I took this shot of a Western Union storefront on Lawrence near the “L” in 1975. Note the reflection of the train in the windows. During this era, ATMs, debit cards and credit cards were not yet widely available. Many people in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood were poor and did not even have bank accounts. They lived day to day. If they were lucky enough to find work through a day labor agency, they most likely cashed their checks at a currency exchange. They often wired money home through a Western Union store like this one to relatives in other states or countries.
