A private security guard working at the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave., reportedly returned fire after a group of three people started harassing him and then fired read story
Greenhouse demo on Milwaukee reveals glimpse of area’s history
[adrotate group=”2″]
by BRIAN NADIG
The recent demolition of the K House of Flowers greenhouse at 5241 N. Milwaukee Ave. revealed some historic details about the area’s commercial district.
A painted sign promoting “B & S Hardware” could be seen on the the adjacent two-story building at 5251 N. Milwaukee Ave. as the greenhouse was reduced to rubble. The sign, which includes a reference to the Wells Petroleum Co., had been covered up for decades due to the construction of the flower shop about 60 year ago.
“The building next door was a hardware store from the 40s until the 80s. It was initially owned by a person named Louis Bocheneck, who is now buried in Saint Adalbert’s cemetery. He named the store ‘O.K. Hardware,’” Northwest Chicago Historical Society president Susanna Ernst aid. “There was also a currency exchange in the building, and (Bocheneck) lived upstairs on site. It became a True Value Hardware Store in the 70s and then ceased operation as a hardware store sometime in the 1980s.”
Ernst added, “Interestingly, the True Value that now sits up the street, 5329 Milwaukee, was also called ‘O.K. Hardware,’ and they were both operating in tandem for a while. Evidently back then the area could handle duplicate hardware stores proximate to one another.”
In the mid-1950s, the store’s new owner renamed it Bara and Sons, or “B & S” for short, Ernst said.
The construction of a four-flat is planned for the former flower shop site, and its developer, Ambrosia Homes, also owns the adjacent building, which in more recent years has had a medical office on the ground floor. Ambrosia has been renovating the building.
On a side note, the existing H and B True Value at 5329 N. Milwaukee Ave. was once a meat market in the 1920s. The Northwest Chicago Historical Society has provided a photograph of the market.
No Pop-Ups
Weekly Digital Edition
Read every story. Skip every pop-up.
Get the full weekly edition delivered to your inbox — no interruptions, no waiting. Just local news the way it was meant to be read.
Only $19.50/year — less than 38¢ a week
Subscribe Now
This is just part of today’s coverage. Get the full story - every article, every ad, every page. Subscribe now.
The Latest From Our Community
A man was stabbed in his hand at about 4:50 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10, on a CTA Blue Line train near the Harlem station, 5550 N. Harlem Ave., after a read story
by BRIAN NADIG 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt and his Dems 45 organization have endorsed Jefferson Park resident S Gronkiewicz-Doran in the ward’s aldermanic race, which will be held read story
by BRIAN NADIG A new business, possibly a daycare, is in the works for the former CVS Pharmacy at the southeast corner of Milwaukee and Lawrence avenues. The pharmacy closed read story
by BRIAN NADIG A possible suspect is in custody after gunfire was reported at or near the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave., at about 5:20 a.m. Saturday, read story
by BRIAN NADIG A luxury hotel and spa for cats is planned for a vacant one-story office building at 5510 W. Montrose Ave. in the Jefferson-Portage Park area. Local resident read story
Browse by Category
No Pop-Ups
Weekly Digital Edition
Read every story.
Skip every pop-up.
No pop-up ads — ever. Just stories, the way they were meant to be read
Full weekly edition delivered to your inbox every week — no waiting, no missing issues
Support local journalism and help keep our community connected
Only $19.50/year
That's less than 38¢ a week
Purchase Digital Subscription
Paypal
$19.50
/year
You can submit your payment via Paypal with a Credit Card. You DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A PAYPAL ACCOUNT.. Just click the “Paypal Subscribe” button below to iniate your secure payment! You will be directed to a Secure Paypal page in which you can pay with a Paypal account if you have one, or you can select "Pay with Debit or Credit Cardt" option below and process your payment via credit card.
Venmo
$19.50
/year
You can submit payment of $19.50 for a 1 year subscription to Nadig Newspapers' Venmo account using this link. Please include the email address in the comment/note section that you would like the digital subscription sent to.