Lost City: Chicago Edition: Show's Over

The bleeding continues in The Windy City, which seems to be losing its charms as fast as old soulless Gotham.

The Jazz Showcase, the Village Vanguard of the Chicago jazz scene, closed its doors last weekend AFTER 60 YEARS!

The music hall, on Grand Avenue near State, is the second-oldest jazz venue in the U.S., after New York's Vanguard. It hosted the likes of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. But owner Joe Segal lost his lease nonetheless. History matters not to a landlord who wants to fatten his wallet.

Add the Jazz Showcase to Marshall Field's, Berghoff's Restaurant, Carson Pirie Scott and Tower Records, Chicago landmarks which all disappeared in 2006. Can anyone tell me why Chicago is called Chicago anymore and not, say, Dallas or Columbus?

Segal says he will relocate. (That's him in the picture with Dizzy.) But the guy's 80, and according to Reuters, even the help of the city government hasn't helped him located a new home. Of course, that's assuming the city is actually trying.