Monday, June 23, 2008

The Pit in Roseland Chicago

The Pit was located on 127th street in south Roseland.
It was where we hung out as teens,it was the place to be.
It was a drive in where the girls would bring your food to the car,coffee was a quarter.
The cars were all hot,and very fast.
Challenges would come about every night to race your car,mine favorite car was a 1968 Impala,427 cubic inch,special cam,385 horsepower.
The atmosphere in the pit was amazing,the cars,the girls,laughing at the old guy in his Camaro trying to pick up chicks.
Radios all tuned to WLS,summer nights would bring echoes of music.Radios loud,tuned to rock and roll.It was like magic in the air,the sounds of The Animals or The Beatles or The Stones.
American Graffiti,only very real.
We hung out there until we got married,we went back a few times the place seemed to have lost it's magic.Our first born was fun to show off,but we needed to grow up some.
We made our own magic and we still do.
I wonder what happened to all you.
Gordie with the Corvettes,Crazy Tom with his camera,always snapping pictures.
Lou,we went to the draft board together,he was 1A as I was.
Three blonde's in a Mustang,so pretty,all made up.But you never talked to anyone.
Crazy Greeks in old junkers who were always in trouble with the cops who hing out there too.
Sitting in our cars,watching the moon on a summer night,windows open,good times.
Seeing friends come in,waving,knowing if there was room they would pull in right next to us.
The Pit was a place we went every night,7 nights a week.
Are there any of you out there who remember this place?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was sitting here listening to some old music and did a search on the "Pit" and stumbled onto your site. Used to cruise Michigan Ave., then through the Pit, and down Halstead to the drive-in and back up to the Pit. Your blog captures the mood perfectly. What a great place it was.
Usually we were in a 64' Studebaker Hawk, or a 289 Ford Fairlane.

Dan in Greenville SC said...

Thanks for the memory....
Let us not forget "Chicken Little" nex to the Pit and the other name for the Halstead Drive in was "The Passion Pit".
I drove a 65 Impala 327 with all the goodies. God how I miss that car....

Anonymous said...

John from Milwaukee

Ah yes, the Pit.

Saturday morning was the time to
ready/wash the car for the evening
'Pit' stop, to include removing
empty beer cans from Fri.nite.
Maybe even hit the store and get the lasted 8 track tape (remember those?). Fix that connection to the spring reverb in the trunk.

If we didn't have a date for the
Halsted drive maybe we could meet
one at the 'Pit' or the Oak Lawn
roller rink.


Used to coast up to the 'Pit' in
my '63 Corvair Monza, turn off the
ignition key and then back on for
one hellUva an explosion.

How many cars had 'side pipes'?

Ed from Atlanta is being modest as
he had a gorgeous black '58 T-Bird.

The 'PIT' deserves it's own website. It would be nice if the car hops posted pictures as well
us posting pics of the cars we drove there.