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At this point, the Pago Pago building is just a pile of white and gray grit. I was tricked into believing they were only gutting the back end interior. I loved this place because it was the thinnest wedge of a building. What can the city get from this, a parking lot that might hold 60 cars if it was lucky? I'm raising a glass to Rich Chwedyk, at the far north end of Chicago. To another remnant ghost.

Pago Pago, One Last Time

These are the last of the Pago Pago shots. Not much to say but that you know I dig the angled shots and I'm a sucker for kneeling in mud to take photos of tubes. i do like that those brick buildings on Wabash have lights on in a few of the windows, as the day was so overcast.

The last photo is from St. Peter's, down Madison. I love the old phone booths that had the plaque that read TELEPHONE above the doorway like none of would understand the concept. What is kind of cool is that speaker above the enclosure, I'd expect my conversation to be blared to the masses above.

Pago Pago, Soon Gone

I'll be posting those fog photos, there's been a mix-up in my getting the CD disk. Pretty dumb story, but I will have them. For now, let me spend a few days posting photos of the Pago Pago Building, which is already coming down, just a day after I took a roll of photos. I was telling Rich Chwedyk that it seems impossible that Google Images doesn't have but one photo of Jimmy Wong's Cantonese joint, and I about freaked on Wednesday when, as the train left the Loop, I saw the familiar metal bars that always make me think of Tinker-Toys, and I knew what was going to happen. And so I headed back downtown yesterday. Wong's was across the street, torn down to be a parking lot next to Gina's Cuisine, whatever that is.

The Polynesian restaurant is long closed, but I always found it an intriguing building because of its length and thinness, it was like how Carmine Infantino illustrated Central City in a purple background in the Flash comics of the 60s. I have more photos to post tomorrow night, but these shots give you an idea of the exterior.