Positively Western Avenue

Western Avenue in Chicago is reported to be the longest continuous street in the world, at nearly 24 miles. The interesting thing for me is that I grew up a few blocks from the south end, and now 40 years later work a few blocks from the north end. In between is a whole world of urban culture to explore. As time permits, I plan to photo-document how it looks, as the avenue slowly succumbs to the faceless, generic commercial architecture we've all come to know only too well. I'm a big fan of roadside architecture and graphics, and you don't have to cruise the remains of Route 66 to find it. This thread will likely morph into a separate blog (for all I know someone is already doing this) but for now, here's a taste:

Bill's Drive-In is technically a little beyond the north end of Western Avenue, on Asbury Street near the Chicago/Evanston border. It's Western Avenue to me. Plugging away since 1949 and now in the shadows of the big fast food franchises, Bill's has it's share of loyal customers. Bill's has been featured in a national PBS documentary on hot dogs, and it's a great place to get an authentic Chicago Style dog (no ketchup!)


Listen: Hot Dog(Watch Me Eat) by the Detroit Cobras