LINCOLN SQUARE — Before we say hello to 2016, let's take a look back at the neighborhood stories that had people talking in 2015.
1. Things We Lost in the Fire
Less than two years after owners sunk $1 million into a renovation, Lincoln Square Lanes was destroyed by a fire in August. Smoke and water damage also devastated the bowling alley's downstairs neighbor, Matty K's Hardware, which is still hoping to reopen elsewhere in the neighborhood.
[DNAinfo/Tanveer Ali]
A seemingly small fire caused more damage than initially suspected at Abbey Pub, which has been closed since November.
Neighbors have been clamoring for a new Independence branch library for years. An October fire in an adjacent building might have the unintended consequence of giving the people what they want.
2. Davis Theater Is Ready for Its Closeup
Neighbors love having the Davis Theater within walking distance, but many have balked at watching first-run films in a run-down cinema.
In June, owner Tom Fencl announced major upgrades were in the offing, including the addition of a restaurant and bar.
[DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
Renovation work got under way in late fall, revealing the Davis' former glory hidden behind drywall and a drop ceiling.
Two of the theater's four movie screens will remain operational through January, when the Davis will temporarily close for final remodeling work.
3. The Wheels on the No. 11 Bus Go Round and Round
Three years after scuttling the Western-to-Fullerton leg of the No. 11 Lincoln Avenue bus, the Chicago Transit Authority made a rare about-face and agreed to restore service on a trial basis.
The pilot project will have ridership targets, yet to be determined, so look for a major "get out the ride" campaign in the spring, when the bus is scheduled to make its comeback.
"The community continued to make the case. Let them prove it," CTA President Dorval Carter said.
4. The Waiting Is the Hardest Part
The delayed openings of several high-profile restaurants turned neighbors into a bunch of jaded "I'll believe it when I see it" doubters.
Well, take a look now. A number of long-in-the-tooth projects finally came to fruition in 2015: Roots Pizza, Ampersand Wine Bar, Via Lima, Cuba 312 and Breakroom Brewery.
[DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
That just leaves Jerry's Sandwiches, Northman cider bar, The Victor cocktail bar (forgot about that one, didn't you?), Eris cider house, Budlong Pickle and Chicken Diner, and Nighthawk coffee bar and tavern.
5. Thanks But No Thanks
Not every proposed newcomer was welcomed to the neighborhood with ecstatic jumpy claps.
News that a Pizza Hut would occupy the long-vacant Boomers property on Lincoln Avenue met with a chorus of "meh" or worse. Word that the Pizza Hut would only be a small carryout operation did little to silence critics, who stated a clear preference for a Mom-and-Pop shop over a national chain.
Mr. Nice Guy didn't make many friends in Lincoln Square when the St. Louis-based head shop chain attempted to open an outpost in the vicinity of Queen of Angels school. Neighbors quickly mounted a protest campaign and Mr. Nice Guy eventually bowed out.
The area's strong support for its neighborhood schools made it a seemingly odd location for a charter school to plant its stake, a point residents made clear to the founder of Intrinsic Schools at a community meeting. Fewer than six weeks later, Intrinsic dropped its plan.
6. Craft Beer Shows No Sign of Going Flat
Ravenswood-North Center-Lincoln Square remained the epicenter of Chicago's craft beer movement.
Half Acre opened a massive production brewery in Bowmanville, Begyle added a taproom and Dovetail Brewery announced it's "coming soon" to Ravenswood.
And just when we thought we'd seen and heard it all, we met Empirical Brewery's colony of feral cats, who have totally let celebrity go to their heads.
Is there tryptophan in cat food? pic.twitter.com/5R3RuVfRWY
— Venkman the Cat (@VenkmanTheCat) November 26, 20157. Defying the Odds
Ash trees across the country are succumbing to the deadly Emerald Ash Borer, but not in Horner Park.
Counter to Park District policy, Horner's advisory council treated and saved its ash trees. The park was recently declared 100 percent healthy and could ultimately wind up containing the largest collection of ash in the city.
8. News of the Weird
And then there were the stories that were just plain strange.
Like the neighbors on Wilson Avenue, who got fed up with the glacial pace of a construction project next door, and said so on a really big banner.
Or the group of competitive eaters who converged on Taco In A Bag to scarf down an entire goat in a bid to reverse the "Cubs curse."
And who could ever forget the aromatic fertilizer spread at Winnemac Park, made, in part, from human waste?
Gauntlet thrown, 2016.
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