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The Disappearing Corner Bar: O'Lanagan's Closed, Condos Proposed

By Patty Wetli | March 28, 2017 9:46am
 O'Lanagan's has been sold, and the buyer is proposing a condo development.
O'Lanagan's has been sold, and the buyer is proposing a condo development.
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DNAinfo/Patty Wetli

NORTH CENTER — Longtime neighborhood fixture O'Lanagan's has been sold, with the property slated for redevelopment.

Public records show the deed was transferred in late February. The buyer is proposing to replace the bar, 2335 W. Montrose Ave., with four condos and has applied for a zoning change that would allow for a ground-floor residence as opposed to commercial space.

According to Jim Poole, chief of staff for 47th Ward Ald. Ameya Pawar, the developer still is in talks with the alderman's office and community groups to negotiate how close the building can be to the property line. 

"We want to have some conformity on that stretch," said Poole.

O'Lanagan's closure is the latest in a series of changes to North Center's bar scene.

Windy City Inn closed late last year when the bar's building on Irving Park Road was sold. The Horseshoe Bar on Lincoln Avenue was demolished to make way for condos, and Crabby Kim's on Western Avenue was gutted and replaced by Reclaimed bar and restaurant.

A quintessential shot-and-a-beer bar, O'Lanagan's was also a popular haunt for pool players.

In 2009, the bar was the scene of one of the area's most shocking crimes, when O'Lanagan's owner Robert Gonzalez was found beaten to death behind the pub. An arrest was made in the case in 2011, and in 2016, Andrew Salamon was sentenced to 25 years in prison for Gonzalez' murder.

Though O'Lanagan's is now closed and a peek inside reveals it's been cleared of nearly all furnishings, patrons can revisit their favorite watering hole one last time — on film. The bar is one of the local settings featured in director Joe Swanberg's upcoming Netflix release "Win It All," which debuts online April 7.

 

🎬 and it only gets better and better #joeswanberg #Winitall #chicago

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