The Chicago Master of The Mayan Carvings

If you’ve spent any time looking at the limestone blocks that line the lakefront north and south of Foster Avenue Beach in Chicago you’ve probably noticed the carvings that look like they are from ancient Mexico. They should, since some — and probably all — are based on actual Mayan carvings. These art works are complex, so much so that the imagery can take careful study to decipher, just as it does in the actual Mayan ruins. There are skeletons, gods, birds and jaguars, as well as a variety of other shapes and forms as well as multiple instances of

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The Rock Carvings at Fullerton Avenue

Although there are only about two dozen carvings to be found just south of Theater on the Lake at Fullerton Avenue, many are spectacular. These carvings reside on rocks that were relocated in 2016 when the old limestone revetment was replaced with concrete and the parkland was extended slightly into the lake. Many carvings were lost in the course of the reconstruction, but these survived intact, saved at the request of the project’s landscape architect. This map is both printable and interactive — each carving links to its image. Or scroll down for a gallery of all the carvings at

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Booth Tarkington — Good Enough

I got interested in Booth Tarkington via the credit Orson Welles gave him at the end of his Magnificent Ambersons film adaptation. As spoken with Wellesian richness, there seemed something enchanting about the name behind this powerful story. Even in its studio-truncated form, Welles’ Ambersons was, well, magnificent, and I wanted to understand the source of this masterpiece that was both visually stunning and highly literate. A good deal of Tarkington remained in the movie, particularly the way he used bittersweet nostalgia to set up a cold-eyed assessment of advancing modernity. I proceeded to read dozens of his books. Between

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It’s All About Bobs

Bob is the winning identity along Chicago’s Lake Michigan shore, beating out Tom, John, Jim, Bill and even Joe for the most prolific name carved into the rocks there. I’ve counted about 80 Bobs surviving along the lakefront, though there were certainly many more before miles of limestone blocks and their carvings were torn out in the shoreline protection projects of the early 2000s. So let’s celebrate Bobs, wherever they may be. Read more about Chicago’s lakefront carvings.

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Bizarre Bazaars

$35.00 The book of weird, befuddling and just plain embarrassing business names. Here are 600 fabulous head scratchers. Description The roadside is littered with ordinary places bearing odd names — sometimes very odd. Here are 600 fabulous head scratchers, funny names for stores and businesses ranging from Armegeddon Carpet Cleaners to Sam-n-Ella’s River Club. Additional information Weight 9.8 oz Dimensions 10 × 8 × 1 in Publisher interestingideas.com (March 03 2021) Pages 92 Illustrations 149 ISBN-13 978-1034551157

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Lakefront Anonymous:
Chicago’s Unknown Art Gallery

$40.00 Thousands of magnificent stone carvings lie hidden in plain sight along Chicago’s Lake Michigan waterfront, a collective work of art and a spontaneous monument to good times by the lake. These carvings are unique in the world and lavishly illustrated in this first book-length treatment. Description One of the world’s most remarkable outdoor art treasures lies hidden in plain sight along Chicago’s Lake Michigan waterfront. Lakefront Anonymous: Chicago’s Unknown Art Gallery tells the story of the thousands of stone carvings by unknown creators that line the city’s shore but have remained mostly invisible to the public. All together it

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The Evil Nice

It’s dangerous to say it, but nice people are a nuisance, constantly imposing their values and preferences on others. And they usually get their way. Because they are extremely aware of their own feelings, though, nice people come off as highly sensitive. That makes it seem obligatory to treat them with tender regard. Who wants to do or say anything hurtful to someone so pleasant? It doesn’t matter how impervious they actually are to the feelings of others (especially others deemed not-so-nice) or how imperious they are in asserting their own point of view. Deference is due the nice lest

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Leave It To Beaver Poetics

Gee Dad. Gee Wall.Gee Beave. Get lostShrimp. Come onEddie.When I was a kid —I guess kids aren’t sposed —Boy are you gonnaMaybe you shouldTell Dad.Oh Ward, do youthinkWe should? June,Get it.Have you seen the Beaver?No Ward, IThoughtHe was with you.Mrs. RayburnI Lied to you aboutthe note. BesidesI don’t knowLarry. BeaverI’m ashamed ofDad, why do the Beaver, what have youdoneto your hair?Ward, don’t you think you are harsh on the boys?June, they have got to learnHave youYes JuneSeenThe BeaverTheodoreMy name isWhen I wasCleaverBoy Wally, how doGrownups?Now Beaver(1979) Back to Leave It To Beaver Lies

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Lakefront Carvings: Location Unknown

The gallery on this page displays the handful of rock carvings along the Chicago lakefront whose location I’ve been unable to determine. These were shot on film before the days of GPS and reflect a record-keeping fail. However, I suspect most were from south of Montrose Harbor or the Belmont Rocks. All were lost when the old limestone revetments were torn out. Find lakefront carvings by location.

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