#FIRESIDE BOWL STAGE DIVE PLUS#

#FIRESIDE BOWL STAGE DIVE PLUS#

We cut down on some community problems, plus we provide more park space.” “In some ways kills two birds with one stone. Villagrana says warning letters have been mailed to Lapinski on a regular basis over the last three years, but no further action has ever been taken. The most common gripes have been about noise, littering, drinking in parked cars, and sex in the alley. “Slowly the neighborhood has turned more yuppie,” he says, noting that while some older neighbors were also annoyed by Fireside patrons, they were generally more tolerant. Villagrana says the alderman’s office had fielded complaints about the Fireside from increasingly “more vocal” residents in recent years.

The value of the Fireside will be determined at a hearing that has not yet been scheduled. Under eminent domain, the owners are entitled to “fair cash market value” as compensation, and though they can dispute the price if they find it unfair, they can’t stop the city from acquiring the property. (Lapinski, who took over the business from his father in 1993, did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.) On May 16 the Park District sent letters to the affected businesses notifying them that their buildings had been designated for acquisition. According to Jones, Fireside Bowl owner Jim Lapinski did not attend any of them. Over the following winter and spring the Park District held several community meetings at which the proposal was discussed. The buildings will be torn down to make way for the expansion of Haas Park, a wedge of playground that occupies just under an acre of land one block west on Fullerton. The Chicago Park District is using eminent domain, which allows for the purchase of private property for public use, to acquire the bowling alley, along with a neighboring muffler shop and a tavern. And it’s the only such venue in the city whose primary goal is to present this sort of music to fans of all ages: for many area teenagers, the Fireside is a bustling alternative to a night at the video arcade or worse.Ī rumor has been circulating recently that the Fireside will be closing–and unfortunately, though it probably won’t happen immediately, it’s true. Its sometimes hectic schedule is one of the most diverse in the country, with room for both up-and-coming bands like the Promise Ring and resolutely underground acts like the now defunct Los Crudos. Since it first started hosting shows, in the summer of 1994, the Fireside has become a destination for punk, pop, ska, metal, and experimental music from all over the city and all over the world. On most nights the lanes at the Fireside Bowl are silent, but the shabby bowling alley at 2646 W. Best of Chicago 2022: Sports & Recreation.Click here to join the Reader Membership Community today! Close

Fireside bowl stage dive