Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Photos: A ghost town near the old Children's Memorial, Lincoln Park

I took a few shots of the shuttered, and former, Children's Memorial Hospital site in Lincoln Park a couple weeks ago (after a dentist appointment across the street...no cavities).  The new development of the site has run into a fresh set of problems as reported by Crain's.  No one said it was going to be easy, but they didn't say it would be this hard either.

I digress.
The eerily empty hospital driveway.  We'd spent many years dodging cars and pedestrians coming out of this drive.

The hospital closed and moved permanently to Streeterville in June.  However, the vacant site has taken on a new melancholy as we move into cold and grey fall days. It feels a little more vacant now.  As some of you know my wife worked at the old hospital for about 10 years (and continues to work at the new hospital). My old office was a couple blocks away.  A lot of time was spent around the hustle and bustle of this location.
The mostly empty parking structure.


One of the largest concerns of the hospital closing was the affect of the hospital move on local business.  Dissipated are the lunch crowd, work parties, employees, parents, kids...it's a pretty dramatic blow. 
Lunch staples like this Potbellly Sandwich shop are feeling the pinch.

North Lincoln Avenue by the old hospital site was pretty quiet for this Thursday afternoon lunch hour.

More Children's and Lurie Hospital posts HERE