The Full (bel)Monty
No, I didn’t have a large english breakfast. No, I didn’t see any naked people. It’s just a play on Belmont because that’s my favorite block. Just go with me here.
2:21 I get off the El at Belmont and go west.
2:22 Two police cars and a 77 bus just zoomed by. A young woman with long brown hair in a ponytail and an eager round face approaches me:
Girl: “Hello! Are you registered to vote in Illinois?”
Me: “No, I’m from Seattle. Sorry.”
G: “Okay!”
She flips through some papers on her clipboard and tries her best to ignore me as I wait for the walk sign to turn on. She’s wearing a grey tee and some jeans.
2:24 There is a man with shaggy grey hair and a ratty black shirt washing the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Bank of America. The smell of the cleaner gives me flashbacks to washing my dad’s car. If I’m getting nostalgic for chores, I swear that’s one step too far.
I turn down Belmont, and start heading East.
2:25 I’ve watched at least three pop-up halloween shops develop over the past couple weeks in various places. It’s interesting.
I saw my first Chicago-ian improv show at The Annoyance. Just before it is a four-story thrift store, which is one of the reasons why I love this block so much. I can’t resist going in.
2:45 After some light browsing, I walk out five dollars poorer, but with some wool army surplus pants that will probably last me well through the winter. I had a short conversation with the cashier:
Cashier: “These are the discount pants, right? The five dollar ones”
Me:“Yeah.”
C:“You know, some guy walked in the other day and called them ‘trousers’. He was an assistant librarian from U-Chicago? Real strange guy. Kept going on about how affordable the trousers were.”
M:“Wow. That makes me uncomfortable.”
C:“Right? They’re pants.”
We continued to chat while he rang me up for the pants. When I asked how much the pin I wanted was, he said “You can just have the pin.” Wow! What a nice surprise. It’s a small pin of a white car.
2:56 That man in the suit from the photo above is peeking through a shop window with a sense of determination that intimidates me. Hand up to the eyes, right up against the glass. What is he doing?
I take one because it asked politely. I continue walking down the street, and turn down Fletcher Street.
2:59 I hear birds. Not crows, little birds. Like sparrows or robins or something. It sounds like the introduction to a disney movie. The wind through trees is cool and takes away some of the humidity that’s been omnipresent today.
I don’t take one, because I already have one, and this one doesn’t say “please”.
3:00 Look at this weird tiny alleyway with a building company in the middle! Maybe they’re trying to prove that they can be efficient with space. Or maybe they were there before the other structure was built. Either way, it’s compelling.
3:01 I’ve found a park. These tiny parks seem everywhere here, and they’re all fenced in and have hours. Back home, if a park has a fence then it isn’t a park anymore. It doesn’t feel public. Does this count as a hostile design?
I’m under the tracks now! I hurry up so that I’m not there when a train goes by- not a big fan of how loud it gets. The station is just around the corner now.
3:02 The Vic Theater, by looking at the signs, seems like a weird combination of a movie theater and a live comedy/ playhouse. Proably fueled by the 1,000 liquors store that’s kitty corner.
Speaking of which, the 1,000 Liquors sign is telling me it’s 80 degrees. Doesn’t feel like it. A car honks. They honk a lot more out here.
3:03 I’m back where I started.
- According to Jacobs, why are “punctuations” and “focal points” important to the life of the street and downtown? What are some “punctuations” and “focal points” around DePaul’s LPC and/or Loop campuses?
‘Punctuations’ and focal points are important to the life of the street and downtown because they make the area visually interesting and stimulating to pedestrians. If a street was designed in the modern style with all right angles and no storefronts, then the street seems like it’s boring and goes on forever. But as the reading says, when people who walked in Boston were interested by how open the space seemed, but also focused on objects of immediate interest that stand out, which can be anything from flowers in hanging baskets to benches, to clocks, to an interesting sign.
Some punctuation around campus are the signs around campus. There are ones that are fixed, like the bright blue ones over every dorm, and the metal ones in front of each building blend a little more but are still very useful. When there’s an event on campus, the chalk punctuates the sidewalk. Literally. Otherwise, there’s just a smattering of Vincent DePaul themed sculptures and paintings- it’s almost like they’re worried we’re gonna forget which college we go to. In the Loop, things get muddled in the downtown atmosphere, but the area that stands out to me the most would be the balcony on the roof of the DePaul Center. It’s a space of calm in the middle of the business going on around you and a popular meeting place.
