January 1st marked the 10 year anniversary of the City 2000 project, a year long photo documentary of life in Chicago neighborhoods during the year 2000. I was one of the photographers on the project, photographing the Gage Park neighborhood where I grew up on the south side. Several of my photos were part of the ongoing exhibit that year as well as a traveling exhibit. My photos were on display at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chicago Historical Society, and the Museum of Science and Industry. Some included audio and were part of a video slideshow too. During the month of January, I'll post some photos from the collection and share some of my thoughts.
For starters, I visited the old neighborhood to find my barber was still operating at the same location. Stanley's barber shop at 2816 W. 55th St. is where I had my first haircut as a boy and continued to go until my early teens. Stan was a great guy and my brothers and all of my friends went there for a haircut. I always passed by his window on the way home from school and we would wave at each other. I hung out at Stan's on a few different occasions, photographing some new and old clients. The place hadn't changed one bit and the barbershop smell really took me back to my childhood. I'm glad I stopped in when I had because Stan was diagnosed with cancer and would be closing his shop at the end of 2000. I found out later that he passed away shortly after closing his shop.
These photos were also on display at the original Chicago Water Tower as part of Chicago's birthday celebration that year. On hand for the opening were Mayor Richard M. Daley and former Chicago first lady Eleanor "Sis" Daley
Posts
