# data[].attributes.location_name
Muddy Waters MOJO Museum, 4339 S Lake Park Ave, Chicago, IL

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Muddy Waters MOJO Museum, 4339 S Lake Park Ave, Chicago, IL

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Muddy Waters MOJO Museum, 4339 S Lake Park Ave, Chicago, IL

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KENWOOD - The former South Side home of blues legend Muddy Waters is now a city landmark.

Built in 1891, Waters and his family lived on the first floor of the home at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. in Kenwood for nearly two decades, playing host to a bevy of music legends, including Howlin' Wolf and Chuck Berry, on the second floor. Waters and his contemporaries practiced in the basement.

The home, known as the "unofficial center for the Chicago Blues community," was one of three projects City Council unanimously approved for landmark status Thursday. The landmark designation protects the home from demolition and its exterior, which is largely intact from when Waters resided there, can not be significantly changed.

Local Ald. Sophia King (4th), whose family also is from the Mississippi Delta as Waters is, said she "wholeheartedly" supported the landmark status Tuesday as the Zoning Committee also unanimously approved the measure.

"Having his particular home landmarked here in the city of Chicago would also be not only something that recognizes his contributions, but will also recognize the contributions of the Blues to Chicago," she said.

Born McKinley Morganfield, the singer and guitarist bought the home in 1954 and lived there until 1973.

Waters and his wife offered "open door hospitality," to local and traveling musicians, providing food, drink and lodging, according to Kandalyn Hahn, project coordinator for the city's planning and development department.

"Chicago shaped his music and he made Chicago synonymous with the Blues," Hahn said on Tuesday. "Waters' home...was at the center of this cultural shift."

During Waters' 19 years as a North Kenwood resident, he recorded Chicago blues classics "Hoochie Coochie Man," "Mannish Boy" and other hit songs.

Alongside other Black performers who moved north during the Great Migration, Waters' music helped establish Chicago as the hub for a modern, electric take on Delta blues. The city's blues scene had a major influence on the development of rock 'n' roll.

Waters' great-granddaughter, Chandra Cooper, who owns the home and supports the landmark push, intends to open the MOJO Museum there in the musician's honor. Cooper's mother, Amelia, was raised in the home.

Plans include displays of Waters' memorabilia in a first-floor museum space and a revived space for jam sessions and a recording studio in the basement. A community garden will fill a vacant lot next to the home.

"We believe it is essential - culturally and for the legacy of African American history - that this home is designated a city of Chicago landmark," Chandra Cooper previously said.

Renovations to Waters' former home have been boosted by a $50,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and $2,500 in matching funds from Landmarks Illinois.

Credit: Jake Wittich/Block Club Chicago
The buildings at 1730-1732 and 1800 N. Halsted St. are both owned by developer Laramar Group.

City Council also approved landmark status for a group of four buildings in Lincoln Park at the corner of North Halsted Street and West Willow Street, described as a "gateway" to the neighborhood.

Built in the late 1880s by ethnic-German owners, the three-story Italianate and Queen Anne mixed-use brick buildings currently house restaurants on the ground floors.

Hahn said Tuesday the buildings' "outstanding integrity and proximity, create a rare grouping that have been noted as a highly localized node of activity for nearly 140 years."

"People always recognize that one of the hallmarks of the Lincoln Park community is its historic structures. So the fact that the buildings on these corners have been preserved up until this time, it really is the gateway to this part of Lincoln Park," said Ald. Michele Smith (43rd), whose ward shares the buildings with 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins.

Both Smith and Hopkins acknowledged the longtime efforts of local residents and preservationists to push for the landmark status. "These buildings are so worth saving. It is such an important part of the history of the North Side of Chicago," Hopkins said.

Smith rejected a development proposal that would have torn down the building at 1800 N. Halsted St.

The Monastery of the Holy Cross, formerly the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 3111 S Aberdeen St. in Bridgeport, also received landmark status Thursday.
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Blues Legend Muddy Waters' Former Home Is Now A Chicago Landmark

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KENWOOD - The former South Side home of blues legend Muddy Waters is now a city landmark. Built in 1891, Waters and his family lived on the first floor of the home at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. in Kenwood for nearly two decades, playing host to a bevy of music legends, including Howlin' Wolf and Chuck Berry, on the second floor.

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Rainbow PUSH Coalition, East 50th Street, Chicago, IL

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Rainbow PUSH Coalition, East 50th Street, Chicago, IL

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Rainbow PUSH Coalition, East 50th Street, Chicago, IL

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WE PROTECT, DEFEND, AND GAIN CIVIL RIGHTS BY LEVELING THE ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL PLAYING FIELDS, AND TO PROMOTE PEACE AND JUSTICE AROUND THE WORLD.

Rainbow Push Coalition

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) is an international human and civil rights organization founded by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. RPC seeks to empower people through the effective use of grassroots advocacy, issue orientation, and connections between the greater community and the disenfranchised.

RPC also supports research on key policy issues, collects data on non-partisan related initiatives, and organizes seminars and public awareness campaigns on a variety of policy concerns. RPC advances the democratic principles of civic virtue and human rights in order to improve life opportunities for those who have been marginalized and disaffected.

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WE PROTECT, DEFEND, AND GAIN CIVIL RIGHTS BY LEVELING THE ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL PLAYING FIELDS, AND TO PROMOTE PEACE AND JUSTICE AROUND THE WORLD. The Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) is an international human and civil rights organization founded by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

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Sacred Keepers Youth (SKY) Garden, South State Street, Chicago, IL

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Sacred Keepers Youth (SKY) Garden, South State Street, Chicago, IL

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Sacred Keepers Youth (SKY) Garden, South State Street, Chicago, IL

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BRONZEVILLE BIKE RIDE EXPLORES CULTURE AND HISTORY THROUGH LOCAL GARDENS

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“Bronzeville is an extraordinary community filled with precious cultural artifacts and historic locations where many of our community’s best and brightest have walked, talked, laughed, and…

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Chicago Urban League, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Chicago Urban League, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Chicago Urban League, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Since 1916, the Chicago Urban League has helped people find jobs, secure affordable housing, enhance their educational experiences, and grow their businesses. One of the oldest and largest affiliates of the National Urban League, we promote strong, sustainable communities through advocacy, innovation, and collaborative community, corporate and civic relationships.

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Jc Shoe Shine Parlor On The 7, East 47th Street, Chicago, IL

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Jc Shoe Shine Parlor On The 7, East 47th Street, Chicago, IL

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Jc Shoe Shine Parlor On The 7, East 47th Street, Chicago, IL

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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Join the Chicago Alumnae Chapter and our partners as we raise awareness about Period Poverty on April 29th. Support those in need by purchasing items for our hygiene kits. Bring your donation to our event or purchase products online via the following link: bit.ly/3mc8KqU

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National Black Wall Street Chicago, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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National Black Wall Street Chicago, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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National Black Wall Street Chicago, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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CHICAGO - Across the country there are 730 streets named after civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Map them and you map a nation within a nation," says one expert, who said they are generally byways more familiar to blacks than whites.

Indeed, the origin of Chicago's King Drive is a revealing chapter in the city's racial history.

Beginning just south of East Cermak Road and four blocks east of South Michigan Avenue, King Drive stretches to 115th Street. The street runs through predominantly black South Side neighborhoods from Bronzeville to Roseland, spanning 14 miles.

Originally named Grand Boulevard, then South Park Way, it was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in 1968.

Ald. Leon Despres (5th), a white King supporter who died four years ago at age 101, first sponsored an ordinance to rename a street after King, though he wanted it to be a street in the Loop.

Instead, a South Side designation was surprisingly boosted by Mayor Richard J. Daley. It was a move Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor describe as "disingenuous" in their Daley biography, "American Pharaoh."

Foes when King was alive, Daley, by supporting the renaming, was attempting to portray himself as a forward thinker on race relations ahead of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the biographers said.

In dedicating the street, Daley "invoked King's devotion to nonviolence in a verbal formation that made it sound as if Daley had the idea first," Cohen and Taylor wrote.

Said Daley: "I once told him, and he agreed, 'Doctor, we will never do it in conflict and violence.' "

Some Chicagoans at the time grumbled that King didn't deserve such a designation. Others said naming a street for him wasn't enough.

King streets are located in predominantly black neighborhoods throughout the country. In King's home state of Georgia, there are 105 streets named for him.

For his book "Along Martin Luther King: Travels on Black America's Main Street," author Jonathan Tilove visited nearly 500 Martin Luther King streets across the country. In his book, he described a "nation within a nation" as "a parallel universe."

"For many whites, a street sign that says Martin Luther King tells them they are lost," Tilove wrote. "For many blacks, a street sign that says Martin Luther King tells them they are found."

Several historic buildings are located along Chicago's King Drive. They include the Chicago Orphan Asylum Building, 5120 S. King Drive; Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church, 4100 S. King Drive; Oscar Stanton House, 4536 S. King Drive, and the Supreme Life Building, 3501 S. King Drive.

Chicago was a key location for King. In 1965, he came here fighting to desegregate Chicago's public schools. Later, he moved his family to a run-down apartment on the West Side and led marches for open housing.

Historian and fellow civil rights leader Timuel Black, 94, recalled organizing protest marches for King when he came to Chicago.

"Dr. King was a great man who did a lot in his time. When he visited Chicago he wanted to protest in areas not kind to blacks, like Downtown," said Black, who was honored with a street named after himself Saturday at 50th and State streets in Bronzeville.

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, ran a Chicago chapter of an economic empowerment program called Operation Breadbasket, which used boycotts and selective buying to push companies to hire blacks as employees and contractors.

According to The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute in Stanford, Calif., King said the Operation Breadbasket program was needed because stores had turned their backs on the black community.

"The fundamental premise of Breadbasket is a simple one. [Blacks] need not patronize a business which denies them jobs, or advancement [or] plain courtesy,'' said King. He charged that many retail businesses and consumer-goods industries "deplete the ghetto" by selling to blacks "without returning to the community any of the proﬁts through fair hiring practices.''

King would accomplish a lot before being shot dead at age 39 on April 4, 1968, while standing on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn. At age 35, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Born to the Rev. Martin L. King Sr. and Alberta Williams, King was one of three children. His birthday is Jan. 15, but is observed nationally as Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday of January each year as a federal holiday. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation recognizing the day as a national holiday, and on Jan. 20, 1986, the first King Day was observed.

The Rev. Leon Finney, pastor of Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church, said King marched for equality not just for blacks but for all people.

"[He was] a husband, father and activist for nonviolence and the civil rights movement, which often sparked public protest from blacks against racial discrimination," he said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:

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Chicago's Martin Luther King Jr. Drive: A Road Through History

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CHICAGO - Across the country there are 730 streets named after civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "Map them and you map a nation within a nation," says one expert, who said they are generally byways more familiar to blacks than whites.

# data[].attributes.location_name
Gallery Guichard, East 47th Street, Chicago, IL

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Gallery Guichard, East 47th Street, Chicago, IL

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Gallery Guichard, East 47th Street, Chicago, IL

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HOME About Shop Gallery Artists Virtual Exhibition Catalog (VEC) Past Exhibitions and Recordings Events Gallery Space Rentals

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Blanc, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Blanc, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Blanc, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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A solo exhibition by Brandon Breaux

Blanc Gallery, in collaboration with Johalla Projects, is excited to present the work of Chicago-based artist Brandon Breaux in his first U.S. solo exhibition, BIG WORDS on exhibit at Blanc Gallery from April 9th- May 27th. Breaux's exhibition is a journey through some of the people, places, and artifacts that have shaped how he has come to see the world. Featuring a series of paintings, installations, and a digital NFT, Breaux actualizes the labor behind identity formation, in its recirculation through time, as both abstract process and concrete family experience.

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A solo exhibition by Brandon Breaux Blanc Gallery, in collaboration with Johalla Projects, is excited to present the work of Chicago-based artist Brandon Breaux in his first U.S. solo exhibition, BIG WORDS on exhibit at Blanc Gallery from April 9th- May 27th.

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Swift Mansion, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Swift Mansion, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Swift Mansion, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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The Chicago Urban League Outgrew The Swift Mansion, So It Moved Next Door

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In the ’80s, the Chicago Urban League almost moved downtown. But its president insisted they stay on the South Side.

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Robert R. Taylor Homes, Chicago, Illinois (1959-2005) •

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The Robert R. Taylor Homes in Chicago, Illinois were named after Robert Rochon Taylor, a black architect and civic leader who became the Chicago Housing Authority’s first African American chairman in 1942. Construction of the Robert R. Taylor Homes began in 1959 and was completed … Read MoreRobert…

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Ebony / Jet Magazine, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Ebony / Jet Magazine, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Ebony / Jet Magazine, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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The pioneering black architect John Moutoussamy designed offices with an exuberant and fearless mix of color, texture and pattern.

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Marx Brothers Home, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Marx Brothers Home, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Marx Brothers Home, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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On the South Side, Marx Brothers’ Chicago home

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From 1912 through 1920, the three-flat graystone was home to Sam and Minnie Marx and their sons, better known by their stage names – Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo and Zeppo.

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Bronzeville Historical Society, Parkway Ballroom building, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Bronzeville Historical Society, Parkway Ballroom building, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Bronzeville Historical Society, Parkway Ballroom building, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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GRAND BOULEVARD - The Bronzeville Historical Society has moved into a permanent home - and plans to celebrate Saturday.

Visitors will be able to check out the organization's digs at Parkway Ballroom, 4455 S. King Drive, where founder Sherry Williams is planning a grand opening event to announce the group's return. It's set for noon-2 p.m. Saturday.

People are invited to register for the opening event online.

The society opened on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus several years ago. But the pandemic forced Williams to close her office at the school, so the historian took her program virtual.

The move ended up working out, as finding a home that would allow space to grow was always part of the plan, Williams has said.

The new space is 5,000 square feet, with three classrooms large enough to accommodate 20-40 people and a common area where exhibits and photographs will be on display.

Among the exhibits will be "Reimagine Aunt Jemima," a look at the lives of the women behind the iconic breakfast brand, which will be available for viewing through Dec. 31. It was previously on display at Woodson Regional Library.

"We had to pull archives from the Pullman [State Historic] Site, IIT and two storage units. It took about three weeks just to get everything in," Williams said. "There were a lot of moving parts, but I'm excited."

A second space will tell the story of the Great Migration through the items families brought with them from the South to the big city: trunks, a dressing table - originally owned by Williams' great-grandmother - and a brass bed will all be on display.

Vintage photographs from Izola's, the restaurant that was once the crown jewel of 79th Street, will also be available to view.

The ballroom itself is steeped in history, hosting legends like Nat King Cole and Count Basie in its heyday. Englewood native Clifford Rome reopened the ballroom in 2002.

With the historical society's opening, the area is in the midst of a renaissance, with the return of The Forum and a new performing arts center and museum set to come in the next few years.

Saturday's celebration also includes a screening of " Black Theater: The Making of a Movement," presented in collaboration with South Side Projections.
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Bronzeville Historical Society Celebrating Grand Opening In Parkway Ballroom Saturday

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GRAND BOULEVARD - The Bronzeville Historical Society has moved into a permanent home - and plans to celebrate Saturday. Visitors will be able to check out the organization's digs at Parkway Ballroom, 4455 S. King Drive, where founder Sherry Williams is planning a grand opening event to announce the group's return.

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Hall Branch, Chicago Public Library, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Hall Branch, Chicago Public Library, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Hall Branch, Chicago Public Library, South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

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George Cleveland Hall Branch Digital Collection

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The George Cleveland Hall Branch Archives contain materials related to the operation of Chicago Public Library's Hall Branch, opened in 1932. The branch is named after prominent African American physician, activist and leader George Cleveland Hall. The Hall Branch Archives contain annual reports, branch bulletins, programs, fliers and memos from 1932 through the 1970s.

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Ida B. Wells-Barnett House, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Ida B. Wells-Barnett House, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Ida B. Wells-Barnett House, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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The home of visionary civil rights leader Ida B. Wells is located not far from the western shore of Lake Michigan, on the west side of Martin Luther King Drive, on the south side of Chicago. Wells occupied the sturdy stone townhouse with her husband and four children from 1919 to 1929. She was a tireless and forward-thinking activist who played a key role in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the urban reform of Chicago, the anti-lynching movement, and women's suffrage.

Ida B. Wells Barnett House - Photo by Eric Allix Rogers

Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi, during the Civil War, just six months prior to the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Her life was immersed in politics from childhood. The value of education was especially instilled in Wells by her parents along with strong religious and moral convictions.

The Wells family lived near Shaw University (now Rust College), which at the time taught all levels from primary school to collegiate. Life was not smooth sailing. First, Wells was ousted from Shaw over a dispute with the university president. Then, at the age of 16 she lost both parents and her baby brother to an outbreak of yellow fever. She became a teacher to support her family and this led them to Memphis, Tennessee, where she resumed her own studies by taking classes at Fisk University in Nashville.

It was in 1884 that Wells demonstrated her first resistance to Jim Crow laws when she refused to sit in the smoking car of the train. She was forced off at the next stop by three men who physically assaulted her. She filed a lawsuit against the Chesapeake, Ohio, and Southwestern Railroad, and while the court ruled in her favor, the verdict was overturned when the railroad appealed the case.

Wells turned her disappointment into determination and kick started her career as a journalist by publishing an account of the case in a black church weekly newsletter. By 1889, she was part owner and editor of the newspaper Free Speech which she used to advocate against the crime of lynching after three friends, owners of a successful storefront called People's Grocery, perished at the hands of a bigoted mob in 1892. Her writing inflamed the white community, which set the office on fire and threatened to hang her should she ever return to Memphis. Exiled, Wells left Tennessee, joining the 6,000 African Americans who had already listened to her call to flee the racism pervasive in their southern city.

Wells settled in amongst the black elite in Chicago. She published an exposé on the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, criticizing the event for the refusal to allow participation by African Americans, despite being a global event. Yet, the main factor for her stay in Chicago was not anger, but love. Wells married prominent local lawyer Ferdinand L. Barnett and embraced a new challenge of balancing motherhood with her activist pursuits in their home on Grand Boulevard (now Martin Luther King Drive).

MLK Drive is a spacious street, sandwiched between two parkways. Most of its original 19th century single family homes still stand. The Wells-Barnett House, built in 1889-90, has some Queen Anne elements but was primarily built in the Richardsonian-Romanesque style named for Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The three-story structure, built from grey ashlar granite, features a medieval-like two-story turreted bay, a steep mansard roof, and the distinctive solid, simplicity, and round arches of original Romanesque architecture dating back centuries.

The house, a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has now been subdivided into apartments and is a private residence not open to the public. It is the only physical remainder of Ida B. Wells' life in Chicago and stands as a testament to her significance to U.S. history for her commitment to improving life for those within her community and beyond.

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Women's History Month - The Ida B. Wells-Barnett House

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The home of visionary civil rights leader Ida B. Wells is located not far from the western shore of Lake Michigan, on the west side of Martin Luther King Drive, on the south side of Chicago. Wells occupied the sturdy stone townhouse with her husband and four children from 1919 to 1929.

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Chicago Defender, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Chicago Defender, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Chicago Defender, South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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Chicago Tonight | Chicago Defender Ends 114-Year Print Run, Goes Online Only | Season 2019 | PBS

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The iconic black-owned newspaper that has told the stories of black America since 1905.

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The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument, South Langley Avenue, Chicago, IL

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The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument, South Langley Avenue, Chicago, IL

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The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument, South Langley Avenue, Chicago, IL

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CHICAGO - A monument to journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett was unveiled Wednesday in Chicago.

Officially called The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument, the commemoration created by sculptor Richard Hunt was dedicated in the South Side neighborhood where Wells lived out her life.

The monument has three bronze columns that support intertwined bronze sheets twisted into coils and spirals. One observer had trouble describing the abstraction at the top of the monument, asking if it was a hat or a crown of thorns. She was more certain about the columns.

"It is interesting," spectator Roberta Trotter told the Chicago Tribune. "I just want to know what the artist thinks before I say more. But I do see a strong base. That, I understand - Ida was a strong woman."

Great-granddaughter Michelle Duster said traditional busts and statues of Wells were considered, but she and others pushing for the monument preferred something interpretive, which she said projects Wells better than the literal.

The monument to Wells was financed by contributions made during a fundraising campaign over several years led by Duster. It sits on the site of the Ida B. Wells Homes, a housing project constructed in the 1930s, torn down in 2011 and replaced with market rate and subsidized housing.

"Hopefully it becomes a point of pride to Bronzeville, the kind of thing people want to serve as a backdrop to their lives here," Duster said. "That's what I want - a gathering spot."

Congress Parkway, a major street in Chicago's business district, was renamed for Wells in 2019.

Wells, who was born a slave in 1862 in Mississippi, was a 30-year-old newspaper editor in Memphis, Tennessee, when she began her campaign against lynching. Wells' crusade was prompted by the 1892 lynching of a man whose first child was her godchild. She traveled the South over several months interviewing witnesses and reading reports of similar events, which she published in the newspaper she co-owned and edited, The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight.

In 2020, Wells was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on the lynching of African Americans.

Although she was threatened frequently because of her work, she helped to found several civil rights organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Association of Colored Women.

Wells died of kidney disease on March 25, 1931, at 68.

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A Monument To Journalist, Civil Rights Activist Ida B. Wells Is Unveiled In Chicago

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CHICAGO - A monument to journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett was unveiled Wednesday in Chicago. Officially called The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument, the commemoration created by sculptor Richard Hunt was dedicated in the South Side neighborhood where Wells lived out her life.

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Harold Washington Cultural Center, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Harold Washington Cultural Center, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Harold Washington Cultural Center, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Classic Chicago Magazine - Classic Chicago magazine is an online weekly online publication.

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By Bob Glaze
The History of Bronzeville
Bronzeville is an historic neighborhood on Chicago's South Side which runs from 31st St. on the north to 51st St. on the south and from S. LaSalle St. or the Dan Ryan Expressway on the west to S. Cottage Grove Ave. and S. Drexel Blvd. on the east. The area is famous as an early-20th-century African-American business and cultural hub.

According to nearby IIT or Illinois Institute of Technology, "residents included musicians Louis Armstrong, Nat "King" Cole, Sam Cook, Dinah Washington, Quincy Jones, and Herbie Hancock; gospel music pioneers Mahalia Jackson and Thomas A. Dorsey; choreographer Catherine Dunham; women's aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman; author Richard Wright; activist and writer Ida B. Wells; Olympic legends Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalf; Negro League Baseball founder Andrew Rube Foster; boxer Joe Louis; and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks."

The neighborhood was, from the 1920s to the 1940s, fairly affluent and middle class. "Founded by Jesse Binga, Binga Bank was Chicago's first Black-owned life insurance, realty, and financial institution. Daniel Hale Williams, an African American, pioneered open-heart surgery in Bronzeville's Provident Hospital. The Chicago Defender and Chicago Bee were African-American daily newspapers of national influence and distribution. The Wabash Avenue YMCA established the first Black History Month. Venues like the Savoy Ballroom-Regal Theater complex and the Sunset Cafe rivaled Harlem's Apollo Theater in importance in music, film, and live performance."

"1916 marked the beginning of the Great Migration when African Americans left the American South for Chicago with the promise of better jobs and reduced oppression. The reality, however, fell far short of this promise as conditions were still repressive and segregated. African Americans were restricted to live in the Black Belt in white-owned housing that was largely dilapidated and densely populated yet more expensive than housing in white areas. Forced to live in this isolated area, Bronzeville's residents toiled hard and cooperatively to establish a full-fledged community with business, culture, and community institutions that did not have the racial restrictions enforced in most parts of the city. Bronzeville's institutions grew to have national influence rivaling and even exceeding those of New York's Harlem."

One of the most famous sites was The Sunset Cafe. Many jazz legends played at this club including Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. Unfortunately, it no longer exists, and the building houses a beauty supply store.

Also gone is the iconic Palm Tavern at 446 East 47th Street. It was known for its restaurant and blues and jazz club from 1933 to 2001. It attracted artists from Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Duke Ellington to the Ink Spots, Josephine Baker, and other notable musicians. It was also frequented by Richard Wright and Langston Hughes.

Unfortunately, Bronzeville experienced hard times during the Great Depression and went into great disrepair. Many businesses were forced into bankruptcy. It experienced segregation and overcrowding while crime and urban blight expanded throughout the neighborhood.
Bronzeville Today
Today, the neighborhood is seeing major community-driven revitalization efforts. Many of the historic homes have been restored as have many of the architectural landmarks such the original Chicago Defender Building, Unity Hall, the Chicago Bee Building, Overton Hygienic Building, Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments, The Forum, the Wabash Avenue YMCA, and the Supreme Life Building.

The area is also embracing its legacy as a mecca for civil rights, jazz, blues, and gospel music. You will find an array of coffee shops, retailers, boutiques, bistros, galleries, libraries, monuments, and restaurants, alongside spectacular Victorian-era architecture, and 19th-century mansions. Make sure to drive through the side streets to see the beautiful homes.

You must also drive by 3500 S. Martin Luther King Dr. to view the Victory Monument which honors the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African American unit that served in Europe in World War I. You can also view the Eighth Regiment Armory, the first armory in the United States built for an African-American military regiment, known as the "Fighting 8th" It is located at 3533 S. Giles Ave. and now houses the Chicago Military Academy, a public 4- year military high school that opened in August, 1999.

Also make sure to see the Ida B. Wells Monument at 3724 S. Vincennes. It was recently dedicated in July 2021 and pays tribute to the anti-lynching and suffrage activist Ida B. Wells, making it the city's first sculpture honoring a Black woman. Officially known as The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument, the contemporary commemoration, was created by Black sculptor Richard Hunt. It stands on the land of the former Ida B. Wells Housing Project. She was born, enslaved, in 1862 in Mississippi and became a newspaper editor and was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer in 2020 for her reporting on the lynching of African Americans.
Where to Eat and Drink in Bronzeville
The Great Migration mentioned above has had a lasting impact on the food traditions and culture of the neighborhood. I feel that while visiting we should support local Black-owned businesses as well as members of the Shop Local Bronzeville.

Some of my favorite restaurants in the area include:

After seeing it featured on a local TV program, I tried Peach's Restaurant at 4652 S. King Drive, just west of Hyde Park. It features biscuits, pancakes, waffles, omelets and Southern specialties. It is a great place for breakfast or brunch.

North of Peach's in Bronzeville is a great new find Pearl's Place at 3901 S. Michigan Ave. This is a classic white-tablecloth restaurant serving Southern/soul food classics such as fried chicken & catfish. I went with my assistant who is originally from Memphis, TN. She loved the fried catfish! I really enjoyed the shrimp and grits along with collard greens. In addition to their menu, they also have a buffet featuring breakfast, lunch and dinner items. I highly recommend the experience.

Also, in Bronzville is Chicago's Home of Chicken & Waffles at 3947 S. King Dr. After hearing about it on Check Please on WTTW in Chicago a few years ago, I enjoyed my visit to this popular soul food restaurant. I am looking forward to going back again soon.

At 3435 S. Prairie, is Eméché Cakery & Café, a fun bakeshop and cafe that opened in late 2019. The name means tipsy in French. It originally started as a bakery featuring alcohol-infused cupcakes. It has grown into a cafe featuring coffee and tea drinks, dessert jars, cakes, pastries and a breakfast and lunch menu of sandwiches and salads. The owner, Janell Richmond, is really delightful and gave me some great suggestions of what else to explore in the neighborhood.

Shawn Michelle's Homemade Ice Cream is a popular Black-owned shop located at 46 E. 47th in the historic Rosenwald Building on the corner of 47th and Wabash. It has some great flavors including the bourbon butter pecan which I really enjoyed.

With two Bronzeville locations, Sip & Savor is a local coffee shop started in 2005. There is one near Shawn Michelle's Homemade Ice Cream in the same building at 78 E. 47th St. I went to the location at 528 E. 43rd where I enjoyed a latte on the outside back patio.

Next door to Sip Savor is Ain't She Sweet Cafe at 526 E. 43rd. It is known for its savory meals and sweet desserts from brownies, cakes, and pies (including sweet potato) plus milkshakes from more than 12 ice-cream flavors. They also have a second location in the Beverly neighborhood at 9920 S. Western Ave.

Coming soon is the Turner Haus Brewery, a Black-owned microbrewery. It is partnering with Sip & Savor and will be located at their 78 E. 47th Street location. The Black-owned Bronzeville Winery will sit in the first-floor storefront of a new mixed-income residential building at 4420 S. Cottage Grove Ave. This restaurant, wine bar, and cultural space will focus on wine and comfort food such as lobster macaroni and cheese, and shrimp and grits. The wine list will be curated by Anika Ellison, "one of the few Black women sommeliers." It will also have a cultural space, patio, and live music.
Art and Culture in Bronzeville
Little Black Pearl is a large, 40,000 cultural arts center at 1060 E 47th St. According to Eater.com it was "founded in 1994 with an emphasis on serving Black communities in the South Side, Little Black Pearl provides visual arts, science and technology, and entrepreneurship education opportunities to youth in Kenwood/Oakland, Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and Bronzeville. The center offers classes and training ranging from painting and photography to technology and digital media. It also houses a high school, Little Black Pearl Art and design Academy."

Also, part of Little Black Pearl, is Carver 47 Food & Wellness Market. It is a juice and experiment bar with coffee drinks, juices, smoothies and an all-day breakfast menu plus salads, sandwiches, and flatbreads. It has a mission of providing nourishing and accessible food to the diverse people of the city and neighborhood.

Gallery Guichard is a local art gallery at 436 E 47 th. It is located on the first floor of the Bronzeville Artist Lofts that was formerly a Borden dairy building. It features a rotating collection of modern and contemporary works from numerous global artists. According to their website, "owners Andre Guichard, Frances Guichard and Stephen Mitchell, opened the gallery in 2005 with the mission to expose patrons to multicultural artists specializing in the art of the African Diaspora thus creating platforms for artists and collectors to meet." They also have the colorful Great Migration Sculpture Garden on site.

You can also visit the artist lofts which includes 16 artists' live-work spaces. This 1922 building was renovated with the assistance of the City of Chicago. The Bronzeville Arts District features a number of events and art walks throughout the year. There is also the Southside Community Art Center featuring events and exhibitions. 3831 S. Michigan Ave.

The Harold Washington Cultural Center is a neighborhood performance space that was named after Chicago's first African-American Mayor Harold Washington and opened in August 2004. 4701 S. Martin Luther King Dr.

You can also see a number of murals throughout the area.
For more travel destinations and recommendations, visit globalphile.com.

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Exploring the Historic Bronzeville Neighborhood in Chicago | Classic Chicago Magazine

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By Bob Glaze The History of Bronzeville Bronzeville is an historic neighborhood on Chicago's South Side which runs from 31st St. on the north to 51st St. on the south and from S. LaSalle St. or the Dan Ryan Expressway on the west to S. Cottage Grove Ave. and S.

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Nat "King" Cole Home, South Vincennes Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Nat "King" Cole Home, South Vincennes Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Nat "King" Cole Home, South Vincennes Avenue, Chicago, IL

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https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/2/15/22929694/black-history-month-famous-chicago-residents-homes-brooks-cole-wright-newhouse-ali-hansberry-obama

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Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Home, East 44th Street, Chicago, IL

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Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Home, East 44th Street, Chicago, IL

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Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Home, East 44th Street, Chicago, IL

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Over the last century, some of the most prominent Black figures in the country, if not the world, have resided in Chicago.

The Obamas still own a home in Kenwood. Muhammad Ali had a mansion there. Astronaut Mae Jemison grew up in Morgan Park.

There are many others, most of them gone. But the places they called home often remain.

Here's a look at some of them.

Before Harold Washington, there was Richard Newhouse. Newhouse ran for mayor in 1975, the first African American to do so. At the time, he was serving in the Illinois Senate. Elected to the General Assembly in 1966, he remained through 1991.

His former house at 5421 S. Ridgewood Ct. was purchased by Van and Beth Bistrow in 1986. It was in "pretty bad shape," said Van Bistrow, and the family didn't move in until 1988 after extensive repairs.

"It must not have been lived in for a while," said Van Bistrow. "It had a tin ceiling in the dining room that had fallen down because of a bathtub leak upstairs, and the floors were a mess."

Van Bistrow did some of the renovations himself, spending two years replacing plaster in two rooms.

Newhouse was hardly the only local Black figure to break barriers.

Lorraine Hansberry, the first Black woman to write a play performed on Broadway, was a Chicago native. That play, "A Raisin in the Sun," was inspired by her life at 6140 S. Rhodes Ave.

The three-story home, bought by her father in 1937, has since been divided into three apartments; the current owner, Kevin Pitts, has been renovating as tenants move in and out. Like many other former homes of famous Chicagoans, it's an official Chicago landmark, as designated by the city; that list can be found online.

Pitts knew the history when he bought the property, but it wasn't Hansberry's writing that most interested him.

"What I know about her is her activism in the community," said Pitts. Hansberry advocated for equal rights in the newspaper Freedom, published by musician/actor/activist Paul Robeson.

Hansberry was among many writers calling the city home during Chicago's Black Renaissance, an early 20th Century literary movement to highlight the plight of African Americans in a racist society.

That included Richard Wright. From 1929 to 1932, Wright and his family lived in a second-floor apartment at 4831 S. Vincennes Ave.

Here, Wright began writing "Lawd Today!," though that novel wasn't published until 1963, three years after his death. His other works include "Native Son," the first best-selling book by an African American writer, and "Black Boy."

Carrying on the renaissance was Illinois' poet laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks. Brooks called Chicago home for 80 years. She and her husband bought the gray and white cottage at 7428 S. Evans Ave. on Sept. 14, 1953. The Pulitzer Prize winner lived there until 1994.

Other legendary Black figures brought music to the city.

The trumpeter Louis Armstrong lived and played in Chicago during the 1920s. It's also where he met his second wife, Lil Hardin; the two moved to 421 E. 44th St. in Bronzeville in 1925.

Also living in Bronzeville was Nat "King" Cole. The singer and jazz pianist was born in Alabama, but his family moved to Chicago and Cole grew up at 4023 S. Vincennes Ave. The three-story building is still there, with an iron fence, a small porch - and a marker detailing the life of the man who once lived inside.

While Cole's house isn't open to public viewing, the home of blues musician Muddy Waters will be.

When McKinley Morganfield, known professionally as Muddy Waters, came to Chicago in 1943, he bought the home at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. Though closed today, his great-granddaughter Chandra Cooper has been restoring the house, now known as the MOJO Museum.

"We're just connecting the dots and making sure that this man of Black excellence is being honored and his legacy is being preserved," said Cooper.

Cooper is part of the Coalition of Black House Museums, which wants to preserve the homes of iconic Black figures.

"We are doing the work that it takes to make sure (Black) historical homes ... are there for generations to come, for our children, for our youth, for people in the community," she said.

Also in the coalition is Naomi Davis, owner of the Emmett and Mamie Till-Mobley House Museum, Garden & Theatre. Davis said preserving buildings - even ones carrying painful stories, like that of Emmett Till, who was lynched in Mississippi at age 14 - lifts up the Black community.

"We are indestructible," said Davis. "Everyone in the world has taken a turn at us, but we are still here, strong. ... We can and must show the young people of today the inheritance of strength that is theirs for the taking."

Other historic residences:

* Emmett and Mamie Till-Mobley House Museum, Garden & Theatre, 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave.

* Ida B. Wells-Barnett House, former residence of the civil rights activist and journalist Ida B. Wells, 3624 S. Martin Luther King Dr.

* Former home of boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, 4944 S. Woodlawn Ave.

* Former home of Chicago Defender founder and publisher Robert S. Abbott, 4742 S. Martin Luther King Dr.

* Site of the apartment building where Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family lived in 1966, 1550 S. Hamlin Ave. That building is gone; the Dr. King Legacy Apartments are there now.

* Childhood home of former first lady Michelle Obama, 7436 S. Euclid Ave.
Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper's coverage of communities on the South and West sides.

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A look at the Chicago homes where Black history-makers lived

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Over the last century, some of the most prominent Black figures in the country, if not the world, have resided in Chicago. The Obamas still own a home in Kenwood. Muhammad Ali had a mansion there. Astronaut Mae Jemison grew up in Morgan Park. There are many others, most of them gone.

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Gwendolyn Brooks Park, South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Gwendolyn Brooks Park, South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL

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Gwendolyn Brooks Park, South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL

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https://chicagostudies.uchicago.edu/bronzeville/bronzeville-gwendolyn-brooks-memorial

https://padlet.com/jessica_44990/gwendolyn-brooks-ne53nprxh32h

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While it's technically located farther east in the Kenwood neighborhood, Brooks Park and the Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial honor the poet of the same name. A lifelong Chicago resident, Gwendolyn Brooks resided in the Bronzeville neighborhood, contributing to its rich legacy as a prolific writer.

Born in Kansas in 1917, her family moved to Chicago when she was just six weeks old as part of the Great Migration. Brooks started writing poetry at a young age, and by 1935 she regularly submitted her work for "The Chicago Defender." In fact, by the age of 16, Brooks had published approximately 75 poems. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1950) and recipient of many awards and accolades, Brooks continued writing and promoting poetry until her death in 2000.

While the park was first established in 1970, it wasn't named after Gwendolyn Brooks until 2004 (the park was originally named Hyacinth Park). The park was renamed as part of the Chicago Park District's effort to recognize and honor Chicago women. While relatively small at just over 2 acres, this park is popular among families and residents attending the movie nights or the park's play structures. Within the park is a sculpture of Gwendolyn Brooks' bust made of bronze, wood, and stone. The piece was sculpted by Margot McMahon in 2018 and was installed the same year. Behind the bust is a model of a porch that mirrors Gwendolyn Brooks' childhood writing spot.

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While it's technically located farther east in the Kenwood neighborhood, Brooks Park and the Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial honor the poet of the same name. A lifelong Chicago resident, Gwendolyn Brooks resided in the Bronzeville neighborhood, contributing to its rich legacy as a prolific writer.

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East 47th Street & South King Drive, Chicago, IL

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» Chicago: 47th Street / Blues District | Where public places are art galleries!

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Monument to the Great Northern Migration, East Eastgate Place, Chicago, IL

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Monument to the Great Northern Migration, East Eastgate Place, Chicago, IL

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Monument to the Great Northern Migration, East Eastgate Place, Chicago, IL

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Victory Monument, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Victory Monument in Bronzeville honors the 8th Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American unit that served in World War I.

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Victory Monument, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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Victory Monument, South Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Chicago, IL

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http://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/landmarkdetails.htm?lanId=1444https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7fo64l2SXw