Monday, November 26, 2012
The Northwest Highway art store is a continuing challenge for creative people who must transition to business operators.
The dog-head sculpture on display, made of high-fire clay, looked interesting enough until Russell Phillips brought a small fan to place opposite the sculpture. Phillips turned on the fan, which blew the strands of hair atop the dog-head. Maria Kuchinski, head of the ceramics department at the College of DuPage, concocted this two-piece set of artwork, on sale for $650. That’s the key to OnView, a two-year-old gallery at 139 N. Northwest Highway: quality work produced by Chicago-area artists. And if the truth be known, gallery proprietors Phillips and Cynthia Crampton, married 27 years and 21-year Park Ridge residents, don’t mind at all giving fellow artists from town prominent display. There were two big paintings from Andre Lidgus. …
42.00905
-87.829327
Metra Station
100 Summit Ave, Park Ridge, IL
/articles/onview-gallery-operated-by-local-artists-who-know-local-artists
2115704
/locations/8181830
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Meeting David Iglow is like jumping back in a time machine to a neighborhood retailer of the mid-1900s, with personal service. At Pine's, the longest-running store in the Uptown area of Park Ridge, he specializes in proper fit, with a tailor on hand.
When you meet David Iglow, there’s something vaguely familiar about him. You’ve met his type before – a long time ago. Iglow is going into his third decade as owner of the venerable Pine’s of Park Ridge men’s and boy’s clothing store at 43 S. Prospect, across from the library and the train tracks. The store is marking its 60th anniversary this year in a corner building constructed in 1898. The ownership lineage of Pine’s goes all the way back to a member of the famed Goldblatt’s retailing family. “It’s very unusual,” Iglow said of Pine’s longevity. “If you really research it, you’ll find we are the longest-running retailer in one spot in this town, to the best of my knowledge.” Iglow comports himself like an old-school neighborhood …
Thursday, October 4, 2012
You know those seats in the main theater? They're 84 years old. The Park Ridge movie palace is replacing them with plush new seats, yet keeping historical architectural details.
Much of the legendary Pickwick Theater looks brand-new amid the finishing touches of a $1.2 million renovation that has restored parts of its original 1928 Art Deco luster. Dino Vlahakis, whose original $40,000 investment in 1981 in the downtown Park Ridge institution has clicked, showed off the renovation’s effects and work still in the offing in a tour for Patch. Brand-new red reclining seats give a plush new image to the main theater, which will seat 1,000, compared to the longtime 1,400 capacity. They replace seats that were discovered to be have been originals from the theater’s opening 84 years ago. Earlier: Park Ridge recognized for historic preservation "Everyone loves our prices ($5 before 6 p.m., $7 afterward), the first-run …
42.0107
-87.82961
Pickwick Theatre
5 S Prospect Ave, Park Ridge, IL
/articles/old-and-new-blend-perfectly-as-pickwick-renovations-near-completion
2107510
/locations/7958433
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Around the World Cigars and Gifts has hundreds of brands of cigars supplemented by sports cards and sundries, with occasional visits by sports celebrities like Bobby Hull and Dick Butkus.
The sign says “Around the World Cigars, Gifts” at 31 ½ Prospect in uptown Park Ridge. The smell inside suggests hundreds of stogie brands, wafting on both the shelves and when the humidor in back is opened. But the reality is that the emporium brothers Alpesh and Ramesh Shah have operated for 15 years is really a hybrid of several genres appealing to all ages. The entrance suggests an old-fashioned neighborhood sundries store with a newspaper rack and candy display. All it lacks is an ice-cream freezer. Get local news delivered in your email. It's like getting a free newspaper. Further back are displays of sports memorabilia, including baseball cards on the display at left and figurines behind the counter at right. Smoking lounge is a …
42.00905
-87.829327
Metra Station
100 Summit Ave, Park Ridge, IL
/articles/downtown-cigar-store-has-the-smell-of-a-multi-genre-business
2115704
/locations/7901734
Dick Barton
9:35 am on Thursday, October 4, 2012
Dino and Dave have done a masterful job of maintaining and now improving this wonderful treasure. Most people in town and in the surrounding suburbs have fond memories of fun times at The Pickwick. The good times continue to roll thanks to these renovation efforts and local support. Keep up the good work! more ›