Walking to Starbucks

This photo set has some interesting history behind it. Back in September 2000, Greg Galcik of the website SpinnWebe did a multipart piece about Schumin Web, mostly making sport of the website content as it existed at that time. The last part of the series parodied the photo set where I documented a trip to Walmart, documenting a trip to a Chicago Starbucks in a similar fashion, titled “My Trip To Starbucks To Get A Venti Coffee Frappucino“. I was amused by it, but didn’t give much thought to it beyond that, because at the time, traveling to Chicago cost more than I could afford, and on those occasions when I did visit Chicago in the late 2000s and early 2010s, those more closely resembled family trips, and I couldn’t justify the outing.

Fast forward to 2023, and I was planning a trip to Chicago of my own where I was fully in charge of the itinerary, and the thought crossed my mind to find this location and photograph it myself, i.e. do a legitimate Schumin Web photo set following the same route that Galcik did back in 2000. So I went back to the old SpinnWebe photo set and took a detailed look at the photos. I started with the Davis Theater, which was a readily recognizable landmark in the set, and then worked from there to find the entire half-mile route through the Lincoln Square neighborhood, mostly working backwards towards the start point.

The walk started out at an alley on North Claremont Avenue, just north of West Lawrence Avenue. From there, I followed the alley to North Oakley Avenue, and made a right. From there, I followed Oakley Avenue until reaching the first alley after Lawrence Avenue. I made a right onto the alley, and followed that to its end, where I followed another alley south past West Giddings Street and West Leland Avenue, until I reached the CTA Brown Line tracks. I followed an alley underneath the tracks until I reached North Lincoln Avenue. There, I made a left turn and walked two blocks to the Starbucks location at 4553-4557 North Lincoln Avenue, where I got a milk steamer. If I were to be completely true to the original photo set, I would have gotten a Frappuccino, but I gave up coffee in 2015, plus the Frappuccino contains far too much sugar.

It was fun following this path from an old photo set spoofing my work and “doing it legit” in my current style after so many years. It sort of takes the whole story full circle, as the parody of Schumin Web becomes a part of Schumin Web by inspiring a photo walk.

Alley running between the 4800 blocks of North Claremont Avenue and North Oakley Avenue. View facing east.

Sign indicating a prohibition on through traffic in an alley between North Claremont and North Oakley Avenues.

Power line configuration sign on a utility pole.

Alley between North Claremont and North Oakley Avenues, facing west.

Graffiti on a utility box mounted to the side of a building.

Leaves hang from a vine growing across a wooden fence.

Alley running between properties on North Claremont and North Oakley Avenues, running from another alley up to West Ainslie Street. View facing north.

Amazon box along a fence containing items that are designated as being free for the taking.

A workman maintains telephone equipment in a box mounted high up on a utility pole.

A Cadillac Brougham makes a left turn out of an alley onto North Oakley Avenue.

A Cadillac Brougham D’Elegance makes a left turn out of an alley onto North Oakley Avenue.

“DO NOT ENTER” sign containing religious graffiti on its face along North Oakley Avenue.

Two-way traffic sign on North Oakley Avenue.

Vacant retail space at 2301 West Lawrence Avenue, forming part of a shopping center at the corner of West Lawrence Avenue and North Oakley Avenue.

Bus stop sign along West Lawrence Avenue, going westbound.

CTA bus 1620, a New Flyer D40LF, traveling eastbound on West Lawrence Avenue while operating the 81 route.

The American flag flies in front of a branch of Wintrust Bank.

Traffic signal at the intersection of North Oakley Avenue and West Lawrence Avenue.

Pedestrian call button at the intersection of North Oakley Avenue and West Lawrence Avenue.

An empty beer bottle, amongst other discarded items, behind a column in front of 2301 West Lawrence Avenue.

Alley west of North Oakley Avenue, running between a shopping center and a row of houses. View facing west.

Alley west of North Oakley Avenue, facing east.

“SPEED HUMP AHEAD” sign attached to a utility pole.

A utility van crosses a speed hump while traveling westbound through the alley.

“Beware of dog” sign on a nearby gate.

Electric meters in the alley, on the back of the shopping center buildings.

Signage at the point where the alley rounds a corner and changes direction from east-west to northwest-southeast.

“Beware of Attack Flamingo” sign on the back door of Timeless Toys, one of many businesses facing Lincoln Avenue.

Scavenger service (i.e. trash/recycling collection) sign on the back of one of the buildings in the alley.

A cluster of cables leading from a nearby utility pole is wrapped at the point where it attaches to a box on the side of an apartment building.

Alley speed limit sign, with a pictogram of a child playing with a ball.

Sign reminding passers-by of the city’s ban on feeding pigeons and related fines, at the intersection of the alley and West Giddings Street.

A FedEx truck travels eastbound on West Giddings Street.

Graffiti covers the lower half of a rusted no-parking sign attached to a utility pole.

Sewer manhole cover.

Markings on the pavement for utility work by John Burns Construction.

“NO OUTLET” sign on the north side of the alley’s intersection with West Leland Avenue. This sign is incorrect, as the alley does go through, though other signage prohibits through traffic.

A very weathered poster on a utility pole in the alley south of West Leland Avenue, containing a combination of a “Slow, watch for children” sign, and some sort of political advertisement.