In 1978 the city built this raised area by the beach, probably to keep the lake from flooding the street. They built the brick walls at a 45 degree angle, filled the raised space with soil, and planted some hawthorns. In the mid 90s some of the people who moved into the building next to the raised area collected hundreds of fish (alewives) that had washed up on the beach and turned them into the soil. This made the soil we plant in as rich as chocolate cake. About four people in the neighborhood have plants down there, and we mostly keep it watered.

This year the garden is the best it's ever been, and has finally been accepted into the Rogers Park Garden Walk. I busted three buttons on my vest when I found I had been invited. This is a stolen garden, the space is totally ripped off from the city without asking permission. We don't own it, the city does, but we put a lot of time into it, and we're damn proud of it.