- Credibility:
WRIGLEYVILLE — The cherished memorabilia shop Yesterday, a relic and snapshot of 1970s Wrigleyville, will soon be demolished and replaced by a three-flat.
Records show the Chicago Department of Buildings approved a permit Wednesday to build a three-story building in Yesterday’s place — complete with a basement, rooftop deck and detached three-car garage.
Yesterday founder Tom Boyle died in December. He was 88. He started auctioning off the store’s collection of sports memorabilia, print media archives and other antique collectibles in 2017 so he could close the shop for good.
Boyle’s nephew, Max Zelenka, confirmed Thursday the store had been sold and could be demolished by July.
“It’s sad to see it go. The store’s memory will be cherished through the cool sports or movie memorabilia or whatever people bought and connected with,” Zelenka said.
Credit: Ariel Cheung/DNAinfoSince 1976, the leaning, yellow shack has sat at 1143 W. Addison St., just a block from Wrigley Field. The shop was known for its expansive collection of relics and oddities, as well as its rejection of modern technologies like credit card readers, computers and cash registers.
Zelenka said he’s spent the last six months finding homes for the rest of Yesterday’s collection, which included treasures like rare comics, baseball cards, obscure magazines and a box of soap featuring a baby who grew up to become an adult film star.
“It’s been a lot of odd things like that,” Zelenka said. “It’s relieving to have found the right buyers, but definitely sad to let the store go.”
Jake Wittich is a Report for America corps member covering Lakeview, Boystown and Lincoln Park for Block Club Chicago.
Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Already subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
