Remember CAPCC blog talking about the site of the Rhodes Theater

I revisited this the site of this old theater last week and snapped some newer pictures.

First off at the CAPCC blog back in August there was a post that indicated what should be here on this site. What they wanted was a health club and they already picked out the type of health club they wanted to attract.

Since I found out that Chatham was home to a movie palace like the Rhodes, there have been several posts on that topic. In at least one of those posts may have indicated that I wouldn't have minded a replica of this building on this site. While it may not bother me, let's just attribute that to a lack of creativity. Sometimes being especially creative is good.

Now I may have turned on this issue. Perhaps a new movie house shouldn't be constructed on this site. Well especially since there are others buildings that could be used for that purpose in our community.

The idea hit me on those many trips I may make downtown or even the north side. In this case I can revisit the issue of bringing a health club to 79th Street. Now I don't know if CAPCC is fully behind this effort beyond some comments written on a blog. But it may be a worthwhile effort even if there is already a health club near 87th and Dan Ryan (Bally's at Chatham Ridge).

I would justify it this way. If there is a "food desert" in this community where people in general don't eat well. Eating well being that people may largely eat fast food or otherwise may not have access to fresh produce in the forms of either fruit or vegetables. In that case perhaps a health club could address that issue, especially in education people in what to eat in addition to providing a venue for regular exercise.

Another justification might be a means to attract younger people to this community. Especially young urban professionals who may well be very inclined to either eat right or engage in some physical activity to take care of their bodies.

What I would imagine for a health club might be similar to what I saw downtown which is that in the basement there was a swimming pool. Of course I'm sure (well since I'm generally unfamiliar with what is found in a typical health club) that you may find workout rooms or weight-training rooms. For that property perhaps a basketball court is a little much and it's likely that this building won't be very tall. In which case space could be at a premium.

Well this is only an idea a health club that contains a swimming pool, a workout room and a weight-training room. Perhaps this is an idea that's worth some consideration. Hopefully this vacant lot that still littered with trash along the edges in October (as they were in September) can one day be utilized for such a purpose.