Chicagoist: Yes-Tell Motels

bopo

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:46:08 -0600

I thought they were for all the people who couldn't get cabs up there when the Hidden Cove kicked them out at 4:00 am.

groggy

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:44:57 -0600

um, serious brainphone. I listened to the NPR story on the Lincoln Ave. motels on a whim last night. If you're interested, you can find it here.

Hugh G Rection

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:22:04 -0600

@JuliaPorter Illicit quickies or simply (sadly) living in motels. If you can't afford an apartment or don't have the credit for a lease (or you're a felon, etc.), shitty motels are sometimes an option. Technically, it's called being homeless although that may surprise many.

KristinaXI

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:16:07 -0600

They're not still open - the Stars sign, I think, is just the sign - there's a totally different store there now.

JuliaPorter

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:05:24 -0600

Thanks, that's really interesting! Having said that, I guess I'm surprised they're all STILL open. I mean...there are only so many people having illicit quickies, right? it's the sheer VOLUME that surprises me.

LogopolisMike

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:57:35 -0600

mike_thoms is right. US 41 (of which a portion of North Lincoln makes up a part) was the main entrance to the city and the quickest route between Milwaukee and Chicago before the Edens opened in 1951. (And I think the Edens was the first expressway.) These places were probably the suburban Best Westerns of their time -- some place affordable to stay close to the city but not as expensive as the show palaces downtown. This is all just conjecture on my part based pn discussions I've had with people who've lived here longer than I've been alive (except for the Edens opening date -- thanks Wikipedia.)

mike_thoms

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:12:41 -0600

I think Lincoln Avenue was a majorly trafficked highway before the Edens, Kennedy and tollways opened or were as popular. Just a guess though.

JuliaPorter

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:53:47 -0600

I've always wondered why there's such a long stretch of them on Lincoln ave, on the NW side of the city. why the concentration there? I'm also creeped by the faded HBO sign in the parking lot of one of them. Every time I drive past that stretch, I get itchy.