The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
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The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
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Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#2With the bar on the top and the uncloseable bar on the bottom, this site was too claustrophobic for me to commit to reading the whole article.
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#3With the bar on the top and the uncloseable bar on the bottom, this site was too claustrophobic for me to commit to reading the whole article.
They named the div at the bottom nicely, such that $('.paywall').remove() in the js console removes it.
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#4I suppose this is the last men’s hotel, as in, literally for men-only, in Chicago.
But there are still single-room occupancy buildings, or SROs, around. They are largely clustered in Uptown. I would link to them, but, perhaps unsurprisingly: not much of a web presence.
And let me tell you, as one of those gentrifying tech folks living in the new or refurbished developments in Uptown and Edgewater: there are some nice folks there. One of them gave me a clicker randomly to help me train my dog. Walk by these buildings every day, they always compliment my dog.
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#5I suppose this is the last men’s hotel, as in, literally for men-only, in Chicago. But there are still single-room occupancy buildings, or SROs, around. They are largely clustered in Uptown. I would link to them, but, perhaps unsurprisingly: not much of a web presence. And let me tell you, as one of those gentrifying tech folks living in the new or refurbished developments in Uptown and Edgewater: there are some nice…
And this is an excuse to link to this really thorough documentation of the architecture and history of Uptown, which has had a wild history.
https://chicagoflaneur.com/2020/04/24/portrait-of-chicago-up...
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#6I would like to see America build more of these.
Even lightening building codes, and zoning requirements (allow for very small rooms). If the Infrasctructure bill promised more of this type of housing I would be thrilled. I'd be happy with a few public restrooms strategically placed around cities, but I guess I'm the only one that needs easy access to a bathroom!
1. It's obvious homlessness is just getting worse. I just heard the head of the Federal Reserve comment on the increasing size of the homeless encampment mext to his office.
2. We need building codes that encourage small simple housing units.
3. I like the hotel doesn't have a list of rules. I feel giving people some control over their lives is very important. I like there are no mandatory religious meetings, or curfews. Treat a man like a thinking adult, and you might be suprised with the result?
4. Yes--I understand this place is in disrepair, but why couldn't we built simple housing? I sometimes think authorities make projects more complicated because they secretly don't want anything built, especially for the poor.
5. Oh yea, America needs more people like thus guy:
"Wesley Duran, a porter at the hotel. “I try to give everyone respect, treat people fairly here. There’s too much hatred in the world for me to go that way. We’ve gotta be nicer to one another.”
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#7I would like to see America build more of these. Even lightening building codes, and zoning requirements (allow for very small rooms). If the Infrasctructure bill promised more of this type of housing I would be thrilled. I'd be happy with a few public restrooms strategically placed around cities, but I guess I'm the only one that needs easy access to a bathroom! 1. It's obvious homlessness is just getting worse. I j…
Ugh, I hate to pull this out, by: NIMBY-ism.
To a first approximation nobody wants an SRO on their back yard. Me? I am just fine with it, I have lived near SROs for years. But…oh whatever, I’ll be blunt: Karen doesn’t want a giant building full of itinerant men on her block, and she is going to fight tooth and nail to prevent such a thing.
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#8I would like to see America build more of these. Even lightening building codes, and zoning requirements (allow for very small rooms). If the Infrasctructure bill promised more of this type of housing I would be thrilled. I'd be happy with a few public restrooms strategically placed around cities, but I guess I'm the only one that needs easy access to a bathroom! 1. It's obvious homlessness is just getting worse. I j…
Ugh, I hate to pull this out, by: NIMBY-ism. To a first approximation nobody wants an SRO on their back yard. Me? I am just fine with it, I have lived near SROs for years . But…oh whatever, I’ll be blunt: Karen doesn’t want a giant building full of itinerant men on her block, and she is going to fight tooth and nail to prevent such a thing.
So let's be realistic and admit these buildings do NOT have to be built in residential areas with Karens abounding. The perfect is the enemy of the good here; let them be wedged into industrial areas or other "not as desirable" parts of town.
Trying to pretend that the "bad part of town" can be removed if we just figure out the magic steps is part of the problem.
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#9I would like to see America build more of these. Even lightening building codes, and zoning requirements (allow for very small rooms). If the Infrasctructure bill promised more of this type of housing I would be thrilled. I'd be happy with a few public restrooms strategically placed around cities, but I guess I'm the only one that needs easy access to a bathroom! 1. It's obvious homlessness is just getting worse. I j…
Ugh, I hate to pull this out, by: NIMBY-ism. To a first approximation nobody wants an SRO on their back yard. Me? I am just fine with it, I have lived near SROs for years . But…oh whatever, I’ll be blunt: Karen doesn’t want a giant building full of itinerant men on her block, and she is going to fight tooth and nail to prevent such a thing.
It’s not just NIMBY-ism, and NIMBY-ism isn’t what drove these away. What it is is pretty much the minimum mage—housing has to meet a minimum threshold in quality or else it can’t exist. Never mind that people might still be willing to live there and are able to make their own decisions. And some people might not have other options.
To many, this seems like exploitation. They’d rather have people living on the street than have a business make money off of them.
Re: The Last Men’s Hotel in Chicago
#10This block of Chicago is really interesting. It’s like going back in time to when American cities were far seedier places than they are now.
It survives in part because the neighbor across the street is the Metropolitan Correctional Center [1] (an architectural masterpiece that was ruined by painting it about 10 years ago). The other reason it survives is that many buildings are owned in full by people that just aren’t interested in huge piles of money. When they pass away, their children will surely cash out and another skyscraper will rise.
There are quite a few hole-in-the-wall lunch places along this block. My favorite was a fried chicken place with some homemade (?) hot sauce. Around the corner is a fantastic old-school pizza place and I think the guy who runs it owns most of the buildings.
[1] https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ccc/index.jsp