GRAND AVENUE AT 71ST STREET:

1940 – A look up Grand Avenue almost seven decades ago shows trolley tracks and overhead wires running up a Belgian-blocked street and a few parked automobiles which would be considered “classic” today. Streetlights were much smaller and stood on the sidewalks. The Elmhurst Gas Tanks can be seen in the distance on the right, behind a strip of stores where 57th and Grand Avenues – two former colonial roads – came together. Street lighting and trees were scarce.

2008 – Today, where the strip of stores was stands a new school; the tanks are gone and will soon be replaced with a park. There are many more cars, trees and lampposts lining the street and the Q58 and Q59 buses have replaced the trolleys. The store names along the thoroughfare have changed over the years but the streetscape is still recognizable. Despite the passage of time, the small-town
atmosphere on Grand Avenue remains very similar to that of years past.

Photos: Juniper Civic Archives