Welcome to CornerSpotter, Curbed's regular 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 tomorrow.
This early 1950s photo looks east down the throbbing heart of a west side neighborhood. In 60 years, the scale remains mostly unchanged except for the expected pock marks of the auto age (a gas station and suburban-style bank branch in the foreground). The lone dramatic upheaval deals with the small brick building on the southeast corner — it came down in 2010 to make way for a 100-unit residential mid-rise embarking on a social mission for the low-income neighborhood. One final hint: the east-west street had just been redone when this photo was taken, removing a set of streetcar tracks. Where are we?
·Cornerspotter [Curbed Chicago]
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