By Peter von Buol
Special to Inside
Due to its once ubiquitous commercials on local TV that featured the late local radio announcer Linn Burton, few car dealerships in Chicago carry the same name recognition as the North Side's Bert Weinman Ford.
The current real estate market has caused many area businesses to close in order for their land to be sold to residential real estate developers. Some neighborhood residents have wondered how long the iconic Ford dealership can remain part of the North Side's landscape. Recently, rumors that the spot may be replaced by condos began to circulate—but the owner tells Inside that those rumors are erroneous.
Located at 3535 N. Ashland Ave., the car dealership sits on what many developers consider to be prime real estate. A few years ago, Lake Shore Mazda, a car dealership one block south of Weinman Ford, closed its doors and its land was redeveloped for residential use.
The current president of the Ford dealership, Lee Weinman, said he has no plans to stop selling Ford automobiles. Weinman, whose father is now retired, believes the continued vacancy of a former Burger King franchise restaurant one lot south of his dealership may have fueled speculation.
Developers would probably find the site of the former restaurant especially attractive if it was thought it could be combined with that of the site of the car dealership. Such a combination would allow for a nearly block-long section of Ashland Ave. to be redeveloped.
The site of the former Burger King, 3501-3509 N. Ashland Ave., is slated to be redeveloped into a 24 unit condominium building by developer Pat McHugh with first floor commercial space. The building would be 58 feet high and have 29 parking spaces, says Alicia Obando, spokesperson for Ald. Tom Tunney (44th).
Weinman, however, says his family's dealership will continue to be "Chicago's Number One neighborhood Ford Dealership." Founded by his father in 1957, the dealership was originally located at Irving Park Rd. and Western Ave. and moved to its current location in 1967.
The elder Weinman, in the late 1950s, believed television commercials would revolutionize car sales. As his pitchman, he hired a local radio announcer, Linn Burton. For nearly three decades, their commercials were seen sponsoring countless TV broadcasts. While Burton had already been a successful radio announcer, it was his stint as spokesman for Bert Weinman Ford that propelled him into a local celebrity. The announcer always referred to himself as "Your TV Ford Man" and used his catch phrase "Linn Burton for Certain."
Clark Weber, who himself has spent more than four decades working in Chicago radio, says that in one of his last meetings with his former colleague, Burton discussed life as a retiree.
"Our paths [had] crossed many times in the 1960s and '70s. While Linn was doing Bert Weinman Ford, I was doing Power Ford commercials. Both were on Western at the time. I saw Linn a couple of times shortly before his death. He came out to a [public radio station] appearance of mine. I introduced him to the audience and he was thrilled to be recognized by the crowd. Later, he and I talked about how hard it was to step out of the show biz spotlight," says Weber.
At their last meeting, Burton told Weber he knew he would not have much longer to live. The legendary Chicago pitchman died a few months later.
"While Linn [had done] radio shows on WGN and WBBM, his main strength, in his later years, was commercials," says Weber.
Those commercials still pop into the heads of many Chicagoans driving down Ashland Ave. and passing the long-established business. And according to the owner, that's not going to change. |
