Maureen's Wonderful Visit to Bridgeport Catholic Academy 11/21/05

Hi Everyone:

Thanks again for the wonderful visit I had with the 5th through 8th grade classes at Bridgeport Catholic Academy (BCA) on 11/21/05. I can't tell you how great the kids were and how open they were to hearing and talking about our city and our neighborhood's past. I really hope my visit helps to bridge the gap between their childhood and ours and helps them understand and appreciate what life was like before computers, video games and home theaters.

Several of the kids have already signed the petition (I hope with your parent's permission, like we discussed!)and I was very touched by their comments. They are our future and I'm happy to report that I think we are going to be in good hands. :-)

Thanks again to all of the teachers and principal, Mrs Buckley at BCA, you are doing a great job with our children. It's nice to see that my alma mater is going strong!

I can't wait to read their homework assignment next week.

Happy Holidays,
Maureen

P.S. I wish we had a gym when I was in school at Nativity!

The Ramova Brothers? The Ramova Brothers!

The cat (or the raccoon) is out of the bag.



STR has allied with The Ramova Brothers, a musical group fronted by WGN Radio / Chicago Tribune star Rick Kogan. The Brothers, who did indeed take their name from the theatre / chili parlor, are made up of top Chicago musicians from the studio, country, jazz and cabaret scenes will be playing a big benefit for WGN Needy Kids Fund / Stefani Childrens Charities...and Maureen and I will be there at a table, drumming up support for better treatment of the Ramova Theatre. Yes!


Showtime is THIS FRIDAY Nov 25 7:00 PM at the Park West (322 West Armitage) Doors open at 6. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster


We thank Rick Kogan for his support of STR. Later, I'll tell the story of how we got invited to this gig. In the meantime, make some time to support needy kids and the Ramova theatre all at the same time!


-rob

Maureen to speak to Brideport Catholic Academy(Nativity) 5th-8th Grade

I am honored to report that I will speak with the 5th through 8th grade classes of Bridgeport Catholic Academy (formerlly Nativity of our Lord School location on 3700 S. Lowe Ave), this coming Monday November 21, 2005.

I will be talking with them about the importance of historic preservation and the Ramova theater. I will be sharing her history, her present condition and what may become of her future. I believe this is very important and something that the kids need to know for their appreciation of our past and future.

I am an alumnus of Nativity and am thrilled to be able to share this with the kids who attend BCA. Thanks again to Mrs. Lillian Buckley, Principal of BCA and Mrs. Mary Pat Palumbo, teacher (actually MY favorite teacher from Nativity!)at BCA.

Maureen-

Update from Department of Planning and Development, City of Chicago

John Molloy from the DPD, City of Chicago, called me back today to say that he has gotten approval for us to have a confidential meeting with the prospective developer who is interested in the Ramova. The meeting would sometime after the 1st of the new year. We would have to sign a confidentiality agreement and not reveal the developer's identity to meet with him(and I do know it's a him ). We agree in principle to this arrangement. We have still not been told what the developer has in mind, but we are happy that he is open to hearing our plea to keep the building's architecturally significant features as in tact as possible and to hear our side of the story etc.

John also said that he is having someone go out to patch up the hole in the window in the front of the theater, to protect her from the elements and the pigeons that have made a home in her. YEAH! He is also going to have a crew go out and assess the hole in the roof that the Sun Times had reported on in their article on October 5th, so that she is not damaged any further. YEAH again!

I informed John that we will be appearing at the "Ramova Brothers" benefit at the Park West on 11/25/05 and sent him a copy of the flyer and asked him to attend. I told John that there might be a wave of proposals from this event. He said they would review the any and all new proposals, if they come in, but they are fairly happy with what they have heard from the prospective developer so far. He also said that he thinks we should be happy too. We'll see...

More to come soon, we hope!
Maureen-

Maureen on WBEZ Radio Sunday 11/13

I was very lucky and happy to be the first caller Sunday morning on "Hello Beautiful", WBEZ's Sunday morning arts program with host Edward Lifson and David Garrard Lowe, author of "Lost Chicago". If you haven't read "Lost Chicago" do yourself a favor and pick it up immediately!

Here is the audio clip of the show. I come in about 13 mins into the clip.


Maureen-

Open meeting on Tuesday 11/15 2pm at Healthy Foods

Everyone is invited to this meeting where we will recap what we have done so far and will discuss future action plans. At some point, Healthy Foods' outstanding Kugelis will be consumed, possibly with sour cream.

Rob

Follow-up article in the November Gazette

Here is a link to a new article about the Ramova in the Novemeber 05 Gazette:

There are some other interesting stories about Bridgeport in this issue of the Gazette too, check them out for sure!

Maureen-

Invitation to speak at the Wilson Park Advisory Committee meeting 11/7/05

This from the Wilson Park Advisory Committee:

Maureen –

We are having a large meeting (hopefully good attendance) maybe 30-40 people – it is hard to say whether our promotion efforts paid off or not. It is on 11/7 at the Wilson Playground Fieldhouse located at 1122 West 34th Place. However, I can’t have you get up and do a formal presentation at this meeting because it’s not the right place and time. If you come to the meeting we will announce that you are in the audience, we can ask you to stand up to be recognized you can speak for about two minutes describing your group - requesting signatures for your petition and then you can offer to talk offline about your project – if you have printed material that would be a good place to display it. We can set up a table for you if you want (you can set it up actually I think we will be too busy) and you can sit by the door to get people coming and going – I would get there early to set up – 6ish.

Regards,
Lauren

Access to theater/Meeting with developer

As of today still no word about our group gaining access to the Ramova or meeting with the prospective developer from DPD or the Alderman's office.

I am due to follow-up with Alderman Balcer after Veterans' Day on 11/11when he will actually have time to talk with us about this matter. The Alderman is trying to get us in and set-up a meeting with the prospective developer. The Alderman says he too wants to go inside with us, since he hasn't been in since it closed.

John Molloy,Project Manager for the city's Department of Planning and Development, if you read this please return my phone calls and let us know when we can meet the developer and/or gain access to the building. Thanks, Maureen from STR