Mayan Doomsday, 'Happy Endings' Make Top 5 Stories of 2012

Although Bucktown-Wicker Park Patch only launched in September, it's clear readers in the neighborhoods were craving local news. 

Between the Mayan "doomsday" being a flop to area massage parlors allegedly offering "happy endings", this is a list of the top five most-read articles on your local Patch in 2012.

1. 

Don’t make any rash decisions: Experts said they knew 12/21/12 was going to be just another typical winter solstice.

Killer solar flares weren't expected. Another planet wasn't on a collision course with ours. And the Mayan “long count calendar” ending on this date has no real significance—they had to end it somewhere. Read more here.

2. 

Bucktown has some exquisite homes, but this one really caught our eye.

The six bedroom, seven bathroom home is currently on the market for $3,995,000. Built on a double lot in 2009, real estate agents boast that the house is ideal for entertaining. Read more and see pics here.

3. Happy Endings: Website Alleges Sex Favors in Local Spas

Massage parlor employees declined to respond in early December to rampant reports of paid sexual favors brought to light by the Center Square Journal.

Patch visited or called the six massage and spa businesses that were mentioned in the publication's article. In some cases, language barriers prevented communication. In others, reporters were shunned from the locations, which are listed below. Read more here.

4. TV Crews Takes Over Bucktown Intersection

Smoke poured out of a Bucktown pub, while emergency vehicles parked in the surrounding intersection—but signs posted in the area assured neighbors there was no danger.

An NBC film crew took over the intersection of Cortland Street and Winchester Avenue on Dec. 19 and 20 to shoot scenes for Chicago Fire. An e-mail from 32nd Ward Ald. Scott Waguespack alerted residents to the filming and warned them that pyrotechnics were approved for the filming. Read more here.

5. 

Walgreens opened a new flagship store in Bucktown last week in a building originally occupied by Noel State Bank.

Located at 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave., on the northwest corner of North, Damen and Milwaukee avenues, the store has been the talk of the town. See photos here.