Then and Now, Milwaukee-Belmont

By 1948 the Avondale community was long-settled and residentially mature. Still, you could find the occasional vacant lot along one of the ribbon commercial strips. The billboard on the right side of the older photo carries an advertisement for Northwest National Bank, a little over a mile northwest on Milwaukee Avenue.

Today Northwest National Bank is only a memory, having been bought out by Bank of America. However, the bank billboard of 1948 has been replaced by an actual financial institution—a branch of PNC Bank. Just up the block, the used car lot and other buildings have given way to the Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School.

—30—