Albert Pick & Co Traditional Cache

A cache near a building with a great history.

This somewhat foreboding building has a grand but somewhat obscure history, with a plethora of reasons to currently visit.

Albert Pick & Co (Now called the Bridgeport Art Center) was a Hotel furniture and tableware story/factory owned by the Pick family in the early 20th century. The Pick family owned a series of hotels throughout North America, with this building suppling some of the items for them. In Chicago, the Pick family had a lot of influence, and were somewhat revered because of their scholastic funds, philanthropic work with the La Rabida Children's Hospital and the University of Chicago and other organizations.

A little bit about the origins of the company from http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Pick,Albert.html

"Albert Pick & Company was incorporated in 1857, by Albert Pick I and his brother Charles. Charles was known as Carl Pick, and was the grandfather of Albert Pick, Jr. The business was a prosperous hotel and restaurant supply company, and was located on 5th Avenue (later, Randolph and Wells), in Chicago, Illinois."

On the south east corner of the building, you see 1911, showing how long this building has been around in comparison to the company. Albert Pick Jr, the main owner of  Albert Pick & Co, died in 1977. I'm not sure on the exact date it became the Bridgeport Art Center, but it has to be sometime around there.

In 2014, the Bridgeport Art Center is so much more than just an Art Center. Of course you have an open and free gallary that is open during normal business hours, but this huge building also contains a moving van rental company, a storage facility, a record storage facility, a furniture shop, among many other businesses. It can and does host a plethora of events, from weddings to annual events such as Chicago's Brewhaha, which was there last year. Bridgeport Art Center is also home to many artists, their works of art and work spaces, such as famous sculptor Virginio Ferrari, who has done several sculptures in the city of Chicago. You don't even have to enter the building to see the artwork, you can walk through the courtyard and admire the scenery.

Now about the cache itself. It is a small lock-n-lock located right next to the infamously stinky Bubbly Creek. It is a bit steep to get down to the cache, so take that into consideration. 1/2017 edit: after either being muggled or washed away, I placed it in a more difficult spot. Easy to see very hard to grab. Definitely a fall into creek risk, so be careful.

As far as parking goes, you should be able to park anywhere within the yellow parking spaces. The white spaces are rented by some company and are private. Just use common sense.If there is an event going on, you may want to park on the nearby street.

Lastly, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the Art Center, and enjoy Bridgeport. There is plenty to do! The art gallery is open

Mon-Sat:  8am-6pm
Sundays:  8am-12pm