Lincoln Highway Notes 1914-1940

It was 1914. Cars had been around for a few years. Lately they had become a national craze. Henry Ford began producing the Model T in 1908. This made car ownership a reality for hundreds of thousands of Americans.

People loved the new cars, but there was a problem. The roads were awful. Larger cities had paved sections. A few early paved connector roads between cities existed. People wanted to use there cars to explore the country outside of the cities. That became difficult when the pavement ended.

Motorists in those early days in rural areas had to contend with muddy roads and deep wagon ruts. Railroad bridges were sometimes the only available river crossings. Horses still using the old dirt roads would get spooked by the automobiles. It was a difficult and often dangerous situation. Something needed to change.

1909 New York to Seattle Road Race Britannica

Groups of early automotive boosters organized themselves. Their goal: establishing a paved road linking the east and west coast of the United States. They urged Congress to oppropriate funding for a national highway. They argued benefits to shipping. More important, the mobility of US troops within the nation would improve. The benefits to the average citizen were also stressed. Congress approved the Lincoln Highway. Construction began.

Opening in 1914, the highway was not one paved route throughout the country. It was a network of existing paved roads. New paving now connected these pre-existing roads. Together they would form one long, paved Lincoln Highway.

Lincoln Highway near Pennsylvania Tunnel-September 1922 Wikipedia

The Lincoln Highway was America's first national highway. The road was legendary long before Route 66 gained its infamy.  This highway was at the birth of our modern road trip culture. It saw the rise of motor touring and the development of the car camp. Those old car camps sometimes added cabins and the motel was born.

Old Highway Notes asks you to join us. We will explore the Lincoln Highway in our usual style. A handpicked blend of YouTube video clips and music with a touch of history and tourism.

Flickr (Lydia Darnell)

Before we hit the road here are some songs about cars from the Golden age of the highway 1914-1940.

1 In My Merry Oldsmobile Billy Murray 3:01
2 He'd Have To Get Out And Get Under (To Fix Up His Automobile) Billy Murray 3:19
3 The Little Ford Rambled Right Along Billy Murray 2:21
4 Uncle Josh Buys An Automobile Cal Stewart 3:17
5 I'm Wild About Horns On Automobiles Jack Dalton and The 7 Blue Babies 5:09
6 Steppin' On The Gas Sam Morgan's Jazz Band 3:23
7 Get 'Em In A Rumble Seat Billy Jones & Ernest Hare 3:28
8 Henry's Made A Lady Out Of Lizzie Clicquot Club Eskimos 2:40
9 The Chevrolet Six Frank Hutchison 3:10
10 A Race Between a Ford and a Chevrolet Oscar Ford 3:20
11 Henry Ford Blues Roosevelt Sykes 3:11
12 Chevrolet Car Sam McGee 3:11
13 Car Song Woody Guthrie 1:53
14 Hard Travelin' Woody Guthrie 2:40
15 This Land Is Your Land Woody Guthrie 4:31
16 Lost Highway Hank Williams 3:13
17 Terraplane Blues Robert Johnson 3:02
18 My Little Machine Sonny Boy Williamson I 3:03
19 Mean Old Highway Sonny Boy Williamson I 3:25
20 Hard Driving Blues Amos Milburn 2:43

Here is a bonus I found.

An American Songline: A Musical Journey Along the Lincoln Highway
Cecelia Otto

1 It's a Long Way to California 3:49
2 Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life 1:22
3 Second Hand Rose 0:42
4 Beautiful Ohio 2:30
5 [Preparing for The] Lincoln Way 5:40
6 Along the Way 6:34
7 Goin' Home 5:03
8 In My Merry Oldsmobile 3:10
9 Let Me Stray 3:02
10 I Always Wear My Amber Shades (Even On a Cloudy Day) 3:23
11 Out Where the West Begins 1:49
12 I'm Always Chasing Rainbows 3:13
13 Land Of Lincoln 2:53

Mileage Stats

Route 66: 1/4 Mile/1 State/1097 Tracks/394 Videos/43 Posts

Highway 101: 25 Miles/2 Countries/1 State/702 Tracks/418 Videos/33 Posts

Interstate 95: 219 Miles/1 State/149 Tracks/201 Videos/20 Posts

Pan American Highway: 184 Miles/1 Nation/1 State/21 Videos/1 Post

Trans-Canadian Highway: 14 Miles/1 Province/1 District/35 Videos/1 Post

Lincoln Highway: 0 Miles/0 States/0 Counties/33 Videos/1 Post

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Chicago Loop and Songs Inspired By The 1968 Democratic National Convention

(Flickr user Tony Hisgett/CC)

For most of its life, Route 66 began at the Buckingham Fountain, as we looked at in our last post. These days, due to one way street alignments in the central city, the route West now starts at a block or so away from the fountain on Adams Street between Michigan Avenue and Wabash Streets.

Going West on Adams on the left we have the 274 foot tall Borg-Warner Building and to the right we pass the Mid-Continental Plaza on the right. It is a 583 ft tall high rise that is the 52nd highest tower in the city.

The Elevated Train
(Flickr user theycallmetelly/CC)

The intersection of Adams and Wabash is a station stop on the famous El Train that makes a loop around the core of the city thus gaining the downtown's nickname of The Loop. In front of the station we find a street musician jamming on his clarinet.

Chicago is known for many things, not the least of which are trains and skyscrapers. Modern steel frame skyscraper architecture was born here and for many years the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) reigned supreme as the tallest building in the world.

Looking Up Adams
(Flickr user (vincent desjardins)/CC)

Trains also figure hugely in the development of the city. Located between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, Chicago was destined to be a transportation hub. When the railroads were being built it was a logical choice to build to an already busy trade corridor. As more train lines converged on Chicago, it drew more lines to build to there as well.

As the city grew the rail lines built depots at the edge of the city center. In cosmopolitan late 19th century style a cable driven trolley system had a large pulley in the downtown area that was nicknamed The Loop. In 1897, when a an elevated train was build in a loop around the downtown core to connect the various terminals, the name The Loop began to be applied to the train.

The center of one of Americas largest cities, The Loop is packed with skyscrapers, public art, plazas, and government buildings. One of the plazas in the loop is as well known for its mention in the film The Blues Brothers as it is for the Picasso sculpture that graces it. That is the Richard J. Daley plaza, named after one of Chicago's most known mayors, He presided over the city for 21 years from 1955-1976 and his name will come up again in the Playlist Additions for this post a little later on.

 Chicago Picasso at the Richard J. Daley Plaza
(Flickr user Jaysin Trevino/CC)

Here are several short videos that explore the Loop.

Playlist Additions
The 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention Riots And The Songs That Followed
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As promised, Richard J Daley will play a role in our playlist addition this week. The year was 1968 and one of the most divisive and bitterly fought presidential primaries was underway. The Democratic National Convention where the president  would be named was due to take place in Chicago during the last week in August.

This is a complicated story and the music is the point. Please forgive any lapses in the narrative, as well as the lack of discussion of events happening inside the convention. Here is a nutshell version of the lead up and the scene on the streets that week. If you find it interesting, I urge you to explore the many other reports that have been made about the events in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

1968 would have been a spirited primary season in a normal election year because the incumbent president Lyndon Johnson was stepping down from the presidency, leaving a contestable candidacy.

This was no ordinary year. 1968 was the most turbulent year of the decade in many ways. In fact, it was one of the most turbulent years in the second half of the 20th century, The youth counterculture had been driving a mighty wedge between older and younger Americans. The Anti-War movement was gaining more and more strength. And there were other societal issues challenging the nation. This led to the heated convention atmosphere,

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. The murder angered the nation but especially the black communities in cities around the country. While peaceful memorials occurred in some places, many cities black communities exploded into rioting to express the outrage against the racism in America that led to the death of such a peaceful man.

In over 100 cities rioting occurred, with damage in excess of 50 million dollars. Hardest hit were Baltimore, Maryland, Washington D.C., and Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago, the riots continued for 48 hours a 28 square block area was that looted, vandalized and burned, Between 4 and 10 pm on the night the rioting began, over 36 fires were reported in the area burning.

In the end, it took over 20,00 combined police, National Guard and Army troops to restore order. By then 11 Chicagoans were dead and 48 were wounded by police gunfire. The police received 90 injuries and 2150 people were arrested. Two miles of Madison Street were reduced to rubble. 

Other events helped to drive up tensions leading to the Chicago convention. In June of that year the Democrats front running candidate, one with tremendous youth appeal, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at a fund raising dinner in Los Angeles. 

After the death of Robert Kennedy, his older brother President John F Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr all  killed by assassins bullets, concern for the safety of the convention delegates was in the forefront of the minds of Chicago's leadership. Richard J. Daley had hoped to use the press from the convention to make a leap from city politics to the national political stage. 

Meanwhile, college students who had been mobilized by the civil rights and anti-war movements wanted to go to Chicago to make a statement to the delegates about their issues. Abbie Hoffman, on of the founders of the Yippies, the radical hippy political party, called for a "Festival of Life" to be held in Chicago in Lincoln Park near the Convention Center.

 "Join us in Chicago in August for an international festival of youth, music, and theater. Rise up and abandon the creeping meatball. Come all you rebels, youth spirits, rock minstrels, truth-seekers, peacock-freaks, poets, barricade-jumpers, dancers, lovers and artists! . . . Bring blankets, tents, draft-cards, body-paint, Mr Leary's Cow, food to share, music, eager skin, and happiness. The threats of LBJ, Mayor Daley, and J Edgar Freako will not stop us. We are coming! We are coming from all over the world!"

The youth movement had been becoming more political for a few years. During that long hot summer major rock festivals were held across the country which produced a fairly large nomadic hippy population. A lot of them headed to Chicago to speak out for peace and to just groove on the scene and the free festival.

During the first day of the convention the Yippies, including folksinger Phil Ochs, protested. Marching and chanting, they caused a scene and brought a pig into the Loop area of the city. The pig was named "Pigasus the Immortal" and he was offered as the Yippie presidential candidate.

From City Hall, Daley wanted to make sure that the crowds were kept in line. He did not want this to open up into a reprise of the rioting the city experienced earlier in the year. Daley instructed his police to act with authority and shut down any protest gathering.was worried that the protesters who were expected to arrive would turn to rioting. 

The Yippies had announced an occupation of Lincoln Park camping out for the duration of the convention. However, Mayor Daley's office denied permits stating that the police would enforce the parks closing time of 11p.

During that first day of the festival Phil Ochs performed. His song I Won't Go Marching Anymore was requested by Yippie founder Jerry Rubin. The crowd was in a militant mood, many of the having attended civil disobedience training earlier in the day hosted by the anti-war group Mobe.

The police were tasked with dispersing the crowd, by force if necessary. As protesters chanted anti-police slogans, the police swept in with billy clubs and in riot formations. Soon tear gas was fired on the protesters. All of it happened live on the network news.

The riot would continue for four days, yet the festival continued featuring most notable the MC5 later in the week. Inside the convention, things were heated and contentious as well, The American public seemed to feel shock, concern, and rage over the events inside and outside of the convention.

From the website Chicago '68:

The arrest count for Convention Week disturbances stands at 668. An undetermined number of demonstrators sustained injuries, with hospitals reporting that they treated 111 demonstrators. The on-the-street medical teams from the Medical Committee for Human Rights estimated that their medics treated over 1,000 demonstrators at the scene. The police department reported that 192 officers were injured, with 49 officers seeking hospital treatment.

Public opinions were decidedly mixed. Some felt the protesters to be Un-American communist sympathizers. Others saw the police as jack booted storm trooper thugs.

The film Conventions-The Land Around Us was created shortly after the incidents of the convention \ for The University of Chicago. It is is long but has many amazing images from the Convention and the surrounding chaos. as well as a certain late 60's hippy vibe that is undeniable.
Conventions-The Land Around Us from Jerry Swatez on Vimeo.
Yippies! against the system. The Chicago 1968 Democratic Convention demonstrations. With music.

Information documents about this video can be found at http://ge.tt/1JBWTAU?c
The excerpted Phil Ochs music from the film is in this clip:

An audio report from the Festival of Life exists as well:

After the convention was over a trial was held for Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner, known as The Chicago 7. Originally it was the Conspiracy 8 on the Chicago 8, but the 8th defendant Bobby Seales, was severed from the group charges, ultimate being charged with 4 years in prison for contempt of court.

Wikipedia

The Chicago 7  was charged with conspiracy, inciting a riot and an assortment of minor charges. During their trial a number of celebrities testified, including Phil Ochs, who was given a fine for his role in bringing the pig into the city without a livestock license. During his questioning it was implied that Jerry Rubin requesting his performance of I Won't Go Marching Anymore was a deliberate move to incite the crowd.

Here is Hollywood's version in a trailer from the 2011 film Chicago Eight:

To start our playlist additions this week, we have Phil Ochs in the studio performing I Won't Go Marching Anymore. It appears that he also performed Power and The Glory that day as well. We'll add it to our playlist.

A song written after the events by Ochs, describes the events in Chicago.William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed. The song is a poetic description of the festival. A young couple fall in love only to get separated in the riots where she is killed. the song closes with a reprise that radically changes the tempo to a festive campaign tune that mocks those who claimed to be in Chicago but were not.

After plenty of searching, I could not find out who Ochs was referring to when he sings "I was in Detroit".It is obvious that this is a punch line, Perhaps he was referring to the race rioting in Detroit after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, which also occurred in Chicago. If you get the joke, please explain in the comments.

The reprise is strong enough  that the band Kind Of Like Spitting chose to cover it under the titel Where Were You In Chicago for an indie tribute compilation dedicated to Phil Ochs that came out in 2010 called Learn: The Songs Of Phil Ochs.

To be fair, it seems right to include the police officers opinion. WFMU on their 365 Day Project featured a minor label record Chicago Policeman by Harry Burgess The song has a mock sincerity, I think. In the song, the policeman celebrates the departments actions during the rioting and how it helped keep the city safe from hippies and communists,

We conclude our playlist additions with a song that inspired me to start writing this post, before I got caught up in the Phil Ochs story. The song is Graham Nash's Chicago. We are adding the version from the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young live album Four Way Street. 

Chicago calls out his fellow band members, and ultimately much of the rock community, for not appearing in Chicago. The song also holds many references to the Chicago 7 trial. and the injustice that Nash felt the trial was,

• I Ain't Marching Anymore The Early Years Phil Ochs  2:37
• Power And The Glory There But For Fortune Phil Ochs  2:17
• William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed Farewells & Fantasies Phil Ochs  3:31
• Where Were You In Chicago Learn: The Songs Of Phil Ochs Kind Of Like Spitting 0:43
• Chicago Policeman WFMU The 365 Days Project 2003 Harry Burgess 3:33
• Chicago Four Way Street  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 3:12

Mileage Stats

Route 66: 1/4 Mile/1 State/1097 Tracks/394 Videos/43 Posts

Highway 101: 25 Miles/2 Countries/1 State/696 Tracks/418 Videos/32 Posts

Interstate 95: 200 Miles/1 State/121 Tracks/183 Videos/18 Posts

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Space Coast Stadium and Songs About Fireworks

Casey At The Bat At Space Coast Stadium
(Flickr user JB Kopp/CC)

Arriving at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Florida in our last post from Interstate 95, its time to take a look around.Space Coast Stadium is the Spring Training park for the Washington Nationals.

Viera, Florida. Before the town's construction in 1990, this area that Interstate 95 passed through was known as Cocoa Ranch. The owners decided to break up the ranch for development. Viera is a master planned community that adjacent to Melbourne, Florida. Viera seems to be about suburban as you can get with 58 individual neighborhoods.

Space Coast Stadium was built in 1994 to act as the Spring Training facilities for the then new Florida Marlins.

You may remember from my post about Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, the Marlins now have Spring Training in Jupiter. Why aren't they still in Viera?  In 2002 the Montreal Expos were sold. As part of the deal it was required that Marlins switch stadiums with the Expos putting the Marlins in Jupiter and the Expos in Viera.

Expos? Not the Nationals. Actually they are the same team having been reformed and renamed in 2004 as the Washington Nationals. Which catches us up to the current day, The park seats 8100 fans and takes its name, like the rest of the region, from the history of NASA on the Central Florida Coast. When Spring training is over the park becomes home to the minor league Brevard County Manatees as well as occasionally serving as home field for the Nationals of the Gulf Coast League.

Space Coast Stadium
(Flickr user Joseph Gruber/CC)

Playlist Additions

Songs About Fireworks

Amazon Store

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans. As I suspected, Space Coast Park hosts a Fourth of July Fireworks Show. Lets go!

Our musical selections this week are all songs related to fireworks. In many ways, fireworks are like Americans: so fun, so dangerous, so loud, and so colorful!

Our set begins with a classical piece that hearkens back to Colonial Era England. In 1749, George Handel was contracted to compose a musical score to accompany a firework show that was being put on for King George II. The show was held on April 27, 1749 in London's Green Park. celebrating the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748.

Interestingly, Music for Fireworks, whose overture we feature here was originally written to include violins.The producer of the fireworks show, Duke John Mantagu insisted that the strings be removed as the King had a preference for wind instruments and drums. Handel argued the point, but ultimately complied. Regardless, the piece entered the classical canon as one of Handel's most famous pieces, often paired with his other famous outdoor composition, Water Music, in recordings.

(Flickr user Paul Wilkinson/CC)

Indoor Fireworks by Elvis Costello shares a similar tempo to Handel's piece so it bridges the musical transition from classical to more modern music. The song itself is a classic bit of the Elvis Costello wordplay that makes him one of my favorite songwriters. Indoor Fireworks symbolize a burning out of a fiery relationship, that still enjoys a spark in the bedroom.

Going back to 1929, our next track is a song recorded only once by Louis Armstrong and his Hot 5. The rocord was made in Chicago and it is the the uptempo number Firecracker.

Louis  Armstrong gets followed up by an obscure track from an obscure album. Chet Bolin was a little known Philadelphia musician who recorded an album in the 1980's that went largely unnoticed. It was yeas later, in 2007, when community radio station WFMU ran a series called The 365 Project on their blog that showcased obscure audio track every day, Frequently these were thrift store LPs available for free download. Chet Bolin's album All American Masher was posted on October 11 and on it was the song Boom Boom, our next track.

(Flickr user Adam Carter/CC)

The Chet Bolin track gets followed by an even more obscure track. When mash ups were first happening, a collection called Divas Of Joy was posted online. Our next track is a mash up from that collection between Joy Division and Katy Perry called joy division vs katy perry-Means To A Firework. Good luck finding a copy of this one, as it looks like it has been pulled down from most hosting sites.

Our next cut is far more readily available. It is also one of the most famous blues songs of all time. John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom. It is followed by another song from England. This time it the song Rocket from a Bottle, from the XTC album Black Sea.

It would be an oversight to have a list of firework songs without including one of the most iconic songs to mention fireworks. The  title of this Starland Vocal Band hit also gave the world a new phrase for an midday sexual tryst, Afternoon Delight.

(Flickr user Toshihiro Oimatsu/CC)

A metal firecracker is a slang term for a musician's tour bus. Alt-Country favorite Lucinda Williams sings of a love affair that is now over but was consummated on the bus with her song Metal Firecracker.

Keep Sending Me Black Fireworks comes to us from the band Of Montreal, who are not of Montreal at all, but rather from Athens Georgia. The song is a psychedelic love song from the bonus disc on the band's 7th album, Sunlandic Twins It compares love to black fireworks, you can feel the energy, but you cannot see it.

(Flickr user Epic Fireworks/CC)

The next track randomly appeared on my music player. I am not sure where it came from, but I like it. Laura Cantrell gives us a torchy folk cover of the Elvis Costello song Indoor Fireworks that appears as a sort of reprise on the playlist.

Finally this week we have a song that was offered on the music blog Cover Lay Down. It is another folky female cover. This time it is the Ryan Adam song Firecracker being performed by Janelle Daddona.

• Overture From The Royal Fireworks - Strings&Trumpet (Handel) Classical Requests BMP Classical Grand Entrance 1:22
• Indoor Fireworks The Very Best Of Elvis Costello Elvis Costello 4:09
• Fireworks The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings  Louis Armstrong 3:10
• LINK  Boom Boom All American Masher Chet Bolins 2:53
• joy division vs katy perry-Means To A Firework Divas Of Joy Oki 4:14
• Boom Boom Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues John Lee Hooker 2:32
• Rocket From A Bottle Black Sea XTC 3:31
• Afternoon Delight Have A Nice Decade- The '70s Pop Culture Box Starland Vocal Band 3:50
• Metal Firecracker Car Wheels On A Gravel Road Lucinda Williams 3:30
• Keep Sending Me Black Fireworks The Sunlandic Twins Of Montreal 3:28
• Indoor Fireworks  Laura Cantrell 4:19
• Firecracker Janelle Daddona 2:45

Watching the fireworks, I remember the that America was founded as a bunch of rebels and traitors, but we showed the world that a nation can survive by the rule of the common man.That is pretty cool and it IS something to be proud of. Have great 4th, everyone! Enjoy!

Mileage Stats

Route 66: 0 Miles/1 State/1091 Tracks/391 Videos/42 Posts

Highway 101: 25 Miles/2 Countries/1 State/696 Tracks/418 Videos/32 Posts

Interstate 95: 200 Miles/1 State/121 Tracks/183 Videos/18 Posts

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Buckingham Fountain and Steve Goodman

Every highway needs to start somewhere. For Route 66 West, that place was at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago.

Buckingham Fountain Erupts
(Wikipedia)

Buckingham Fountain was born at nearly the same time as Route 66. The highway opened November 11, 1926. Buckingham Fountain was dedicated on August 26, 1927.

Officially named the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain, the fountain was built as memorial to a wealthy Chicago businessman named Clarence Buckingham, who was a patron of the arts and for a decade directed the Arts Institute of Chicago which was founded in 1893 in Grant Park,

Buckingham died a fairly young man at the age of 58 in 1913. Shortly after his death, in 1914, his art collection was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago. Starting with 2500 pieces, through gifts and donations, the collection has grown to 16,000 works. A sizable legacy to be sure.

A greater tribute was wanted by his sister, Kate Buckingham, however. She proposed a gift of $250,000 as well as a $135,000 maintenance fund to the South Park Board of Commissioners to build a memorial fountain in Grant Park. In January of 1924, the commissioners accepted the offer and construction began.

Chicago Skyline Panorama
Grant Park In Foreground
"Chicago Downtown Panorama". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Long before there was a fountain or a Route 66 there was Grant Park, Known as "Chicago's Front Yard", the park has been around almost as long as Chicago. When the original township land plats were laid out, builders along Michigan Avenue were assured that there would be no development on the lake side of the street.

In 1844, the open land was christened Lake Park. It would slowly expand as the city grew and landfill pushed the shoreline further out into Lake Michigan. Over time, building did get built, obstructing the Michigan Avenue promised lake frontage.But they were improvements to the park and have been well received by the city.

In 1870 the cities baseball team the White Stockings (later to become the Cubs) played at Union Field in Lake Park before it was named Grant Park. Who knows how long they might have stayed but the stadium burned to the ground in the Great Fire of 1871. In 1901 the park was renamed Grant Park in honor of Civil War general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.

Grant Park is a gathering point of various museums, gardens, stages, trails, and sports field. It even has harbors and marina's being located on the lake front. Look at all that this park offers:

• Millennium Park
• Art Institute of Chicago
• Buckingham Fountain
• Museum Campus
• Adler Planetarium
• Field Museum of Natural History
• Shedd Aquarium
• Petrillo Music Shell
• Congress Plaza
• Lurie Garden
• Daley Plaza
• Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Garden
• McCormick Courtyards
• Fountain of the Great Lakes
• Orchestra Hall
• Court of Presidents
• Tiffany Celebration Garden
• Hutchinson Field
• Chicago Lakefront Trail
• Monroe Harbor
• Chicago Yacht Club
• Columbia Yacht Club
• Queens Landing
• Du Sable Harbor
• Grant Bark Park (Dog Park)
• Over 4 miles of strolling trails
• 16 softball and baseball fields
• 12 tennis courts
• Daley Bicentennial Plaza Fieldhouse
• Abraham Lincoln Monument
• Agora (an installation of over 100 headless, armless sculptures)
• Columbus Monument
• Logan Monument
• Maggie Daley Park
• Skate Park
• Children's Museum

The park is an amazing civic space Chicago should be rightfully proud of. It was a great choice of location for Kate Buckingham to build her memorial to her brother Clarence.

Buckingham Fountain has been called "Chicago's Front Door". Fan's of the 1980's sitcom Married With Children will recognize the fountain from the opening credits to the program. However that shot really did not give a sense of scale as to how large the fountain is. It is huge.

Buckingham Fountain Panorama
(Wikipedia)

One of the largest fountains in the world, Buckingham Fountain is a rococo wedding cake style of design that was inspired by the Latona Fountain at Versailles. With its aquatic themes it was intended to be an allegorical depiction of Lake Michigan created in Georgia peach marble, featuring statues of sea horses in it large basin symbolizing the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.

Some stats from the Parks department site for the fountain:

The water displays are powered by three pumps:

• Pump 3: 75 horsepower for 1,600 gallons of water a minute
• Pump 2: 190 horsepower for 5,500 gallons of water a minute
• Pump 1: 250 horsepower for 7,000 gallons of water a minute

The Fountain has 134 jets in the following configurations:

• 36 jets point upwards from the top basin, including a central jet to produce a 150-foot geyser
• 34 jets at the consoles
• 12 jets in the upper trough that arc into the top bowl
• 12 jets in the inner trough that arc into the upper trough
• 12 jets in the lower trough that arc into the inner trough
• 8 jets spout from the sea horses' mouths
• 20 isolated jets

The Fountain's water capacity is 1.5 million gallons. Depending on wind conditions, major displays use approximately 14,100 gallons of water per minute conveyed through 134 jets. Water is re-circulated from the base pool after the basins are filled and not drawn from the outside except to replace losses from wind and evaporation. 

The bottom pool of the fountain is 280 feet in diameter, the lower basin is 103 feet, the middle basin is 60 feet and the upper basin is 24 feet. The lip of the upper basin is 25 feet above the water in the lower basin. 

The underground pump room is 35 feet long, 25 feet wide and 25 feet high.

Lighting

Kate Buckingham envisioned a fountain whose effect was that of "soft moonlight." She worked many nights with technicians, testing the various colors of the glass filters and currents to produce an ethereal, mystical aura.The Fountain contains 820 lights in the following configurations:

• 16 in top bowl
• 72 in upper trough
• 204 in inner trough
• 432 in lower trough
• 24 in the isolated jets
• 60 in the sea horses
• 12 in the bulrushes

The computer known as the Honeywell Excel-Plus is located in the Fountain's pump house. The computer was moved here from Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1994 renovation. 

The Fountain's alarm, a system similar to a store alarm, is monitored and dispatched through Honeywell Central Station in Arlington Heights.

Buckingham Fountain was  a beautiful starting point for such a famous highway as Route 66. In 1955, shortly before the arrival of the interstate, Jackson Street, the path of Route 66 through the Loop in Downtown Chicago became a one way street. It still led  to the fountain, thus keeping it the fountain as the Eastbound terminus of Route 66, Meanwhile, the highway West moved its starting point to a block away at the intersection of Adams and Wabash.

Playlist Additions

Steve Goodman
Amazon Store

The Chicago Cub's historical tie in to Grant Park had me thinking I should write about Steve Goodman. Not only did Steve write City of New Orleans, a billboard charting hit for both Arlo Guthrie in 1972 and Willie Nelson in 1984, he was also a big fan of the Chicago Cubs. Some of his most well known songs reflect his status as a Cubs fan. Go, Cubs, Go! is still played at Wrigley Field after every Cubs win. His most well known baseball song, and for my money, one of the best baseball songs ever was A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request. in which a dying a frustrated Cubs fan describes the baseball centered funeral he would like to have at Wrigley Field.

Steve Goodman 

by David Gans (Flickr user dgans, http://www.dgans.com/) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgans/183587539/.

Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Steve Goodman's life story is both inspiriring and tragic. He was born on July 25, 1948 in the North Side of Chicago. Like most Chicago kids from the North side, Steve was a Chicago Cub's fan when he was growing up. In high school a notable classmate was Hillary Rodham (later Clinton). Beginning in his late teens, Steve began writing and performing folk songs. At the age of 20 he was diagnosed with leukemia.

In his early 20's, Steve had been performing regularly and was involved in the Old Town School of Folk Music, where he taught and mentored an up and coming John Prine. During this time he also had a gig as an opening act at bar that Kris Kristofferson was playing at. Kristofferson liked what he heard and arranged contact between Goodman and Paul Anka who signed him to Buddha Records.

Hearing news that the Illinois Central Railroad might shut down, he took a train ride with his wife from Chicago to Mattoon, Illinois aboard the train named City Of New Orleans. The trip, and the train inspired the song City Of New Orleans. Steve included the song on his self titled first album.

Chicago Central (red)and Illinois Central route map 1996 (blue)

 Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

City Of New Orleans is a mourning song for a passing era of train travel that was deeply engrained in the American psyche, and more importantly was a key part in Chicago's history. Goodman indeed gave world the disappearing railroad blues.

In late 1971, Arlo Guthrie was performing in Chicago at  the Quiet Knight. Goodman attended the show and afterwords introduced himself to Guthrie, explaining that he too was singer songwriter and asked if Arlo would listen to some of his songs. In later interviews Arlo said that he wasn't very interested in hearing new songs that night (aspiring singer-songwriters were frequently asking him to listen to their music) but offered that if Goodman would buy him a beer he would stay around long enough to drink the beer and he would listen to him.

Steve Goodman made the right choice, playing City of New Orleans, Arlo loved the song and asked if he could record it. In 1972 Arlo Guthrie released his own version of  City of New Orleans,

The song was the hit single from Guthrie's hit album Hoboes Lullaby. It rose to number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song remains strongly associated with Arlo Guthrie and many music fans do not realize that Guthrie did not write it.

Steve Goodman spent a career writing noteworthy, often humorous songs, while battling leukemia. He kept up good spirits even jokingly calling himself "Cool Hand Leuk": In 1984 he passed away.

That fall, from September 19-December 15th, Willie Nelson had a number one hit album called City Of New Orleans with the title single also rising to Number One. Also that fall, Goodman's beloved Chicago Cubs made their first post season appearance since 1945.

The next year at the 27th Grammy Awards Steve Goodman received a posthumous Grammy for best country song. for Willie Nelsons version of City Of New Orleans. A few years later his 19877 posthumous release Unfinished Business received a Grammy for best Contemporary Folk Album

Willie Nelson City of New Orleans

 by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

In 1988, Steve Goodman was able to fulfill at least part of A Dying Cub Fans Last Request when some of his ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field.

Our playlist additions today begin with several versions of Steve Goodman's most successful song City Of New Orleans. I am including a live version of Steve performing the song at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 1976. It also has both Arlo (two versions both solo & in duet with Pete Seeger) and Willie's versions of the song. My collection also included versions by bluegrass band Seldom Scene, as well as by country music legend Johnny Cash.

• City Of New Orleans (8/29/76) Philadelphia Folk Festival - 40th Anniversary  Steve Goodman 5:20
• City Of New Orleans The Best Of Arlo Guthrie Arlo Guthrie 4:33
• City Of New Orleans Greatest Hits Live In Concert Willie Nelson 4:54
• City Of New Orleans Together In Concert  Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger 4:30
• City Of New Orleans        The Best of Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene 3:03
• City Of New Orleans Bootleg 3: Live Around the World  Johnny Cash 4:11

We continue with Steve Goodman's album Affordable Art. It was the second album on his own Red Pajamas label (the first being a live release) and it would be the last album he would release in his lifetime. It features a great version of Take Me Out To the Ball Game, and A Dying Cub Fans Last Request,  which has a special morbid curiosity given Goodman's poor health at the time. Vegematic tells the story of a guy falling asleep and "sleep ordering" a bunch of of ridiculous gadgets sold on the late night infomercials. Goodman's old prodigy, John Prine joins him for track called Souvenirs, Overall, it is a pretty good album.

Album:
Affordable Art Steve Goodman

• If Jethro Were Here 2:29
• Vegematic 2:59
• Old Smoothies 4:14
• Talk Backwards 2:33
• How Much Tequila (Did I Drink Last Night?) 2:29
• When My Rowboat Comes In 3:38
• Souvenirs 3:33
• Take Me Out To The Ballgame 2:34
• A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request 6:02
• California Promises  2:45
• Grand Canyon Song 3:38 
• Watchin' Joey Glow 2:42

After Affordable Art, my Steve Goodman collection almost runs out. I do have a couple of loose tracks that I do not remember where I got them but they make the playlist. Go! Cubs ,Go! , which I mentioned earlier and Lincoln Park Pirates, a song about predatory tow trucks.

• Go Cubs Go! Steve Goodman 2:49
• Lincoln Park Pirates Steve Goodman 3:39

Mileage Stats

Route 66: 0 Miles/1 State/1091 Tracks/391 Videos/42 Posts

Highway 101: 25 Miles/2 Countries/1 State/654 Tracks/414 Videos/31 Posts

Interstate 95: 200 Miles/1 State/108 Tracks/169 Videos/17 Posts

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