Deanna Stovall

I rushed through my apartment like a fiend trying to grab items to take on our group adventure to the historic Lincoln Park. Having to meet Danny and Chloe at the redline stop, I knew I had no time to slow down. We were to travel to Lincoln Park and diminish the pre-judgmental stereotypes of the area. It was just weeks ago that Fereshteh Toosi, our instructor, assigned us as a group to explore an unfamiliar part of Chicago. In all honesty, I wasn’t too pleased about getting another project on top of the many others I had lined up; but then again, who is ever? The next day I had received an e-mail from one of my group members, Chloe, who helped initiated suggestions on which area we were to explore. Ideas flew around like DePaul, Logan Square, and (being the flame that I am) Belmont, but after an infinite amount of contemplations of a location, we decided on Lincoln Park an area were we had very little knowledge of. The thing about Lincoln Park was that we have possibly seen or heard about the area, but had never grasped the full essence on why people have decided to live there, who and what they are, or even if its as proper and stuck up as they say.
During the class time given us to discuss the Artist Mediums that were required to complete the project, we set forth to create a flag. The flag was to symbolize each part of what makes up the community of Lincoln Park, and eliminating all the stereotypes the class might have had as well. Our creation was to be made out of recycled materials that were incorporated with the community that also included a piece of area.
We stepped off the train at Fullerton in both awe and confusion for we didn’t know which way to go to start our project. The area was full of people of all age groups, cultural backgrounds, and motivations. The first approach was to start to our right to see were all the action was; also to start our journey through is unknown section that was in front of us. We spotted trash the first few steps of the way from the station. Beer bottles, cigarette butts, and cans laid along the sides of the street, covered in wet brown fallen leaves. To our right, we spotted a crumbled flyer for an event supported by one of the local residents. Through the gates of a neighborhood sitting across from the DePaul student center, we saw signs that explained a lot about the region we were in .A “Children at Play” sign was hidden behind two large garbage cans that Danny opened up to view what the resident might have thrown out. As we walk further in to the neighborhood we saw two handicapped citizens crossing in front of a sign facing the streets signaling the awareness of the crossing handicap. Our progression through the town was met by the large amount of people walking their pets through the main square with an intersection in the midst of about five or six cross sections. Continuing along the sidewalk, we took photos of the surrounding area sparking the idea of a collage of photos making up what we had came upon. While taking photos of the establishments, restaurants, and boutiques we came upon, we spoke to one of the residents who agreed to let us take a photo of her and her dog. Speaking of dogs, a dog park was squeezed behind a set of apartments, were owners were thrown Frisbees at anxious dogs. Our adventure cam to a close at we approached the Redline station with a camera filled with our encounters of the day.
The real group aspect of the project came in when the deadline crept up. Text messages flew from phone to phone as Chloe, Danny, and I attempted to complete the project simultaneously from our buildings. Danny heroically took the digital camera and printed the photos off at the local CVS pharmacy. Chloe took it upon herself to venture back to Lincoln Park and take a final amount of pictures; as for myself, I completed the photo flag Danny had started the day before.
From this experience of our project, we’ve learned that the stereotypes of the “overly proper high-class area,” to be untrue. Lincoln Park is a dog friendly, and people friendly, area that is a mixture of old American values that is embraced by the new generation of people. The residents who live there are mostly made up of DePaul students who enjoy the area their campus is in. Lincoln Park isn’t just another part of Chicago, but a community all of it’s own.