Welcome to CornerSpotter, Curbed's weekly game in which you, fair readers, consult archival streetscape photos or postcard illustrations to identify the building(s) and/or location presented. Time to tap that reservoir of urban minutiae and flaunt it before your fellow readers. Fire away in the comments, and we'll reveal the correct identity and backstory on Friday.
It's unanimous! The bustling intersection with the funny little jog is indeed Clark and Wrightwood. The view is south from some elevated vantage (which Google Maps had a hard time reproducing), and includes the North Chicago Hospital Building poking up in the background. Some of the single-story retail structures from the 1950s photo are probably present in the modern one, just dressed differently (read: tacky signage). At least one commenter picked up on the streetcar campaign we alluded to: called the Chicago Streetcar Renaissance, its efforts centered on a Clark Street line connecting many of the city's densest neighborhoods. The campaign envisions it as a "starter line" that will curry favor with the public and alleviate incessant congestion. Hey, maybe in 50 years we will have reassembled the whole network in reverse!
·Hint: The Streetcars Might Just Be Dormant, Not Dead [Curbed Chicago]