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Brady Street News
by Tim Lambrecht
Yellow Jacket moves to Brady Street
If you noticed the corner of Arlington
and Brady Streets seems brighter lately,
you’re right. The building at 1237 E.
Brady had fallen into disrepair. Jennifer
and Todd Rau purchased the duplex, a
residential structure, with the intention
of relocating their Yellow Jacket vintage
clothing store from Humboldt and
North Avenue. Because the Brady
Street building had been built in 1893
and was an example of the era’s style,
certain rules for renovation had to be
followed. The second floor apartment
had no heat at all, and the first floor
needed to be opened up to allow for
clothing, changing rooms and customer
comforts. The final touch was to give
the whole building a new paint job, and
what color? Yellow, natch. Jennifer says
the response so far, has been great. All
of her regulars have come to check out
her new store and there is great walkin
business off the street. The newly
renovated two-bedroom apartment
upstairs is currently vacant, but is ready
for occupancy. The original Yellow
Jacket was opened in September, 1996.
Jennifer and Todd also have a store in
Chicago…
Au Bon Appetit Mediterranean
Restaurant has closed its Brady Street
location, and is now located at 219 N.
Milwaukee Street….
New bump-outs have been installed
at the four corners of Brady and Astor
Streets. Let’s hope this measure makes
things safer for pedestrians on one of the
street’s most dangerous intersections.
New pedestrian crosswalk signs, a
lower speed limit and increased fines
for motorists have done little to slow
down traffic…
Election night at Cass Street School was
an eventful one. With voter turnout in
the area at approximately 75percent,
the school ran out of their 1400 allotted
ballots. The City Election Commission
had to print up more ballots to meet the
demand…
Astor Street Performing Arts Center
along with Pink Banana Theatre and
Insurgent Theatre present the Mis-
Directed Holiday Film Festival.
The film festival’s intention is to
illustrate and satirize the abuse and
commercialization of the holidays and to
encourage filmmakers and songwriters
to create short films and songs based on
this theme. Application forms may be
picked up at the Brady Street Pharmacy
or online at www.pinkbananatheatre.
org or www.insurgenttheatre.org. The
competition will begin around the
holidays and will wrap up in Spring
with an award ceremony at The Times
Cinema on March 25. $200 prizes will
be awarded in various categories…
If you’re looking for some unique
handmade craft items, you’ll want to
attend the Tamarack Community
School Holiday Fair & Open House,
December 2 from 10 am to 5 pm. There
will be handcrafted gifts from more
than twenty artists, as well as music,
a puppet show and a raffle. There will
also be information sessions and tours
of the school’s classrooms. Admission
is free, but there are charges for some
activities. The Tamarack School is
located at 1150 E. Brady Street…
I’m putting together a list of
things going on around Brady
Street for New Year’s Eve. If you’d
like to be listed, or you have a
story idea, call Tim at 374-7772.
Happy Holidays!
Riverwest Currents online edition - December, 2006 |