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Comment by tptacek | Hacker News Reader

Not clear why this is hitting HN today, but these are popular enough in Chicago to be kind of a cliche. No matter how convincing the poster is, I think you'll be disappointed if you plan a trip to visit scenic Galewood.

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It’s a total cliché rite of passage to buy one of these when you move to Chicago.

And I am typing that as I look at the Edgewater poster hanging right there over my desk.

Or for Chicago natives leaving Chicago.

Yeah the posters have been pretty well known for, let's see, maybe a decade now? But it's cool to read more about the artist.

And also, didn't realize he released a bunch of cool fonts, too: https://tomato-giraffe-jpm4.squarespace.com/fonts.

Hey! I live in Galewood! OK, Mont Clare really. But you would not be wrong in either case. People see/hear about Chicago (the city, not burbs) and think it is just deep dish, The Bean, and crime. But out here in the bungalow belt, it is working class schlubs just living quiet lives. Aka, the REAL Chicago. If you want a better picture, look up "Blues Brothers Mrs. Tarantino". Yes, I know that's Cicero, but close enough. If you drove that street today, nearly 50 years later, you'd think no time has passed at all.

Isn’t that the story of most “suburbs”? Nice place to live, wouldn’t want to visit?

I'm just being a snooty communist from Oak Park.

This was bait enough that I jumped into Google Maps to look at a few random Galewood streets via street view. Obviously very suburban, but looks like it'd make for a nice stroll until you tired of the cookie-cutter layout. Hugh Hefner's childhood home as a bonus.

I live across the street from it. It's fine! It's just one of the most boring neighborhoods in Chicago. Walking distance to Johnnie's Beef, though, which is the best beef spot in the city.

KEEP. JOHNNIE'S. SECRET. Lines are long enough as it is. We don't need tourists messing it up. Signed, -Mont Clare resident

I'm afraid the cat is definitely out of the bag on Johnnie's.

The style is not novel either.

Of Galewood itself? Yeah, no, though it's across the street from one of the most famous architectural areas in Chicagoland. But the posters? They're deliberately an homage to WPA style.

South Shore Line ones, too…which may have also been WPA style. I should look that up…

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