If you’re looking for Championship Vinyl in Chicago, you’re more likely to find cyclists sipping lattes than Jack Black’s character criticizing customers’ music tastes.
Much like the Nick Hornby book that inspired the 2000 movie starring John Cusack and Black, the record store featured in “High Fidelity” was a work of fiction.
The location of the storefront used for the film is fairly clear in scenes where Cusack is walking to open Championship Vinyl for the day at the coroner of Honore and Milwaukee.
To be more precise, the actual address of the building in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood is 1514 N. Milwaukee Ave. Cusack’s character likely hopped off the blue line at Damen and walked a couple blocks southeast when showing up to sling vinyl.
According to an article from DNAinfo, the retail space sold for $1.4 million in February 2014. The real estate listing from Newcastle Limited touted the location as a “rare corner retail property in the heart of Wicker Park.”
Today, the space is known is devoted to Rapha, which “makes the world’s finest cycling clothing” according to the London-based company’s website. The location at 1514 N. Milwaukee Ave. is one of the Rapha’s eight North American “clubhouses.”
According to the Rapha website, the clubhouses are “inspiring meeting places for road cyclists and fans of the sport.” The listing for the Chicago clubhouse promises cyclists the availability of “fine coffee, snacks and light meals.”
In other words, this is the type of place you’d be more likely to encounter Ian Raymond and his patchouli stink than Rob, Barry and Dick debating the top 5 musical crimes perpetuated by Stevie Wonder in the ’80s and ’90s.
Check out the Yelp listing for the Chicago clubhouse if you’re curious what the inside of the building looks like today, but not interested in navigating the north side streets by bike.
I’ll be over here ready for a heated discussion about the top 5 bicycle songs
Yeah No Great 