The St Paul Hotel (St Paul MN) and the Orpheum Theater (Omaha NE)

By Barek Halfhand

The summer of 2012 has thus far been the hottest in the Midwest in recorded history and lowest levels rainfall precipitation measured since the mid 30’s, the likes of which were so bad that it prolonged and exacerbated and already deeply depressed economy…the relentless heat and lack of moisture has decimated crops and vegetation in such a large geographic region that the lack of food production…

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An Old Downtown Cemetery (updates included)

By Barek Halfhand







Far west suburban Downers Grove is one of many of the main street revitalization projects designed to help reinvigorated the existing classic storefront shops that languished economically in the early 90's with the inception of the Wal Mart superstore model by way of the addition of specialty shops, concept bar & grills, and of course “Starbucks... The…

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Bachelor's Grove 15

by Barek Halfhand



The Blizzard Of 2011 crippled Chicago-land with over 20 inches of snow the beginning of February, leaving many stranded on Lake Shore Drive for an upwards of 8 hours or more after a stalled bus choked off the already crawling traffic flow...the lake effect wind driven snow blowing vertically from the east quickly buried and immobilized vehicles frozen in gridlock necessitating a consortium of … Continue

The St. Paschal Friary Demolition (Peabody Estate)

By Barek Halfhand





The decision to conclude the Peabody Estate installments as one of my recurrent locations ironically coincided with the County F.P.’s announcement that commencement of the St. Paschal Friary… Continue

Holy Sepultre is a member of a triumvirate of South Suburban locales that I have covered in the past shared by Bachelor’s Grove and recently Burr Oak ...and while the Archer Avenue circuit has to a degree been my raison d'etre, I feel that I need to continue tying up some loose ends with an issuance of completion not unlike those I have assigned to St James, Queen Of Heaven, Mt Carmel and the cemetery aspect of the Resurrection Mary legend...Bachelor’s Grove will continue indefinitely or at… Continue

This year the intrepid traveler embarked on his early July jaunt south in the wee hours of the morning...the expressway traffic was light yet still spotted with cars and trucks as are all of the highways that skirt the Chicago periphery...despite the absence of congestion and aggravated commuters this early on, the alleviation of urban angst was every bit as tangible the farther from the metro core I drove... and the closer to the Illinois/Indiana border I motored, the greater the volume of… Continue