The Gold Coast.  A place I never much considered.  I worked in a fancy restaurant just south of the Gold Coast, and over time I decided that I didn't much like people from the neighborhood.  They were old money, for sure, but they were uber-old money, the people who had way too much money and spent it on crazy things like pre-fixe dining experiences in five-star restaurants...every week. They wore furs and hats, not at all ironically.  They were the ladies who lunched....on souffles and hearts of palm and skate wing.  

Wandering the Gold Coast today...wondering what could be so bad about a neighborhood where the streets were clean and quiet...noticing that condos in the area go for a million dollars.  Perhaps a nice rental?  Ruth Edelman Way.  Mrs. Edelman was a regular at Le Perroquet, where I worked in the early 90s.  Huh. Now there's a street named after her.

Years ago, getting a call from a man I was involved with, asking me to meet him at a house on Schiller he was considering buying.  I wasn't sure where he meant...googling the address...gulping deeply as I realized he had a lot of money and was looking at very expensive real estate to be near me.  The Gold Coast?  Meh.  Not for me.

I question my choices frequently.  When I happened upon the The Mantonya Flats.  I walked up and down the street over and over....could I capture what I desired, oh, so badly?  I settled for a few emotional shots, knowing I would have to return when I knew more about the neighborhood.  How had I lived in Chicago almost 25 years and never gone exploring the Gold Coast?

Curd H. Gottig
1325 North Dearborn. — at Astor Street District.