Life was good during the late ’60s and early ’70s. Railroad provided employment, church’s influenced a lot of people, heavy duty industry was still in the city, keeping people busy and employed kept a lot of people out of trouble.
On Diversey Parkway and Halsted Street, there used to be all kinds of small family-owned businesses. There were bakeries, butcher shops, greasy-spoon diners, liquor stores, old-fashioned barber shops, and tiny drugstores that had only two or three aisles.
Nowadays, all those businesses are gone, and have been replaced with trendy restaurants, upscale boutiques, expensive wine shops, stores that sell fancy furniture and stores that sell fancy glassware. Also, there’s a spa in almost every block. Those businesses cater to the yuppies who now live there.
These amazing black and white photos were taken by ceebop that show what Chicago looked like in the early 1970s.
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| The Walgreens, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago, 1970 |
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| Kinzie Street looking west from State Street, Chicago, 1970 |
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| Michigan and Washington, Chicago, 1970 |
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| Wabash and Randolph Streets, Chicago, 1970 |
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| Wabash Ave., Chicago, 1970 |
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| Wabash Ave., Chicago, 1970 |
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| Fulton fish market, Chicago, 1972 |
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| Maxwell Street, Chicago, 1973 |
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| Maxwell Street, Chicago, 1973 |
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| Seed seller at Randolph and State, Chicago, 1973 |
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| Chicago skyline viewed from 333 N. Michigan, 33rd Floor, 1974 |
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| Belmont and Sheffield, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Book store at 128 W. Lake Street, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago from above, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago in a snowy day, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago in a snowy day, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago in a snowy day, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago in a snowy day, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago in a snowy day, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago kids, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago kids, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Chicago street scenes, circa 1970s |
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| Diversey and Broadway, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Fulton Market, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Maxwell Street Market, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Michigan Ave., Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Michigan Avenue Bridge, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| North Clark Street, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| North Dearborn Street, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| On the right beneath the Playdium Parking Bowl sign, was originally the entrance to the Covent Theatre. The Covent Hotel is still standing today, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Randolph and State Streets, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Randolph Street, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Randolph Street, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Randolph Street, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Randolph Street, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Roosevelt Road, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| Roscoe and Halsted Streets, Chicago, circa 1970s |
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| South east bound Lincoln on the left and Racine on the right at Diversey, Chicago, circa 1970s |
