Lincolnwood residents savored memories and nostalgia for West Rogers Park on April 2,when the Lincolnwood Library hosted “Growing Up Jewish in West Rogers Park,” in collaboration with Jewish Neighborhood Development Council of Chicago. The event featured a photo exhibit, “Then and Now: 10 Decades of Jewish Community in West Rogers Park,” and a documentary screening of “Driving West Rogers Park: Chicago’s Once and Future Jewish Neighborhood.”

Former Lincolnwood resident Robert Doppelt shared childhood memories of gazing east across the North Shore Channel at his grandparents’ Winston Towers’ building and longing for a shorter walk to get there. In a letter to the audience, Lincolnwood Mayor Jesal Patel, who was unable to attend the special program due to a scheduling conflict, anticipated “a new era for Thillens” and announced Village approval for an effort to install a pedestrian bridge at Pratt to eliminate the longest stretch of uncrossable river in the Chicago River System. The Mayor’s letter went on to say: “This pedestrian bridge will connect Lincolnwood’s Centennial Park to Park 538, but more importantly, it will provide a critical connection for our communities.”