It is a very wierd building, with interior and exterior stairwells in the oddest of places; partly becuase the bldg is pentagonal. Hmmmm. I wonder if it was designed by Evo Sandor. (Ghostbusters reference, there.)
My family moved to Elgin when I was seven, indirectly because of the watch company. I worked for a while at a radio station (WELG) in the Tower Bldg and had access to the roof. I took a night shot down Grove Avenue in 1965. Still have that slide in my collection. A few years ago, I went back and took photos of the interior of the bldg, including where our studios had been (now an abandoned dentist's office)
Great showcase for Elgin. Part of my upbringing was at Lhanbryde near Elgin in Morayshire (Scotland) so I was naturally interested in checking out your place. Very impressed with the architecture etc. I believe, though, the two Elgins are pronounced differently. And is there any connection between the two? I also believe your Elgin is the original home of evaporated milk and - from memory - Timex watches. But I could well be wrong - on both counts.
@NinianReid Most Elgins, including the Scottish Lord (who eventually lost his Marbles :) and the town, use the hard "g." The Illinois town, I have read, was named by the founding Giffords after the hymn "Elgin," which may have been pronounced with the soft "g." This may be how Elgin IL got itsw unusual pronunciation.
@NinianReid As to the watches, the Elgin watch was the antithesis of the Timex. The Timex, a cheap throwaway watch, eventually killed all quality watchmaking in the US. (Another factor was cheap good quality watches from mainly Switzerland.) The watch company was founded by Chicago and east coast venture capitalists during the War of Southern Independance. It soon adopted the name of the town.
@NinianReid About the milk, Gail Borden invented a process for condensing milk in the 1800's , and set up a plant in Elgin. In the 1950's it was still boiling down milk in an old building near downtown with a label over its stone arch that said "The Cecoon." What an aroma! Borden was a benefactor to Elgin (the library is named after him) and planned to retire there but died before doing so. The milk condensory is now inhabited by an antique store owned by a relative.
Awesome man, you had some really great angles. I've lived in Elgin pretty much my whole life, it's cool to realize how nice Elgin actually is. Except you forgot Als Cafe haha
when i first moved here may 09,i thought wow! a nice little town..until i started to meet folks....not just in one neighborhood but many different places,people are very rude here..i dont understand...iam considering moving out....the chinese goverment sent pamplets to its peoples a few years ago on how to be polite,i guess they are rude also in their society,maybe city hall should consider this..
@khusbunny I agree; i wasn't too happy when i read that comment. That person must hang around the tough parts of town because the nice areas where i hang out: my near-west side neighborhood where i live, downtown, northeast side by old Sherman Hospital, the area around Lord's Park, etc. Those are all great areas with great people.
cool video... I was born and raised in elgin 26 years and still here. I never realized you can see the Sears tower from here either. Do they let anyone up top of the Elgin Tower building?
@g1stealth glad you're still here. my family has been in Elgin since about 1890. and no, not just anyone can go up there. The guy that owns the building is a friend of my family; thats how i got up there.
im happy to fuckin live in elgin, illinois becuse i can be free to be as big of an oppresive fuckin scum as i want, there's no shame here and i like that. we dont give a fuck bout anyone but urselves fuck if the rest of the country gos to hell, we only care about our fuckin petty problems. im glad ur fuckin socialist goverment protects peeple like us to survive in there fuckin systim, we take fuckin advantage as much as we can, thats why ur fuckin motto is "take the elgin advantage".
Really nice video. : ) I was born in Elgin, grew up in Carpentersville (mumblesomething years ago). Those streets in Elgin were paved with brick back then (damn, I'm old!). It's great to see some of the older buildings & architectural jewels. Thanks for preserving them on film, for when they get torn down for condos. I've been in Houston for 20 years, so I really reeeeeeally enjoyed this.
@PegsHouston im glad you enjoyed it. Elgin has a lot of amazing buildings and a extensive history. hopefully the city and citizens can promote that more and get outsiders to come back and see what Elgin has to offer.
elgin is a grate town i call it LIL CHICAGO elgin sure has changed i go there alot......i ride my bike with my cuz if u see a bike thats all black with white tires then holla at me or honk
WOW. Really surprised you can actually see the Sears Tower all the way from Elgin. I really miss it. I moved to Laredo, Texas and plan moving back to Illinois but until 2013. Have a few things to finish here in Texas first (college). Really GREAT video. Thanks for posting it. ***Rates 5 stars*** ***Gives a thumb up***
I went to high school in Elgin in the mid-60's. Don' recognize much except old EHS(my alma mater) & Sears Tower(I used to work in an office there as a student at ECC). Guess it's changed. Oh well. Interesting. I f anybody has any old movies or videos of Elgin from the 50's or 60's to post, I would like to see those.
Elgin has changed quite a bit since then. Elgin has a great variety of architecture that I think people are just now starting to rediscover and appreciate. If you scroll down the "related videos" column, there is a silent video of JFK when he gave a campaign speech in 1960. Also, there is an hour long video on sale about the history of the Elgin and the watch company. you might be able to order it from the Elgin Historical Society.
@notBMW18 I was there. A big crowd flooded downtown streets. The speaker's platform was at, IIRC, Grove Avenue, in front of the Spiess department store, facing east up DuPage street (now court).
I agree. I hope that Elgin can once again be the great city that it once was. Even though Elgin has gotten better over the years, it still has that bad reputation that it has to overcome. Elgin will get through it.
awesome video u i didn't recognize too many things in here except the riverboat and the fox trot and a few other things but still that's an awesome video
Brendan: If this is, as you say, your first effort in video production, you have a bright future ahead...and you're right about the tripod...good hunting. JL
music was a bit over the top. not welcoming, more problematic. good eye for shots but your handling skills were a bit shoddy. dont mean to be a negative nancy reagan but yeah.
yea well, this was my first time making a video like this and being 19 years old with a limited budget and equipment, I think I did pretty good. Some of the video I used wasn't even meant for this video. Thanks for the input. -__-
how clear of a day was it that you seen the sears tower from elgin? and which building where you in? and did you zoom the camera all the way in to do that? what zoom 16x 24x 32x?
This was fun, Brendan -- I grew up there and visit yearly. Don't get downtown much though. Neat to see some of the new mixed with the old. (I remember that elevator from my childhood)
Hell yeah my hometown!
finaltrinity5 3 months ago
It is a very wierd building, with interior and exterior stairwells in the oddest of places; partly becuase the bldg is pentagonal. Hmmmm. I wonder if it was designed by Evo Sandor. (Ghostbusters reference, there.)
SidWSodnagel 4 months ago
My family moved to Elgin when I was seven, indirectly because of the watch company. I worked for a while at a radio station (WELG) in the Tower Bldg and had access to the roof. I took a night shot down Grove Avenue in 1965. Still have that slide in my collection. A few years ago, I went back and took photos of the interior of the bldg, including where our studios had been (now an abandoned dentist's office)
SidWSodnagel 4 months ago
im goin down there in a few weeks. gonna see my aunt. then im riding amtrak into chicago :)
wampaAWESOMEsauce 4 months ago
i live elgin :D
theloganmaster1 5 months ago
haunted
hep2jive 5 months ago
ghetto?
bearsfan4eva88 6 months ago
Great showcase for Elgin. Part of my upbringing was at Lhanbryde near Elgin in Morayshire (Scotland) so I was naturally interested in checking out your place. Very impressed with the architecture etc. I believe, though, the two Elgins are pronounced differently. And is there any connection between the two? I also believe your Elgin is the original home of evaporated milk and - from memory - Timex watches. But I could well be wrong - on both counts.
NinianReid 7 months ago
@NinianReid Most Elgins, including the Scottish Lord (who eventually lost his Marbles :) and the town, use the hard "g." The Illinois town, I have read, was named by the founding Giffords after the hymn "Elgin," which may have been pronounced with the soft "g." This may be how Elgin IL got itsw unusual pronunciation.
SidWSodnagel 4 months ago
@NinianReid As to the watches, the Elgin watch was the antithesis of the Timex. The Timex, a cheap throwaway watch, eventually killed all quality watchmaking in the US. (Another factor was cheap good quality watches from mainly Switzerland.) The watch company was founded by Chicago and east coast venture capitalists during the War of Southern Independance. It soon adopted the name of the town.
SidWSodnagel 4 months ago
@NinianReid About the milk, Gail Borden invented a process for condensing milk in the 1800's , and set up a plant in Elgin. In the 1950's it was still boiling down milk in an old building near downtown with a label over its stone arch that said "The Cecoon." What an aroma! Borden was a benefactor to Elgin (the library is named after him) and planned to retire there but died before doing so. The milk condensory is now inhabited by an antique store owned by a relative.
SidWSodnagel 4 months ago
I lived in elgin for 5 years, i miss our big old house, and alllll the ghosts...thanks Channing!!
hep2jive 7 months ago
I remember city limit signs saying Pop. 58,000.
<--- Old.
StevenDS 9 months ago
@StevenDS when America was amazing!
hep2jive 7 months ago
i worked out of Elgin il for 5 yrs!!! im n canada now it was a different place!! but seemed to be ok no body bugged ya !!
Hadsatriani 9 months ago
Umm u said that elgin illinois is better than LA! fuck elgin illinois it only has one tall building weirdo!
truegurl5323 10 months ago
I was born in Elgin and I lived there until I was 13 and now Im 16 and I live in Oklahoma and uhmm iiMiss e-town so freakin much :((
LaNenaFlakiitaa 11 months ago
hell ya bro...e-town is ma spot.. i was born der moved to c-ville bt gotta love elgin
5kingdyno5 11 months ago
I've lived in Elgin all my life and now i'm moving to South Carolina :[
Keerrrrrsstttiinnn 11 months ago
2:39 GAIL BORDEN library =D
khusbunny 1 year ago
E-TOWN DATZ WAZZUP
Mizta2NE 1 year ago
this is the graytest fucken town in the fucken werld!
MrelginCreep 1 year ago
Awesome man, you had some really great angles. I've lived in Elgin pretty much my whole life, it's cool to realize how nice Elgin actually is. Except you forgot Als Cafe haha
greenassskateboard 1 year ago
when i first moved here may 09,i thought wow! a nice little town..until i started to meet folks....not just in one neighborhood but many different places,people are very rude here..i dont understand...iam considering moving out....the chinese goverment sent pamplets to its peoples a few years ago on how to be polite,i guess they are rude also in their society,maybe city hall should consider this..
tallicherie 1 year ago
@tallicherie Hey, dont judge everybody just by meeting a couple......
khusbunny 1 year ago
@khusbunny I agree; i wasn't too happy when i read that comment. That person must hang around the tough parts of town because the nice areas where i hang out: my near-west side neighborhood where i live, downtown, northeast side by old Sherman Hospital, the area around Lord's Park, etc. Those are all great areas with great people.
notBMW18 1 year ago
cool video... I was born and raised in elgin 26 years and still here. I never realized you can see the Sears tower from here either. Do they let anyone up top of the Elgin Tower building?
g1stealth 1 year ago
@g1stealth glad you're still here. my family has been in Elgin since about 1890. and no, not just anyone can go up there. The guy that owns the building is a friend of my family; thats how i got up there.
notBMW18 1 year ago
1:38 you can see the sears tower
kevrami 1 year ago
Where were you when you got that shot of the sears tower? Great video.
smartassbill 1 year ago
im happy to fuckin live in elgin, illinois becuse i can be free to be as big of an oppresive fuckin scum as i want, there's no shame here and i like that. we dont give a fuck bout anyone but urselves fuck if the rest of the country gos to hell, we only care about our fuckin petty problems. im glad ur fuckin socialist goverment protects peeple like us to survive in there fuckin systim, we take fuckin advantage as much as we can, thats why ur fuckin motto is "take the elgin advantage".
MrelginCreep 1 year ago
I miss Elgin so much.I moved down to Fort Worth,TX b/c of my dads job.Well I'm a senior now so guess whos moving back up summer 2011!MEEEEE!!!!!:D
bbopngurl20 1 year ago
Really nice video. : ) I was born in Elgin, grew up in Carpentersville (mumblesomething years ago). Those streets in Elgin were paved with brick back then (damn, I'm old!). It's great to see some of the older buildings & architectural jewels. Thanks for preserving them on film, for when they get torn down for condos. I've been in Houston for 20 years, so I really reeeeeeally enjoyed this.
PegsHouston 1 year ago
@PegsHouston im glad you enjoyed it. Elgin has a lot of amazing buildings and a extensive history. hopefully the city and citizens can promote that more and get outsiders to come back and see what Elgin has to offer.
notBMW18 1 year ago
elgin is a grate town i call it LIL CHICAGO elgin sure has changed i go there alot......i ride my bike with my cuz if u see a bike thats all black with white tires then holla at me or honk
2seethesky2 1 year ago
The place i call home <3 (:
JuanitaLopezLS43S 2 years ago
WOW. Really surprised you can actually see the Sears Tower all the way from Elgin. I really miss it. I moved to Laredo, Texas and plan moving back to Illinois but until 2013. Have a few things to finish here in Texas first (college). Really GREAT video. Thanks for posting it. ***Rates 5 stars*** ***Gives a thumb up***
jorgebarbajr 2 years ago
wow can't believe you could see the sears tower from elgin.
nabs307 2 years ago
Yea, i was surprised when I saw that for the first time; didn't even need binoculars. and thank you for saying 'sears' tower.
notBMW18 2 years ago
Yea no problem, I hate the new name "willis tower". I work couple blocks away from the sears tower and live in Elgin.
nabs307 2 years ago
I went to high school in Elgin in the mid-60's. Don' recognize much except old EHS(my alma mater) & Sears Tower(I used to work in an office there as a student at ECC). Guess it's changed. Oh well. Interesting. I f anybody has any old movies or videos of Elgin from the 50's or 60's to post, I would like to see those.
rhinohouse 2 years ago
Elgin has changed quite a bit since then. Elgin has a great variety of architecture that I think people are just now starting to rediscover and appreciate. If you scroll down the "related videos" column, there is a silent video of JFK when he gave a campaign speech in 1960. Also, there is an hour long video on sale about the history of the Elgin and the watch company. you might be able to order it from the Elgin Historical Society.
notBMW18 2 years ago
@notBMW18 I was there. A big crowd flooded downtown streets. The speaker's platform was at, IIRC, Grove Avenue, in front of the Spiess department store, facing east up DuPage street (now court).
SidWSodnagel 4 months ago
This was really well done! I especially like the shot of the Sears Tower. Very cool. Great job!
Otacon2488 2 years ago
I agree. I hope that Elgin can once again be the great city that it once was. Even though Elgin has gotten better over the years, it still has that bad reputation that it has to overcome. Elgin will get through it.
notBMW18 2 years ago
awesome video u i didn't recognize too many things in here except the riverboat and the fox trot and a few other things but still that's an awesome video
crusaders1384 2 years ago
Brendan: If this is, as you say, your first effort in video production, you have a bright future ahead...and you're right about the tripod...good hunting. JL
JohnLeGear 2 years ago
thank you. next summer i really want to get a tripod and take this footage all over again to really make it good.
notBMW18 2 years ago
music was a bit over the top. not welcoming, more problematic. good eye for shots but your handling skills were a bit shoddy. dont mean to be a negative nancy reagan but yeah.
lifusion 2 years ago
yea well, this was my first time making a video like this and being 19 years old with a limited budget and equipment, I think I did pretty good. Some of the video I used wasn't even meant for this video. Thanks for the input. -__-
notBMW18 2 years ago
omg brendan that was awsome:) you got some skillz cous:) i hop to see more like this:)
copenman82 2 years ago
Good vid I liked it , nice job!!
leonelgin 2 years ago
hey, thank you very much. tell your friends. XD
notBMW18 2 years ago
Thats crazy, what building is that at 1:41? Dont tell me its the Willis tower
EazySPM 2 years ago
Willis Tower?? Never heard of it. xD
Thats the SEARS Tower my friend.
notBMW18 2 years ago
Willis tower is the new name of the Sears tower, sucks they renamed it
EazySPM 2 years ago
how clear of a day was it that you seen the sears tower from elgin? and which building where you in? and did you zoom the camera all the way in to do that? what zoom 16x 24x 32x?
IstoleYOURaccount 2 years ago
Do you have anything on the steamer yet?
efd996mk 2 years ago
This was fun, Brendan -- I grew up there and visit yearly. Don't get downtown much though. Neat to see some of the new mixed with the old. (I remember that elevator from my childhood)
cedarwaxwing 2 years ago
Brendan.....this is really really good.
Where's the music from?
efd996mk 2 years ago
Thanks guys. This was my first time making a movie so i know its not perfect. I'm surprised I was able to come up with something this creative. XD
notBMW18 2 years ago