Jim and Jake's Ogden Adventure (read the column; see the video)

The city of Naperville wants to do a makeover of Ogden Avenue. I'm presuming city fathers would like it to be as attractive and successful as its downtown.

That's no mean feat, because I remember the days when a city equipment and materials lot stood where ground zero for the Riverwalk is located -- near that Picasso-looking thing at Jackson and Eagle. It's no simple task, too, because as long as I can recall, Ogden has been referred to as "Hamburger Row." It's a high-speed road with tons of, as the municipal planners like to say, ingress and egress.

I can't ever picture this becoming a place like the Riverwalk/downtown area, where scads of people come to take leisurely strolls, visit the cutesy shops or try to circumvent the city's anti-cruising ordinance.

Perhaps I'm missing the whole point, anyway, but the news that Ogden might be headed for a facelift made me -- a guy who moved to Naperville in 1969 -- nostalgic for what it used to be. Sure, it was a hamburger row decades ago, but it was a hamburger row with character.

And how could I communicate all this maudlin nostalgia? I know. I'll make a video.

I was talking to an editor of a newspaper out west that has done some real innovative things with its Web site, with video -- concepts that admittedly frighten this semi-grizzled newspaper guy who actually used a Royal manual typewriter in his early days at the Daily Herald. But the editor said something about leading by example, so I decided to take the plunge.

I corralled photographer/videographer Paul Michna and Jake Griffin, our Naperville reporter and expert on all things current in Naperville. We piled into my car and were on our way. Here are some highlights of our self-guided tour, during which at no time did we impede the flow of Ogden Avenue traffic:

• Did you know that Ogden Avenue was home to no less than three places with carhops: Wheel O' Meal, Dog n Suds and A&W? I meant to point out the latter two places on the video tour, but I think the original buildings are long gone.

•Speaking of original buildings, here's a pop quiz: What restaurant chain originally occupied the Pizza Hut at the corner of Ogden and Naperville-Wheaton Road?

Time's up.

The answer is Golden Bear, a now-defunct chain distinguished by a unique building design in which its roofs almost touched the ground.

• Malloy's Finest Wines and Spirits? Everyone knows the place has been a liquor store of some type for eons, but who recalls that it originally was the site of a Steak n Shake -- the first time that chain hit the 'burbs, I believe, in the 1970s. Their initial foray, you may recall, was not successful, so they closed up shop in the metro area for a while -- a victim, as one account said, of a society that wasn't ready to eat its burgers on china plates and with real silverware. Thank God we've gotten past that.

Now, in the video and no doubt future stories, you'll hear Jake talk about the city's desire to widen sidewalks, reduce the number of driveways and take other steps to make Ogden more pedestrian-friendly. That's all fine, but I really hope someone ponders my suggestion that a nostalgic, retro look might be just the cure for Ogden Avenue's ails.

And bring back the carhops.