Perspectives on Chicago → Perspectives on Chicago → Office of Fine Art and GOOD Design

Historical map of Hegewisch — Distant Perspectives

As a kid I understood the scale of the city by **my mother’s route** into work and the perspective of her time to return us to our home. She drove us in from Indiana, often before dawn, and dropped us at my grandmother’s in the Southside neighborhood of **Hegewisch** so we could attend one of the many South Chicago Catholic schools. In part, you could say my first impressions of education were under the direct management of Sister Julita, who would not let anything slide, especially from a dysfunctional youth bubbling up from the darker parts of that industrial area.

**My Mothers View of the City**... My mother would then head downtown to work. Most days meant overtime, and she would return late, around 8:30 at night. I would imagine her in the freezing Chicago winters traversing the Loop, heels on ice, papers under her arm, steady wind in her face. At that time in our life, my older brother, my older sister, and I didn’t see her much at all.

The work kept us afloat. We learned our own rules on the Southside with **very little supervision**, and those small windows still shape how I understand Chicago as a whole. The contrasts were clear: Southside industrial playgrounds, summers in Indiana, long rides in cars, and the occasional trip to the tall buildings downtown.

The First Days

When I look back at the city and my first impressions, I was 12 and taking the South Shore commuter train into the city, just a couple of friends and I. Forty-five minutes and you’re at the Randolph Street stop... The end of the line right there at Grant Park.

It blew my mind to come up from the station and see endless possibilities, everything was skateable, smooth, clean, unlike the harsh concrete of the neighborhoods. This was the era of meeting at State and Lake by the Taco Bell, skating the median islands, the stairs, the slappies, and free refills at Taco Bell. 12 year old gold rolling through the veins of the city.

We learned to map the city by pushing and pausing to stop and skate a plaza or find some random back alley bump. Fifteen or twenty skaters moving around at a time. The sound there was nothing like it, rolling thunder, vibrating across the buildings down the streets.

This is around the time when I first met Rob Villanueva. We were both living in Hegewisch on the Southside and needed to expand what skateboarding could be for us. The Southside was pretty bleak at that time, with very little escape. Traveling to downtown Chicago offered possibilities that were lacking where we were from.

This is where we both started to fall in love with the city and the skyline. Being down there offered a completely different view—a vignette of possibilities.

Mid 90s

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Editorial - City: Story Part 4

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Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus dolor auctor. Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit.

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Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper.

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The Chicago Skyline

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Music credits:

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Rob: Full Story Part 1

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Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit. Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.

Rob: Full Story Part 2

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Nullam quis risus eget urna mollis ornare vel eu leo. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.

Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet.

Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur.

Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla.

Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla.

Rob: Full Story Part 3

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Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam quis risus eget urna mollis ornare vel eu leo. Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum. Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet.

Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla.

Closing in on the past

— Article and study by Mike Rusczyk

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Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit. Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.

Lin to some shit→

OFAD a place to hold

Perspectives on Chicago

Perspectives on Chicago - Introduction

Distant Perspectives

The First Days

Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur.

Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna.

Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et.

Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec sed odio dui.

Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus

Dave Ruta mid 90s Chicago Skateboarding

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