Used to struggle with reading in school and my peers would tease me when reading aloud. There was a…read moretime when I absolutely hated books. I eventually received tutoring and help from a high school guidance counselor and mentors at the library. In my early twenties I couldn't put books down. I love the feel of a book in my hands and I enjoy turning the pages. Moving along with evolving technology; I also enjoy online books as well as recorded books that I can listen to during my commutes. I appreciate that the libraries offer so many opportunities for one to be creative with books. So many ways to stimulate and cultivate creative imagination. The library also has a lot of different events and activities for families and the communities. I appreciate so much how Chicago Public Libraries have helped me to blossom, my children to thrive and now my g-baby loves the experiences as well.

This is the best library. It is beautiful. Hours are great. Staff is very helpful…read more It is clean. The library has great security.

Clean building nice staff and just blocks from my home. Good hours and mixed selection of booksread more

The Whitney Young Library has been remodeled in the last couple years, and now has a very sleek,…read moremodern look, reminiscent of a Miesian style. I think that is by design (love a good pun), because after I first viewed this building I found an article wherein the architecture says he is inspired in his work by Mies. (Apparently Mies was a mentor, so the connection makes sense!) I have heard of Whitney Young, of course; one of the top selective high schools in the city is named for him (a school that only became more high profile because Michelle Obama is an alumna). I didn't realize that he was a Black man, a civil rights leader, and served at the helm of the National Urban League. Whilst I appreciate that the city/CPL has honored Black and brown leaders by doing things like naming branches after them, it would be nice if they would do so in areas besides the Black and brown neighborhoods (Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in the country, yes, in the year of our Lord 2022). It might make a bit more sense if Whitney Young was from the neighborhood, but I don't think he had any real connection to Chicago. But... I digress. It's got a pretty small footprint, and is a single level. It was designed by Jay Carow (pretty sure that's his name, not Hay Carow as the branch webpage might have you believe), Though there's a small collection of books compared to many other branches (not a problem since you can have books transferred from branch to branch for pickup within a few days!) it does have some useful services. There are several computers, and there's a relatively large children's section for the overall size of the building. There's a small enclosed courtyard at the southwest corner of the building. They have a few study rooms, one specifically geared toward teens. And in addition to that, there's a maker lab and a recording studio. The recording studio was a surprise and pretty cool to see; it would be neat to try it out sometime. I don't know how the reservation process works but luckily they have a phone number, email, and a website! There's a good sized parking lot at this location. They have an outdoor plaza too, and I'm curious what they use that space for. The west exterior wall has a really nice mural that spans the length of it as well.

Very good variety of flooring walls indoors outdoor good quality nice comfortable pricesread more

In the middle of doing a home or modeling project and this place located on the south east side of…read moreChicago conveniently off the Dan Ryan expressway. This is a home remodeling dream spot . This place is filled with over the top designs that almost look like they were custom and beautiful tiles, flooring, bathroom and kitchen vanities and decor shelving. The sky was the limit for your imagination and your budget

The Vivian G. Harsh collection is the Chicago Public Library archival collection hosted at the…read moreWoodson Regional Library. I've wanted to visit for a few years, since I learned this collection exists; however, Washington Heights is so far away from Ravenswood! I attended a virtual lecture that one of the archivists, Beth Loch, held about preserving your family history and it was excellent. She also mentioned a pilot program where the archive is giving a small number of archival protective items (box, folders, etc.) to the public for folks to begin to preserve their own documents, so I decided that it was time to take a trip down to the Woodson library (and it lets me cross off one more CPL branch on my quest to visit all the branches in the system!). This is a deep and rich collection African American history which began by Harsh herself, which she began when she the first African American woman to serve as a branch manager in the CPL system. She collected a great deal of items herself whilst the director of the branch, and the precursor to the Harsh collection, called the Special Negro Collection and established by Harsh herself, was held at the Hall branch in Bronzeville. Harsh herself is a fascinating woman, but this review is about the collection and space specifically, so I'll try to tone down my fan-girling. The archive holds the papers of several important African Americans, including Richard Wright and Timuel Black. Richard Wright (author of Black Boy and Native Son, amongst others) and Vivian Harsh actually knew one another, and there are photos of them together in the library. Many other African American authors, writers, organizations, and the like have donated their papers and historical documents to the archives. This area of the library is wide and open with lots of tables for folks to do work and research. There's also a rare documents room that is kept locked and for use when reviewing particular items. It also has photos of important folks in the history of the library and the archives, as well as some interesting artwork. Jacob's Ladder, by renowned sculptor Richard Hunt, is in the center of this space. I learned that it was originally installed in the 70's and the artist's vision was that people would be able to walk through it to the other side; however, people would slip on the brick and children would hop on the bottom half of the sculpture and potentially hurt themselves, so there are now stanchions around the base of the two-piece statue. There are several large round discs surrounding the base of the sculpture, which once held plants native to Africa. However, when they moved the archives to this branch, the plants had to go (of course you don't want to have plants and their humidity near a collection of documents you're trying to preserve). They later filled it with fake plants, I believe, and now they are empty and covered over whilst the Chicago Cultural Center (which is responsible for placing artwork in public city buildings in Chicago) determines what new artwork will be placed in the space. There is also a somewhat haunting woodblock print by Willie Cole called Stowage taking up a large swath of the western wall of the room. As there was someone sitting near it and we're in the second year of the pandemic, I couldn't get terribly close to the plaque explaining the work; it says, in part: "...this woodblock... uses the iron and ironing board as icons to conjure both the labor of his African American female forbearers and the primary shapes of African sculpture." Hopibara by Williams, Hope in the Community by Omwony-Hope, and Tempest by Searles are some other beautiful artworks on display in the archive. The librarians were great. I was wondering around taking photos and stopping to read the information about the works, and when I neared the desk where one of the librarians had been working, a second one came out and said that they'd noticed me wandering around and asked if I had any questions. That's when I learned who Harsh was, as well as learning a bit about Charlemae Hill Rollins. Both these women are fascinating and I seriously would like to write a book about them... I just need to learn how to write a book.... There's so much history here, and I really find archives fascinating. I wasn't totally joking about wanting to write a book, and that's mostly because Vivian Harsh (and Charlemae Hill Robbins!!) are fascinating women who are important not only in Chicago and African American history, but in the history of libraries as well. But a part of me wants to do it also because to have access to the archive would be a dream! If you're here, it's worth a quick stroll through this section of the library to check out the artwork and maybe learn a bit, too. Review #620 - January 10, 2022 2022 first review

I stumbled upon Park No 419 on my way to check out Mahalia Jackson Court. I don't even know what to…read moresay about it. I actually thought perhaps my GPS was incorrect and that it wasn't a park, but I looked up the park online and there is actually a page for it, with this address. I could do nothing but gaze in disbelief at this patch of land. It's an embarrassment that Chicago Park District even calls this a "park"; it's nothing more than an empty lot. The reason I call it a vacant lot is because it's directly next to a two-flat on Wabash; it would make sense to me if it has once been a two flat that was demolished, or even if it was a lot for the place next door (which would be highly unusual in Chicago, but still more believable than calling it a park). This "park" is fully fenced on all sides; the only entrance is locked. There is no sign identifying it as a park as CPD parks do--only maps identify it, and their website as it gives the address at this corner. There are no service or playground equipment, not even a teeter totter. And CPD has the nerve to call it an "idyllic" location where families can enjoy time together. The neighborhood deserves better and CPD should be ashamed of itself.