1058 W. Washington was
home to Harpo Studios, as of December 2015 the studio was closed. A private
owned company owned by Oprah Winfrey. (Fun fact, Harpo is Oprah spelled
backwards) In this exact space, Oprah hosted her very successful talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show from 1990 until
2011. According to NBC 5, Oprah is credited for transforming the neighborhood
from an industrial area to a more hip, family oriented, and trendy
neighborhood. There is a lot to do around the area, some popular clubs and
trendy restaurants are just blocks from the Harpo Studios.
Also, some of the audience chairs just recently went to
auction!
There are nine Billy Goat Tavern locations across
Chicagoland, getting to this one was a challenge since it was tucked away on
Michigan Ave’s Lower Level. The restaurant was purchased in 1934 for $205. It
is notorious for the 1945 Billy Goat curse on the Chicago Cubs and its Cheezborger's.
So the history behind the Blackstone Hotel was new to me.
The hotel was used in Early Edition which aired from 1996 to 2000 on CBS. When
a Chicago stockbroker was dumped by his wife, he moved into one of the hotel
rooms. It is located between other popular hotel brands, The Hilton and
Congress Plaza Hotel on Michigan Ave. Its location made it a little awkward to
photograph in because as you can imagine, Michigan Avenue was very busy with
pedestrians, traffic, and tourists.
Across the street from the Blackstone Hotel was Buckingham
Fountain and my last stop! It was a windy day (as you can see) but Mr. Farnsworth managed to channel his inner Al Bundy. The fountain is an icon to Chicago’s history and has
been opened since 1927. It was featured in the opening credit for the
television show Married with Children.
Growing up I disliked the television show because of Peggy’s, Al Bundy’s wife,
nagging. I preferred her role in Sons of Anarchy!
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