You might expect the guy who built and sold one of the more expensive “green” houses in Chicago to be a lifelong environmentalist whose crusade is finally paying off. But no: Paul Ahlrich initially jumped onto the green housing bandwagon for the potential payoff. “I did these [houses] to learn how to build green so I could keep making money in a bad market,” Ahlrich says of the houses at 2652, 2656, and 2658 West Walton Street; the westernmost house (2658) sold on July 27th for $923,000...

" /> You might expect the guy who built and sold one of the more expensive “green” houses in Chicago to be a lifelong environmentalist whose crusade is finally paying off. But no: Paul Ahlrich initially jumped onto the green housing bandwagon for the potential payoff. “I did these [houses] to learn how to build green so I could keep making money in a bad market,” Ahlrich says of the houses at 2652, 2656, and 2658 West Walton Street; the westernmost house (2658) sold on July 27th for $923,000...

" /> You might expect the guy who built and sold one of the more expensive “green” houses in Chicago to be a lifelong environmentalist whose crusade is finally paying off. But no: Paul Ahlrich initially jumped onto the green housing bandwagon for the potential payoff. “I did these [houses] to learn how to build green so I could keep making money in a bad market,” Ahlrich says of the houses at 2652, 2656, and 2658 West Walton Street; the westernmost house (2658) sold on July 27th for $923,000...

" />
Events Newsletters Subscribe

August 2007
Housing Bulletin—Going for the Green
By Dennis Rodkin

You might expect the guy who built and sold one of the more expensive “green” houses in Chicago to be a lifelong environmentalist whose crusade is finally paying off. But no: Paul Ahlrich initially jumped onto the green housing bandwagon for the potential payoff. “I did these [houses] to learn how to build green so I could keep making money in a bad market,” Ahlrich says of the houses at 2652, 2656, and 2658 West Walton Street; the westernmost house (2658) sold on July 27th for $923,000...

Read more
Week 16: Boy Wonder

Historically, men have tended to want their baby to be a boy. So have most women. A boy keeps the family name alive; he is capable of manual labor; he earns the income necessary to take care of his parents in their old age. This kind of thinking is obviously outdated, and has led to abandoned children, sex-selective infanticide, and other joys.

And yet, most men still want their baby to be a boy. Maybe the idea of being tender and nurturing a little girl scares us; maybe we’d feel dirty bathing and changing them. Or maybe we know in our heart of hearts that all men are dogs, and someday a dog is going to give our little girl a bone. Not a father’s favorite image...

Read more
Dance Fest

Last week, I was surprised to hear some grumbles in Time Out Chicago—and from some dancers I know—about the Chicago Dancing Festival.

If you don’t know what this is, it’s the free dance night on Wednesday at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Dancers from Alvin Ailey, the Joffrey, American Ballet Theatre, and the experimental, New York-based Complexions Contemporary Dance Co., are among those performing.

Read more
Good Gwyneth Hunting

Gwyneth Paltrow has a lovely light pink pedicure. This is all I can see. I’ve crowded into the press “pit,” which is kind of like a cattle corral. The reporters and photographers in front of me have mostly blocked my view. So after a few minutes, I squat down, and peek between Bill Zwecker’s legs. Finally, an unobstructed view of Gwyneth—her feet...

Read more
Week 15: Baby Needs a New Pair of Something or Other

It wasn’t your typical Vegas bachelor party. Just a group of nice guys enjoying some time off. No strippers, no cocaine, no skirt-chasing or nightclubs. You know how they say whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? There was nothing to leave there beyond an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet.

As we were walking down the Strip, I started talking to Chris, the father of a two-year-old. He didn’t have that fanatical New Father Aura, nor the familiar dead look in his eyes; he seemed to be a healthy, happy guy with interests beyond his child. He was the first new father I’d met who was capable of talking about subjects other than strollers and sleep patterns and the color/consistency of bowel movements...

Read more
I Love the Seventies

Love them or hate them, concept bars—watering holes that serve up a gimmick with that shot and a beer—just keep on coming. The latest example, and my new favorite, is the Reagle Beagle, located on Grand just off the Mag Mile. If the bar’s name doesn't resonate with you, then you were either born after the mid-eighties or never had an affinity for Chrissy Snow's ample assets (hello, Three’s Company). Who hasn't wanted to hang out at the Beagle with Jack Tripper and his rotating cast of sexy co-stars?

Read more