In my 5 years of working at the Goodman Theatre, I always used the alley in the middle of the block between State and Dearborn by the Red Line Lake stop as a shortcut. But it was always an adventure--I don't know how many times I had to walk past the piles of human feces and peeing men and sleeping people to save 3 minutes. Then later, I learned that the dimly-lit alley was the location of the Iroquois Theatre Fire and was therefore haunted, so I decided it was for the best to walk around the block to avoid any ghosts or possible muggings.It had been a while since I had been in the neighborhood, so this week, while over there, I noticed that the alley is newly paved, clean, has new lighting and features lots of signage and advertising. Turns out, it is newly renovated for Looptopia and is now called Couch Place. Interesting!Way to go Chicago, for making that historical alley safer and more trafficked. But I wonder if the Chicago Ghost Tours will continue to make it a stop on their route...
Erica Reid
