple of doors down is a LensCrafters location, on the site of the old Parkway Theater. I can't remember when it closed -- it's been a while now -- but it was a "revival house" that showed classic (as opposed to first run) films. Although I had already seen Annie Hall and Manhattan by the time I arrived in Chicago, I think I really developed an appreciation for Woody Allen movies at the Parkway, where I recall sitting alone through double and even triple-features. It's probably where I first saw such classics as On the Waterfront and Casablanca, too.

Walking farther down Clark, past newer stores such as Banana Republic and Target (when did that go in there?), but also more familiar landmarks like the beautiful art deco post office and McDonald's across the street, I began to realize that the area has probably always been in a state of constant flux. Hard as it is to believe, time didn't begin when I showed up almost forty years ago. Or, in other words: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

But one thing that hasn't changed is the Wiener's Circle, just before the road bends at Wrightwood. Open until four a.m., Googlemaps describes it as "Late-night hot dogs with a side of sass." For some reason, the prospect of getting insulted while ordering dinner was a bit of a draw for some of the seven guys who joined me (it couldn't have been the weather!), but they must have been a little disappointed as the guy who waited on us seemed more bored than anything. (It was a slow night -- go figure.) Strangely, I don't recall ever being treated rudely (unlike Ed Debevic's) in the handful of times I've eaten at the Wiener's Circle; perhaps they recognize an individual not to be messed with when they see one.

We opted to eat inside, and, with the exception of one other couple, were the only ones there. The burgers, hot dogs and fries were good, as usual, but all I could think of was how there used to be a Vienna hot dog stand on practically every street corner in the city when I first got here. Now, you have to seek them out. Oh, well.

By the way, ya gotta love whoever's responsible for that sign:

Past Wrightwood is Dave's Records, which has been there forever, and Frances' Deli (since 1938), which used to be across the street and known as -- I think -- Frances' Food Shop. It had a "steam table" back in the day, and was a great place for a bachelor to get home-cooked entrees like baked chicken with "two sides." In short, it was awesome.

At Deming I pointed out the building where Julie lived when we were married in 1986, and the Cycle Smithy at the corner of Roslyn. But gone is that cozy little pizza place (with a fireplace) on the east side of Clark, as is the old Parkway Restaurant at Fullerton and Clark. It originally had an Arabic-themed name, like Aladdin -- although that wasn't it -- where I probably ate more than anywhere else in those days. The Parkway (?) Pharmacy (was everything called "Parkway" back then?) was kitty-corner where Five Guys is now, and the Golden Cup restaurant was down just a few doors on the east side of the street. The Big Apple grocery store is still there, somehow, but I didn't see any sign of Neo -- an old punk rock bar where I think I went once -- in the alley across the street. Also long gone is the Belden Deli at -- where else? -- Belden, where I developed a taste for their lima bean soup (which Julie, for some reason, could never understand).

After Francis Parker School we turned right (west) on Webster for only a half a block and then left (south) on Sedgwick. It was quite a change from Clark, which is almost all commercial. Sedgwick, on the other hand, is a beautiful (some might even say "leafy") street which may be one of the best examples of Lincoln Park Living. Last week I mentioned that my ideal dwelling would be a vintage high-rise apartment on Sheridan Road, but the "low-rise" landscape on a street like Sedgwick (or, say, Dayton or Fremont farther west) would be awfully hard to beat.

When we got to Armitage I had a bit of a start as I saw a bank on the corner (what?) where I thought the old Carnival Foods used to be. (Oh, no, not the Carnival too!) I was relieved, however, to find out I was mistaken: the Carnival is still very much in operation at Lincoln and Dickens, just up the street. Phew! We continued on, past Marge's Still on Menomonee (full disclosure: never been there; can you believe it?), St. Michael's Church in the distance, and Twin Anchors (best ribs in the city?) at Eugenie, to North Avenue and the Sedgwick Brown Line stop. It was getting cold (getting?) by this point, so two of the guys peeled off to catch the el for home. That left just my son John and me (the other four had bailed on us at Fullerton), and we decided to walk "the distance" to the Brown Line stop at Chicago. (My son is a beast!)

We walked east on North, past the Old Town Ale House (founded in 1958, the year of my birth) and the UP Comedy Club, to Wells where we turned right (south) into the heart of Old Town. Zanies Comedy Club is still there, in case you were wondering, as is the Old Town Aquarium, the Fireplace Inn, Burton Place on -- duh -- Burton Place, and the House of Glunz just before Division.

When you cross Division you're officially out of Old Town and into an amorphous stretch of the Near North Side community area. My son asked me where exactly we were and all I could think of was the old Cabrini-Green housing projects that are no longer there. He also asked me, coincidentally, which neighborhood had changed the most in my time in Chicago and I had to tell him we were in it right now. There was no way -- no way! -- we could have walked down this street in the 1980s. That's how much Chicago has changed -- for the better -- no matter what they say about us on Fox News.

At Chicago Avenue -- about Mile Eleven and a half -- we turned right (west) and caught the Brown Line for home. Next week we'll resume our journey here and try to walk back to 1212 W. Flournoy.