<p>At one time, it boasted a bank, a movie theater, rental apartments and a bowling alley with a cocktail lounge complete with a band that did a respectable rendition of Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman.”</p><p>R-r-r-r-r-r-rowww!</p><p>Ford City Mall was something to roar about back in the day, indeed a tiny city of sorts dedicated to our love of buying stuff.</p><p>Like all shopping malls, it had plenty of A-list retailers over the years — most notably Wieboldt’s, JCPenney, Chas A. Stevens, Carson’s and Sears.</p><p>But it was the smaller shops that made it, offering everything from hymn books to hash pipes.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-3b0000" name="module-3b0000"></a> <div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Commentary bug</div> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Commentary</h2></div> </div><p>Candle shops, record stores, a place that just sold leather jackets and coats, a magic shop, a Christian bookstore and an underground clothing store fittingly called “The Nickel Bag.”</p><p>But now more than 60 years after it first opened, Ford City is scheduled to <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate/2026/05/15/ford-city-mall-southwest-side-judge-ordered-close-june-22" >close by June 22</a>. High noon, no less.</p><p>Yes, times change.

<p>Mark Thomas estimates that he’s traveled 4 million miles around the world on a never-ending quest of “looking for weird s---. If you’ve ever been to his store, The Alley, you know he’s been successful in the mission.</p><p>From the racks of chains and spikes that could double as jewelry and weapons to the smell of fresh leather jackets and boots that fill the air to an overstock of Count Dracula dolls (complete with “death certificates”) that line metal shelves, Thomas has filled the counterculture emporium with the oddest and finest knick-knacks, art and apparel since 1976.</p><p>In the process, he’s also become Chicago’s go-to outfitter for punks, metalheads, goths, bikers and anyone who lives and dies by the store’s motto, which greets visitors on the signage above its skeleton-flanked doors at the Avondale store: “A safe place for freaks, misfits and weirdos.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-cf0000" name="image-cf0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a38d950/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fbc%2F05%2F344434d74d34ae53ab2397433caf%2Fthealley-260516-38.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/da77d8c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fbc%2F05%2F344434d74d34ae53ab2397433caf%2Fthealley-260516-38.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/99b428a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fbc%2F05%2F344434d74d34ae53ab2397433caf%2Fthealley-260516-38.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="The exterior of The Alley located at 2620 W. Fletcher St.

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the most underrated district of the capital: the 14th arrondissement. Calm and residential, most tourists won't make the journey to this southern edge of the Left Bank, but it's definitely worth a trip if you want a delightful taste of behind-the-scenes Paris. Here you'll find a village feel with cosy streets, hidden alleys and quirky sights...

The 17-year-olds told police that they were walking in an alley on the 4200 block of East Lee Avenue when they saw two unknown masked men.

Bucharest City Hall announced rehabilitation works at Herăstrău Park beginning in the coming weeks, including draining the lake within two to three weeks for shoreline protection repairs and infrastructure assessment. The municipality plans to develop a comprehensive management plan and masterplan for the park covering alleys, landscaping, vegetation replacement, and potential installation of a King Michael I statue, with work expected to begin this fall.