Just about once a week I encounter someone looking for Greektown; many have a map out when they stop me to inquire about that neighborhood’s whereabouts. I have the unenviable task of informing them that they have already arrived.

Trying to find the “Greek” in Greektown got a little tougher after Costa’s Restaurant burned last winter taking the Athens Grocery, Greektown Gift and Music Shop, and Pan Hellenic Pastry Shop with it. Only the music and pastry shops have reopened since the four-alarm blaze, and a gravely pit at the corner of Van Buren and Halsted streets is all that is left of Costa’s.

With experience as a tourist in other American cities, I know what it is like to be disappointed by the destination. It is hard enough to navigate an unfamiliar city, including its transit system, without the frustration of finding that what you came to see wasn’t worth the trip. Take away the restaurants and the stores mentioned above and Halsted is left with a Greek candle shop. Even though the “Open 24 hours” sign is displayed in both English and Greek, adding Walgreens to the list of Greek businesses in Greektown is too much of a stretch

Greektown was losing bits of personality before the fire took Costa’s. Jorgio Cigar, long a haven for Greek men to commiserate over a quality smoke and comfy seats along the sidewalk, has been closed for months. And the new Emerald condo development, land formerly occupied by the Chicago Christian Industrial League on Halsted and Monroe streets, did nothing to acknowledge its place in the historic community.

The beacon in this blackout of Greek culture is the construction of the National Hellenic Museum which is being erected across the street from the gravely pit on the northeast corner of Van Buren and Halsted. The museum currently utilizes rental space on the fourth floor above Greek Islands Restaurant at Adams and Halsted streets, and as such has struggled with visibility. The new location is set to open in fall of 2011 and will serve as an anchor for Greektown, and hopefully for additional Greek-centric businesses as well.

My friend (and the mother of my two awesome godsons) Allison Fluecke has worked at the Museum for 10 years, so I’ve had the opportunity to witness its growth firsthand. We used to eat lunch at her desk when the museum was a single room located at Lake Street and Michigan Avenue. She was the only paid employee then, surrounded by a group of very dedicated volunteers and board members. The small exhibit space offered little ability to provide regular access to any of the permanent collection. Allison, who was curator at the time, had to work some small miracles to make that space work.

The new two-story facility will have multiple exhibit spaces, a room for crafts and other hands-on activities, and a special events space that can be rented and used for dances, lectures, and films. Space rentals are expected to continue from groups such as the “Greek school” where Greek-American children learn the history, language and culture of Greece.

The new National Hellenic Museum facility will bring a much needed anchor to the Greek American community. Current Greektown businesses would do well to use the year while the museum is being built to bring a bit of luster and culture back as well. The banners adorning various light poles need to be updated, and businesses should consider updating their window displays more often. Any business built on the Costa’s property should have strong connections to Greek culture, and any talk of a surface parking lot--a rumor following the fire--should end.

The www.greektownchicago.org website provides a history of the area and states in part, “Today, Old World traditions are prevalent in the many establishments of Greektown. The language is still heard in the neighborhood, and the community comes out in full ethnic pride during the annual Greek Independence Day parade, the Taste of Greece and the days surrounding Greek Easter. Chicago’s Greektown is truly the best sampling of Greek heritage outside of Athens, and has grown to be a world- renowned attraction.”

I look forward to the neighborhood building upon a foundation set by the new museum, and truly becoming “the best sampling of Greek heritage outside of Athens.” Success will be defined as never again having to inform someone who inquires about the location of Greektown that they’ve already arrived.

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By Michael Shapiro from West Loop
Posted: 10/27/2010 7:16 PM

Unfortunately Greektown as a place where Greek people live, was destroyed decades ago. The Valley and Greektown are distant memories. The urban renewal of the \'60s brought the UIC campus. It also destroyed the homes, churches, and other institutions that made for a living neighborhood. All that was left was the business strip along Halsted. Blame Richard J. Daley, his henchmen, UIC, and the era\'s idea of renewal; but if you throw out all the Greek people, you can\'t really have a Greektown.

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By Maria Thomas
Posted: 10/14/2010 9:51 AM

Good luck to the National Hellenic Museum! I was the museum's first Executive Director in 1991/92 and, with the late Jim Futris, organized its inaugural exhibit "Celebrating Hellenism" in May 1992. The effort has come a long way and I hope it succeeds in becoming Greektown's new anchor. Maria Thomas