Exploring Englewood

We had my pre-op appointment downtown this past week so we took the opportunity to eat at the SAME CAFE.  It is a unique restaurant in that they have no menu and no prices!  All meals are paid for by what ever you can donate.  Each day they offer 2 salads, 2 soups and 2 types of pizza which changes each day.  It was quite fun.  All the dishes are hodge podge but it is very clean and well run.  SAME stands for "So All May Eat" and those who can not pay can work/volunteer to pay for their meal.

We also wanted to check out the Englewood Public Library.  Don't tell me you're surprised!  That took us to a revitalized  part of downtown Englewood.  The 55-acre public/private area connects not only the library with walkable streets, civic and cultural uses, the light rail transit station, retail and office space, apartments above the retail spaces, an outdoor perfornance space, art museum and several outdoor sculptures.  The area seems to be a gathering place.  We enjoyed watching the children run in the water that shoots up from the sidewalk around the fountain.

 
Inside the outer lobby of the library we were fasinated by the display of a large restored "horse car" with a statue of a horse in the back. 

Here is a brief story of the Cherrelyn horse car trolley.
The horse car was a central part of life in Englewood between 1892 and 1910, with residents riding it to work and shop in Englewood. The horse car was dubbed the “Gravity and Bronco Railroad,” as it was the only gravity-powered streetcar in existence at that time. The horse pulled the car up the steep hill on Broadway between Hampden and Quincy, a mile long trip. At the top of the hill, the horse was unhitched and loaded on to the rear platform of the car. The driver would give the car a push, and the horse car and its passengers would coast back down the hill to Hampden.

The 10 year old library is really nice.  We both got library cards then spent some time looking around.  A few years ago I started doing some genelogy history on our families.  I found just enough information to make us want to keep digging.  Dale has caught the bug now so we checked out a video series on researching family history.  As we travel we hope to spend some time doing some family research.   Stay tuned!