v1: Buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park, Illinois

v1: Buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park, Illinois

Image by Steven Vance
I would like to hear feedback on the design of this map I made for school. It shows the location of buildings in Oak Park, Illinois, by American architected Frank Lloyd Wright.

The address listing comes from Oak Park Tourist. The roads information comes from the Village of Oak Park and UIC's Urban Data Visualization Lab.

I completed this in 2.5 hours - I think that's pretty fast! I used ArcMap 9.3 on a Pentium 4 3.0 GHz with only 1 GB of memory, but a 20 inch Trinitron. The CUPPA lab just upgraded to dual core Pentium E-series, 2.6 GHz with 4 GB of RAM. However, CUPPA lab still has 14 inch screens and to me a larger screen is more important than the upgraded specs. Additionally, ArcGIS is not programmed to take advantage of 64-bit or multi-core processors. However, it's still beneficial to have a multi-core processor when using ArcGIS because the operating system can task your other applications so another core.

As seen on my blog, Steven can plan.
See version two.

McDonalds ~ 2 of 3 photos

Image by Urban Woodswalker
Mr Speedee still hangin' happy on the sign of the Number ONE FIRST Ray Kroc McDonalds in the entire world.

....continued from last photo

As a child in kindergarten and 1st grade, my mom would take me here for after school treats...a milk shake or french fries.....or maybe even a 15 cent hamburger. There were fewer choices back then...we were happy with with the menu.....cheese or plain burgers, milk shakes in 3 flavors, and French fries....YES! ! !

I loved this place.....Mr Speedee was on the paper hats of the friendly counter help, and on all the napkins, cups, and wrappings. I always wanted to take all the stuff home...I remember the helpers giving me the paper hats...wish I had those now! I remember just how brightly lit it was in there....after spending the day in school, the bright shiny interior was so uplifting...I never wanted to go home.

The year was 1960 and I remember it like yesterday. We went every week....if I was bad...no McDonalds! Back then we did not have TV (in our home)...so things like toys and or McDonalds were the only things to be taken away.

Recently I paid a visit to my old town...Central School , this McDonalds (not open to the public but you can still view it outside an iron fence) , and another favorite old time diner...the Choo Choo (with the train delivering your meal!) ...are all still here in Des Plaines.... like it was still 1961. It seems I am the only one who has changed. I plan on returning....its been 50 years since I have explored.

See next photo and more historical links.

Back To School Jam Billboard

Image by mufan96
Billboard artwork for a community music festival 1 day event in Mattoon, Illinois on August 22, 2009.