West Loop = Chicago's Old Hobohemia

By Jeff Payne
I'm writing this as the old Christian Industrial League buildings at Halstead and Monroe are being demolished with gusto right outside my window. I now know what it's like to live in an earthquake city like San Francisco as my condo shakes violently with every pounding blow of the wrecking ball. So today I'm wondering what bit of history are we loosing? The answer is one of the last remaining bits of Chicago's historic hobohemia.

If you're interested what the West Loop was like in the old days, I highly encourage you to read the excellent Chicago Journal Article by Michael Nagrant.

Here's an excerpt to get you started..."The era of Hobohemia had begun. Madison Street was filled with "bindle stiffs" (hobos who wore packs and rolled blankets upon their backs), "bottle gangs" (groups of bewhiskered huddled homeless men pooling money and passing whiskey), "jackrollers" (hobos without compunction who would steal from their fellow bums), "haybags" (female hobos who would trade sexual favors for liquor), "dingbats" (hobos who scavenged through dumpsters), and "halfies" or "stump bums" (hobos missing limbs or confined to wheelchairs)...."

Read and see if you can identify what used to be where you're condo sits today!