THANK YOU.
>> ANOTHER SIGN THAT CHICAGO'S
RETURNING TO NORMAL CONVENTIONS
ARE BEGINNING TO RETURN TO THE
CITY.
MEETINGS AND EVENTS AT
McCORMICK PLACE CONVENTION
CENTER WHERE 1.9 BILLION
ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE CITY ONE
THAT DISAPPEARED DURING THE
PANDEMIC.
McCORMICK PLACE SITS IN THE
SOUTH LOOP WHERE BRANDIS
FRIEDMAN AND QUINN MYERS SPENT
THE DAY REPORTING AS PART OF OUR
"IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SERIES".
BRANDIS, THE AUTO SHOW IS SET
FOR THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN, IS IT
NOT?
>> THAT'S RIGHT, IT IS AND IT'S
GOING TO BE HERE AT McCORMICK
PLACE.
AS IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST BUT
IT WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT
WE HAVE SEEN IN YEARS PAST BEING
IN JULY INSTEAD OF IN FEBRUARY.
WE WILL HAVE MORE ON THAT AS
WELL AS THE RETURN OF
CONVENTIONS COMING UP LATER WITH
THE C.E.O. OF McCORMICK PLACE.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE ON THE ROOFTOP
GARDEN OF ONE OF THE BUILDINGS
OF McCORMICK PLACE I'M
DIRECTLY ABOVE THE INTERSECTION
OF SURMAC AND INDIANA.
I HAVE WYNN TRUST ARENA AND THE
SOUTH LOOP SITS IN THE SOUTH
SIDE COMMUNITY AREA HOME TO
24,000 CHICAGOANS AND IT'S HOME
TO RESTAURANTS, BUSINESSES AND
MUSIC VENUES.
THIRD WARD ALDERPERSON PAT
DOWELL THE ALDERPERSON FOR THIS
NEIGHBORHOOD, SHE SAYS THE
COMMUNITY IS WORKING TO BE MORE
CONNECTED WITH THE CONVENTION
CENTER WITH $10 MILLION IN TAX
INCREMENT FINANCING GOING
TOWARDS STREET SCAPING ALONG
WITH OTHER IMPROVEMENTS AND
INVESTMENTS.
SHE ADDS THAT WHILE THE
BUSINESSES IN THIS AREA DID
FAIRLY WELL DURING THE PANDEMIC,
THE CONVENTIONS ADD MORE VALUE.
>> WE'RE REAL EXCITED ABOUT THE
AUTO SHOW COMING BACK AND VERY
EXCITED ABOUT MORE ATTENTION AT
CHINATOWN.
CHINATOWN IS REOPENING SO THE
GOAL IS TO TRY TO CONNECT THE
SOUTH LOOP McCORMICK PLACE,
MOTOR ROW WITH McCORMICK PLACE
AND CHINATOWN AND BRONZEVILLE.
>> AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR MORE
FROM PAT DOWELL ABOUT THE WORK
THAT IS HAPPENING HERE IN THE
SOUTH LOOP AND HER THOUGHTS ON
THE CITY'S VIOLENCE AND CHANGES
AT THE CITY COUNCIL LATER IN THE
PROGRAM.
BUT ONE OF THOSE LONGSTANDING
BUSINESSES HERE IS CALLED
REGGIE'S A RESTAURANT AND LIVE
MUSIC VENUE AND COMEDY AS WELL.
OWNER ROBBY GLICK SAYS SINCE THE
CITY REOPENED HIS CUSTOMERS HAVE
BEEN COMING BACK IN FULL FORCE
AND HE IS THANKFUL THAT IT
PROVIDES WORK FOR THE PEOPLE WHO
MAKE A VENUE RUN FROM THE
WAITSTAFF TO THE LIGHTING
ENGINEERS WHO PRODUCE LIVE
MUSIC.
AND IT'S THOSE SAME BEHIND THE
SCENES FOLKS WHO WORK AT THE
CONVENTION CENTER WHO MAKEUP A
BIG PART OF HIS CUSTOMER BASE.
>> MAINLY THE PEOPLE THAT SETUP
AND TEAR DOWN THE SHOWS.
SO MOSTLY THE DECORATORS, THE
RIGGERS, THE CARPENTERS AND THE
TEAMSTERS, THAT WORK OVER THERE
THAT COME IN HERE FOR THEIR
LUNCH AND COME BACK AFTER THEIR
GIG.
>> GLICK TYPICALLY HAS 50 BANDS
A WEEK BETWEEN HIS THREE VENUES
BUT THEY ARE NOT UP TO THAT
LEVEL YET BUT HE IS EXPECTING IT
TO PICK UP IN THE FALL.
TO HEAR LIVE MUSIC IS SOMETHING
HIS CUSTOMER BASE REALLY MISSED
DURING THE PANDEMIC.
>> PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT
WHEN IT'S GONE LIKE MUSIC IS
THERAPEUTIC AND WHEN IT'S GONE
AND IT COMES BACK IT'S THE
LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE.
PEOPLE MISSED IT.
>> NOW, AROUND THE CORNER AND
NORTH OF MOTOR ROW IS RECORD ROW
HOME TO CHICAGO'S RICH BLUES
HISTORY.
WE STOPPED INSIDE CHESS RECORDS
WHERE CHUCK BERRY, WILLIE DIXON
MADE THEIR MUSIC AND OTHERS.
WILLIE DIXON'S BLUES HEAVENS
FOUNDATION KEEPING THE MEMORY
ALIVE HERE AND ABOUT THE WALLS
OF CHESS RECORDS AND HOW THEY
RESTARTED TOURS THIS WEEK AFTER
16 MONTHSISM I WOULD LIKE TO SEE
THE CITY OF CHICAGO EMBRACE THE
MUSICAL GENRE THEY HAVE.
VERY FEW CITIES CAN CLAIM A
GENRE OF MUSIC.
CHICAGO BLUES IS A GENRE IN
ITSELF.
AND AS WILLIE DIXON SAID THE
BLUES ARE THE ROOTS AND THE REST
ARE THE FRUITS.
ABOUT ALL MUSIC DOES STEM FROM
BLUES MUSIC.
>> SO THERE'S THE MUSICAL
HISTORY ON RECORD ROW.
THERE'S THE CAR HISTORY ON MOTOR
ROW.
BUT THERE'S THE ARCHITECTURAL
HISTORY IN THE SOUTH LOOP.
WE VISITED GLESSNER HOUSE ONE OF
THE ORIGINAL PRAIRIE AVENUE
HOMES OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY.
BUILT IN 1887 BY HENRY
RICHARDSON FOR THE GLESSNER
FAMILY.
THEY ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF
OTHER FAMILIES MOVED TO THE AREA
AND AT THE TIME IT WAS A GREAT
SHOW OF THEIR WEALTH AND
SUCCESS.
>> THE SOUTH LOOP WAS POPULAR
BECAUSE IT WAS CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN
AND EASY TO GET TO THE
BUSINESSES AND YOU DID NOT HAVE
TO WORRY ABOUT CROSSING THE
RIVER IT WAS REALLY THE
IMMEDIATE HUB FOR THE FAMILIES
TO MOVE TO BY THE EARLY 20TH
CENTURY, THOUGH, AS THE CITY
GREW AND IT WAS EASIER TO GET TO
OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY PEOPLE
LEFT THE SOUTH LOOP AND IT WENT
THROUGH A LONG PERIOD OF DECLINE
WHICH IS WHY MOST OF THE HOUSES
AROUND GLESSNER HOUSE WERE LOST.
>> AND TODAY AT LEAST SEVEN OF
THOSE ORIGINAL 90 HOMES ARE
STILL STANDARDING.
BUT BILL TYRE WHO WROTE THE BOOK
ON PRAIRIE AVENUE AND HISTORY
THE HOMES ARE IMPORTANT TO
UNDERSTAND THE CITY'S HISTORY
AND HOW IT GREW SO RAPIDLY WHEN
IT DID AND MANY OF THE CHICAGO
INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE CHICAGO
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND THE ART
INSTITUTE WERE STARTED BY THE
GLESSNERS AND THEIR
CONTEMPORARIES.
>> BILL TYRE IS WITNESSING THE
RETURN OF THE SOUTH LOOP FROM
THAT DECLINE THAT HE MENTIONED
THAT HAPPENED EARLIER IN THE
MID-20TH CENTURY.
BUT THAT RETURN HAS BEEN
HAPPENING OVER THE LAST 20-25
YEARS AND HE SAYS IT'S FOR THE
SAME REASON AS IT DID 100 YEARS
AGO BECAUSE OF ITS PROXIMITY TO
THE LAKE AND THE LOOP.
COMING UP, WE ARE GOING TO HEAR
MORE FROM PAT DOWELL.
AND LATER WE WILL HEAR FROM THE