Who? What? Why? How?

Welcome to Red Line Journeys!

I am going to answer some questions you may have about this.

Who are you?

My name is Kiernan Ambrose. Grew up in DuPage County and move into Chicago in 2012 when I was in law school.

What is this blog about?

I am attempting to hit every stop on the Red Line and using that to describe the neighborhoods and traditions of the people and places that surround these stops. I think things will make more sense as we go on.

Why are you doing this?

Attention? No, but seriously, I recently was coming home on the Red Line and noticed that I had still not been to over half the stops on the line. I feel this is a great way to find new aspects of our city.

How are you going to be doing this?

Obviously by stopping at all the Red Line stops. But, there will be a formula to each post.

The first spot is the Stop. You have to start right when you get off the train. Is it nice? Is there anything unique? Do you feel that vermin are about to eat you whole? That will be the initial part of the experience.

The second spot is the Neighborhood. This will mean walking around a neighborhood and getting a flavor for it. Can you tell what ethnic groups were there first? Can you tell who lives there now? How gentrified is it? What are they really proud of?

The final spot is the Bar. You can't tell a story about Chicago without talking about a bar, and this will be no exception. Here you can talk to the locals, and usually nobody knows a neighborhood better than the bartender.

If you have things I need to check off your spot, let me know! I want to give the best story possible. I am going to the far north side starting with Howard and we will see how far down we get today.