Pinball locations in Chicago

[brakel]

Are the bartenders more ornery in the suburbs?

I don't think that's a rule. Generally I've found that bartenders are friendly whether in the suburbs or the city.

 

[Timelord]

Has Logans Hardware expanded their pinball? The last time I was there they only had three machines but that was a couple of years ago. They were all in great shape and I keep meaning to go again but it's one of those things that keeps getting back-burnered by life. My daughter turns 21 this year so I look forward to going anywhere for pinball with her soon. Many of the bars that have a full dining room will let her into the bar with us to play pinball during the day. I just call ahead to ask. One bar that we went to said that she could be in the bar area until 9pm as long as we were with her. But then we weren't watching the time and stayed until 10pm and no one bothered us. But it's Chicago. The police don't bust local bars as long as everyone is playing nice. So as long as it's cool with the bartender then it's cool. But that's only in the city. The burbs are another story.

Logan hardware has four tables. I have a hard time getting my wife to hang around a hardware store to play pinball.

Logan Arcade is a bar about a block away and has 32 Tables and about three times that many video games. It's a real nice place, not a dive joint.

Timelord ...

 

[brakel]

Logan hardware has four tables. I have a hard time getting my wife to hang around a hardware store to play pinball.

Logan Arcade is a bar about a block away and has 32 Tables and about three times that many video games. It's a real nice place, not a dive joint.

Timelord ...

Ahhhh. That's confusing. But thanks for the clarification and information! I think my daughter and I will need to make some trips to the city soon.

Are we talking about the same Logan Hardware? The one I'm talking about is a record store not a hardware store. http://logan-hardware.com

 

[Pinhead45]

Is it okay to ask another question here out of curiosity?

Is there a strong automobile culture in Chicago? 32 miles outside the city limits doesn't really seem that far away.

It's not, the tollway will get you out there in 10-15 minutes from O'hare. It's right next door. If public transportation doesn't scare you, like if you flew in and didn't rent a car all places are accessible by 'L" or bus even Schaumburg, the bus even takes the tollway!! Some areas like around beercade are hard to find parking spots there is a hospital north of there you could park at but I think they charge you. Around Emporium there's several places that are all within walking distance, that's like pinball ground zero.

If I only had three places I could go I'd go to Beercade, Logan Arcade and Emporium. All are about within five miles all in the city. I believe I put pictures up on Pinside that shows the tables at Logan Arcade. Hqbeercade.com shows pictures on his site. Together if you went to those 3 places you'd have about a good 50 different games to play.

 

[brakel]

If you're renting a car in the Chicago area and are going to be doing some trips out of the immediate city then get the ipass option so you don't have to stop to pay tolls. If your trip is limited to only the city then you probably don't need it.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Tolls? So is every direct path outside of the city a toll road? (What about into the city?)

 

[brakel]

There are two ways to drive on highways into or out of the city without paying tolls. 94 South and 94 North. Technically those are 94 east and west but they changed the signs in the Chicago area to North and South in the 1980s so that it wasn't so confusing. All other routes will lead to our come from toll roads. There's no way to drive around the Chicago area without taking toll roads. It's one of those things that makes it Chicago. Like the lanes in LA that are reserved for cars with more than one person makes it LA.

Oh, and if you take 94 North out of the city far enough that becomes a toll road also.

https://www.illinoisvirtualtollway.com

 

[Timelord]

Don't forget I 55 and I 290...

Or don't they count?

Timelord ...

 

[brakel]

Don't forget I 55 and I 290...

Or don't they count?

Timelord ...

How could I forget 55? Probably because I'm a NW boy and have only driven on it a few times. 290 I didn't include because it also only leads to toll roads but you can use it to get all the way out to Schaumburg without tolls so I should have mentioned it. I guess between 290 and 53 you can reach many of the western burbs.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Hey stupid question but is EZ Pass any good around Chicago?

 

[brakel]

Hey stupid question but is EZ Pass any good around Chicago?

http://www.illinoistollway.com/tolls-and-i-pass/toll-information

Toll Collection

I-PASS and E-ZPass customers can use any lane on the system. Cash customers must stay alert and follow the advance signage to ensure they use the proper lanes.

 

[Pinhead45]

You can use the state highways to get out to Schaumburg I use illinois route 72/Higgins Rd. You can get there in about an additional 10 minutes time/ 30 minutes total from O'Hare. I-90 is a free expressway out to River rd about a mile east of O'Hare. It just becomes a tollway when it branches into the Jane Addams tollway. All expressways in the city limits are free except the skyway on the SE side. I've never paid a toll in my life. Most tollways have an alternate. In many cases you can simply just go around them.

 

[brakel]

It really depends on where you're trying to go. If I didn't use toll roads my daily commute would be about 2.5 hours instead of 45 minutes. The great thing about toll roads is that you only pay for them when you use them. So if you can easily avoid them you never have to pay for them. On the flip side you're paying for all the other roads that are within your taxable watershed all the time whether you use them or not. This winter I was able to negotiate with my boss to work from home. I went into the office twice during a four month stretch. I saved $40 in tolls every month!

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

There are two ways to drive on highways into or out of the city without paying tolls. 94 South and 94 North. Technically those are 94 east and west but they changed the signs in the Chicago area to North and South in the 1980s so that it wasn't so confusing. All other routes will lead to our come from toll roads. There's no way to drive around the Chicago area without taking toll roads. It's one of those things that makes it Chicago. Like the lanes in LA that are reserved for cars with more than one person makes it LA.

Oh, and if you take 94 North out of the city far enough that becomes a toll road also.

https://www.illinoisvirtualtollway.com

I see. I can see "Tri-State Tollway" labeled towards the northeast on that map too. I wonder why the toll roads are placed leading in and out of the city and not within. Wouldn't there be more money to be had doing it that way? Or is it to wring money out of tourists and/or to discourage citizens from leaving?

The mention of saving $40 per month from paying tolls leads me to believe they're actually rather inexpensive. The last toll road I've been on cost $1 to enter, $8 to pass through the toll booth, and another $1 to exit, so I assumed the tolls mentioned here are comparable. Looking at the link, it seems to be much lower than that.

It says the tolls help stave off the gas tax. How much is gas per gallon in Chicago, at least most commonly seen?

Don't forget I 55 and I 290...

Or don't they count?

Timelord ...

I don't see either of those on the map. I'm guessing that's a toll road map since it only labels toll roads and toll booths. (I'll look up the Interstate highways later.)

 

[Jeff Strong]

Man, if I had a dollar for everytime I've paid a toll around Chicago, I'd be rich! I have family both North and South of Chicago, we'd pass through all the time, and often bounce around town if we had extra time.

Growing up on the Indiana side, going to Chicago was a special treat as a kid. It seemed like such a magical place. A couple of my all-time favorite memories are going to Wrigley and Shedd Aquarium for the first time. I've since been back to both several times and they never get old.

I always liked going to Six Flags too, north of town. I've even been back there once in my wheelchair a couple years ago, which has it's perks because they let you and your family cut straight to the front of the lines. I rode the Superman like 4 times that day. Yes, my back hurt like hell the next day, but it was definitely worth it!

 

[Timelord]

My experience with Chicago is the polar opposite of brakel's. I live 1 block west of Lake Michigan on the north side and use Chicago's excellent public transportation system extensively and put less than 500 miles on my car a year. The three main locations for pinball are less than 3 miles from me, so the "EL" is the preferred way to go in my case.

Right now gas prices within the city limits are between $3.85 and $4.10 for regular, depending on location. Once you leave cook county (Chicago) prices are cheaper by about $.50 or so. Here's the cost of the Toll roads by plazas:

http://www.illinoistollway.com/tolls-and-i-pass/toll-information/rates-by-toll-plaza

Timelord ...

 

[Naildriver74]

My experience with Chicago is the polar opposite of brakel's. I live 1 block west of Lake Michigan on the north side and use Chicago's excellent public transportation system extensively and put less than 500 miles on my car a year. The three main locations for pinball are less than 3 miles from me, so the "EL" is the preferred way to go in my case.

Right now gas prices within the city limits are between $3.85 and $4.10 for regular, depending on location. Once you leave cook county (Chicago) prices are cheaper by about $.50 or so. Here's the cost of the Toll roads by plazas:

http://www.illinoistollway.com/tolls-and-i-pass/toll-information/rates-by-toll-plaza

Timelord ...

The perks of city life, pinball so close. It's a 35 mile drive for me to get to one. But I wouldn't trade this 700 acres for anything. I'm glad there's Pinball Arcade.

 

[Heretic]

i got a bridge for sale wanna do swapsies no take backs

 

[brakel]

I grew up just a couple of miles from where Six Flags is now. It was built by Marriott and was Marriott's Great America when it opened. When I got my drivers license my friend Dave and I got season passes. They cost $30! Any day that it rained in the afternoon we'd go there after the rain stopped and ride all the coasters. If it rained late enough in the day then the park would clear out.

After my wife and I moved back to Illinois we made our home in the closer burbs in Northwest Cook County. Much quicker to get downtown than where I grew up. I commute from the northwest burbs to the southwest burbs. Public transportation hasn't adapted to that kind of commute. Everything is in and out of the city.

I remember when I was a little kid and we drove home from Michigan and took the skyway from Indiana for the first time. It was like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. The entire city of Chicago just unfolded in front of me. Although I've never lived in Chicago proper, it's been my city ever since.

 

[Timelord]

i got a bridge for sale wanna do swapsies no take backs

Who are you talking to Heretic?

Brakel, I am not saying that your experience is invalid, just that there is very little motivation for me to drive 35 miles beyond the city limits when I have about 75 tables 3 miles away.

Timelord ...