Posted by Barbara on Sat, Sep 28, 2024

I am soooooo grateful that my parents weren't rich and we had to living in an
apartment building-a 4th floor walkup........we were two building attached where
we had two courts .... we had instant friends.....rain or snow, we could go into
each others apartments and play games from Chinese checkers to Monopoly ...
We went door to door at Halloween and collected money for the Jerry Lewis
telethon and people knew us and gave....then we'd go downtown to donate
what we collected.
Noone had to drive us anywhere......one block to Burnside Avenue for shopping
I could go on and on of the advantages...I'll just say, I feel very fortunate.
Sadly, they tore down the buildings for a middle school on West Tremont Avenue.

Reference ID: bx92619

Posted by Amaranita on Mon, Sep 30, 2024

I totally agree. I never aspired to a house. They seemed, first of all, so alien, and so lonely. I had so many friends in my building and on my block. It was a small city of kids to play with. If you were in a fight with one, there was always others to take up that space until everything calmed down - which it always did. Trick or treating was amazing. I think kids in single family neighborhoods would have to start today and go until October 31 to get all the goodies we got just on my block from all the apartments. As sung in the intro to the song People, from Funny Girl; "With them just let one kid fall down, and seven mothers faint", we were under constant scrutiny by everyone's mother, so we had better behave and be safe. It was a very supportive, (if not a bit stifling) upbringing. I wouldn't change it for all the private houses in America!

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Posted by Howard Hirsch on Mon, Nov 11, 2024

Barbara, they tore down those buildings on Davidson Avenue because the whole block was already completely burned out. I lived at 1800 Davidson Ave and have long been weary of the romanticization of apartment life in tight quarters. Give me a single-family detached house in the suburbs any time.

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Posted by Barbara To Howard on Mon, Nov 11, 2024

Your name sounds familiar.....did you go to 82?

Re Davidson Avenue. I had no idea about its condition and I'm so sorry to hear that. My
aunt/uncle/cousins lived around the corner from Golob's drugstore........I knew Helen and
her daughter (I'm on FB with her) Arlene Garber.
Growing up in an apt building, for me, was a blessing....I had so many friends.....two courts
to play handball or stoop ball........thanks for the information re Davidson Ave. I thought it
was because of the school. It was my double building that was razed for the school.

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Posted by Howard Hirsch on Fri, Nov 22, 2024

Yes, I did go to 82. Graduated in '64.

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