A peaceful sort of nightlife

Municipal Band is giving a concert in Central Park. Rousing sounds of

the Star Spangled Banner drift from the park to Washington Street.

An hour passes and the clock on the Washington Place building on the

southwest corner of Van Buren Avenue and Washington Street reads 8 p.m.

Across the street, peals of laughter emanate from people eating outside

in front of Catch Thirty-Five restaurant.

A little boy pushes his silver scooter on the Washington Street sidewalk.

Behind him a gray-haired couple hold hands. They smile at a woman who is walking a black pug.

A few blocks south, a group of teen-aged girls congregate at the

intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Washington Street. They giggle and

point and gawk.

A crowd of people are packed together in the outdoor space of Jimmy's

Grill at Chicago Avenue and Washington Street. With his right hand,

Gary Mathis is holding a bare chicken bone — the remains of what was

once a meaty drumstick. A half empty glass of beer sits in front of him.

A line of motorcycles are parked next to Jimmy's along Chicago Avenue.

Two men in their 40s sit on their cycles getting ready to pull out.

"Hey, I like that purple bike of yours," one man says to the other.

"I'm thinking of painting mine red." He revs up his motor and soon

disappears down Washington Street. The second man soon follows.

Directly across the street looms the Latern Tavern and Grill. Inside,

people are laughing and shouting in a steady buzz of conversation.

There isn't an empty seat in the house.

The sun is starting to set, leaving a pink glow in the western sky and

over the DuPage River. A little girl stands on the Washington Street

Bridge and points to some ducks floating on top of the river, their

heads bobbing in and out of the water.

On the other side of the street, a young couple kiss.

Time passes and darkness descends. A blue PT Cruiser and a maroon

Thunderbird sit in the parking lot, adding to the retro look of the

Burger King at Washington Street and Aurora Avenue. The restaurant's

two arches glow red in the night. Teenagers mill around the parking

lot, just as they have done since the restaurant opened 40 years ago.

7/17/05