The Changing Face Of Wrigleyville
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Opening Day for the Chicago Cubs is a few weeks away.
And construction crews are wasting no time getting things built up and cleaned up for the throngs of fans who'll visit the area.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez stopped in Wrigleyville to see how things are progressing outside Wrigley Field.
A lot of familiar places are gone.
The changes up and down Clark and Addison are stunning.
You can imagine what a Cubs fan of yesteryear might think.
From Weeghman Field in 1914 to Wrigley Field in the 1920s, to now, Wrigleyville has had its own century of progress.
"They have done such a good job of updating Wrigley Field," says Chicagoan Valerie Hollaender. "It's still got it's old character but it looks nice and fresh."
Some iconic ballpark features remain.
Like the marquee: Home of the Chicago Cubs.
And some old staples survive.
Like the Cubby Bear and Bernie's.
But brand new buildings have risen all around them.
"It used to be the stadium was the highest thing up," says Chicagoan Dan Clark. "But now you have hotels around it. You have bars everywhere. It's actually a nice place to come down to."
Today the rush is on to complete the transition.
A new stop light at Clark and Waveland, roadwork, new restaurants and the seven story Hotel Zachary opening Friday.
Another new building going up on Addison and Sheffield advertises apartments yet to come.
The sprawling structure wraps around the decade's old Sports World.
The store's owner sums up the changes this way:
"It's amazing. It's wonderful to see the construction," says Sam McNeill. "There's going to be a ton of new restaurants and bars coming in. It's going to be cool."
A lot of the new restaurants are upscale, sit-down restaurants.
But cheaper fare will also be around: Big Star, Smoke Daddy, West Town Bakery will join Taco Bell and McDonald's.