Open Container On Howard Street

Drinking alcohol in public is strictly forbidden on Howard Street. But the container referred to in the title doesn't have anything to do with ethanol. The fencing that once surrounded the storage area for the Howard Streetscape has been taken down and rolled up.

A foreshortened version of a container box used to ship goods worldwide still sits on the property with its door slightly ajar. A structure such as this is unwise to be left unguarded and unlocked so near a school, public park, the "L" and where homeless, winos frequent. 

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The fact that the container doesn't lock (at least with a standard padlock or disklock) can be a plus. (Sign states you need a special mobile mini ContainerGuard lock trademark)

More a minus in this case. Someone could be taken inside against their will. The undomiciled may decide to take up residence. Will be calling the alderman's office when it opens at 10 am to let them know of this dangerous situation.

This writer took about an hour yesterday to pick up the site. Borrowing a neighbors city black trash barrel made it possible to dispose of the garbage. After it was filled the neighbor transferred the recycle items into their blue barrel. 

The old tile floor from the former Wisdom Bridge theater can still be seen through the rubble. A patrol car stands guard in the vacant lot every day since the homicide at Gale Park late July. While the police have been using the lot to watch over the intersection we do not have enough staffing to guarantee 24/7 surveillance of the site. 

A few of the shots look like it could be a vacant lot in a small town in southern Illinois.