Nov 24

Nov 24 Riverside

Several years ago, I wanted to buy a rail transportation ETF, but I couldn’t find one. Not be deterred, I built my own, with three rail companies, one of which was Burlington Northern Railroad. Turned out my investment was one of the best decisions I ever made. My mini-ETF has performed admirably. Today, I found out why.

I headed out to historic Riverside, Illinois, which is about a 20-minute drive west of the Loop, give or take a few minutes depending on just how bad the slowdown is at the two Midway Airport exits on the Stevenson Expressway. The town wraps around the intestinal-shaped Des Plaines River. At this time of year, the ground crunches as you walk due to the coverage of fall’s castoffs.

The town itself is quite small. It doesn’t even have a Starbucks, nor for that matter any coffee shop as far as I could tell. Four sets of railroad tracks run through the town’s center, offering a straight shot to downtown Chicago. This is a bedroom community right out of the 1940s, so there is a quaint passenger station, which still is held together by the original brown bricks. It dates to 1901. The dark waiting room holds the original dark-wood benched seats, with what appear to be the original light fixtures. With the exception of the local grocery store, all of the retail establishments were closed, but a couple of small restaurants and bars were open.

The first thing I noticed was the housing stock. One Victorian house after another, many with elaborate lattice-work front porches holding old-fashioned rocking chairs—the type that some airports now offer harried travelers as a respite from the TSA and airport terminal chaos. The yards are exceptionally well-maintained, as are the houses, which are often playfully painted in reds, greens, and mustard yellows.

The western suburbs have a number of quaint towns, but Riverside has two distinguishing features: It is the first planned community in the United States, and it was designed in 1869 by noted landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, which probably explains the curving streets.

As my images suggest, I was impressed by the residential real estate. And why not? The housing stock includes homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham, and Louis Sullivan. I found the Frank Lloyd Wright house, also known as the Coonley House, which is one of 532 homes that Wright designed during his lifetime. The 6,000- square foot mansion was built on a 10-acre estate in Wright’s Prairie-style. The estate contains a number of buildings designed by Wright, all unified by gardens and ponds designed by Jens Jensen, the same landscape architect who is responsible for the Garfield Conservatory.

By chance, the 2,300-square foot coach house was for sale, so being Sunday, there was an open house. I took advantage of the opportunity. The asking price was just below $1,000,000, which surprised me given the home’s heritage and large enclosed pond and garden area. It is worth noting that Wright considered the Coonley project as the pinnacle of his residential work, showcasing and embodying his architectural philosophy.

Much of the furniture was Wright-designed or influenced, although I noticed Mies Barcelona chairs and some other furniture by other designers. It was a surprisingly functional floorpan, with three bedrooms, lots of closet space, and a formal living room and less formal family room. I could have done without the smell of an onion-based stew simmering on the stove, but the lit fireplace was a nice touch. I guess the onion smell is supposed to help sales.

For a moment, I envisioned buying the house on the spot, which would be the most impulsive thing I have ever done, but I decided against it. I like living in the city, and more importantly, the Wright homes come with all sorts of deed restrictions severly limiting interior alterations and improvements, which may explain why it took eight years to sell the Coonley mansion, and then only with the owners taking a significant loss. The 6,000- square foot residence sold for $1.15 million earlier this year, down from its original $2.89 million asking price. The owners had lovingly restored the house property.

During my Riverside visit, I also stopped in the public library, which looked like a great place to spend time, particularly with new books covering Montmartre and the Surrealists, as well as William Burroughs’ influence on Lou Reed and David Bowie, among other rock and rollers. The library is part of a government complex built using sandstone. It sits atop a bluff overlooking the winding river, with parkland visible to the south and west.

During my five hours in Riverside, I couldn’t help but think about by mini-railroad ETF. I counted six freight trains passing through town, and one Metra commuter train. It is quite a sight to see the tank cars and intermodal trailers and containers go wizzing by, as well as graffiti-covered boxcars, FedEx containers, and tanker cars. I wondered whether the flow of minerals, oil, and Chinese goods remained this high throughout the week, or whether Burlington Northern was taking advantage of the light commuter rail traffic on Sundays.

Riverside began as a town abutting the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, and to this day, it residents still see and hear the trains on what seems to be an hourly basis. After all these years, the engines still carry the name “Burlington.” In bygone days, most of the what the trains carried was either extracted or produced in the United States. Today much of the freight comes from abroad, which may explain why there is vacant retail space in downtown Riverside. E-commerce and Amazon have killed the mom and pop retail shops where Riverside residents once did their Christmas shopping. I bet there once was a thriving bookstore. After all, people needed something to do in front of the fireplaces during the long winter months. Some of the larger homes had six chimneys.

Here are some of my images from today, but they hardly provide the full picture. It was supposed to be bright, sunny day, but shortly after I arrived, the clouds settled in, obscuring shadows and color. I will be heading back to Riverside, probably taking the train to capture an early morning snowfall this winter. I’ll also head out in the spring and summer. Riverside is like Vivaldi’s most well-known piece. It is a showcase for all four seasons.

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