Later, this hotbed of activity attracted rural migrant workers from places such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the southern United Statesfrom which racist discrimination and violence drove more than 500,000 Black Americans to Chicago. Can The New Affordable Requirements Ordinance Help Solve Chicagos Housing Inequality? From the 1910s to the 1920s, thousands of Mexicans were recruited by industrial contractors to work seasonally in the Midwest, in some cases as strikebreakers in the steel mills. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicagos soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. March 20, 2019. Amazing! Racially restrictive covenants were also common in the Chicago area, as in the rest of the country. Redone tile at the Monroe and Dearborn CTA Blue Line subway station, showing how an original sign was incorporated into a newer design, May 25, 2018. Appearing to rise above the L platform is the corner tower of the Sears Building, looking carefully on the enlarged view, the SEARS name can be seen. They lived around Halsted ave. CHICAGO, Saturday, August 1, 1964 Four bombings this week raised to 46 the number of bomb or arson attacks on Chicago area businesses in the last 18 months. Price: $24.99 18. In the background, you can see the large Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, which fronted on the north side of 107th St. Chicagos position as the hub of a vast railroad system enabled a bustling industrial economy that was teeming with job opportunities in its stockyards, factories, and steel mills. Immigrants typically lived in inadequate housing near railroads and industryin bunk houses, boxcars, and section houses. Chicago Southside 1950's 95 square miles of the 228 square miles were considered the "south side". Two CTA bus routes served the 79th and Western station: West 79th (to almost Cicero Ave.) and South Western (to 119th St.) The buses shown were manufactured by ACF Brill, probably in the 1940s, because they had stick shifts. Riverdale is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago since 478 crimes are reported annually in a small population of just 13,000 people. You can hear our 19-minute conversation here. For a few months, Madison-Fifth continued as a shuttle operation between Madison and Pulaski, using older red streetcars. So, my best guess is this picture was taken during the summer of 1954. (Wien-Criss Archive), The Western and Berwyn loop on June 10, 1956. What was South Side Chicago like in the 1950s? 10. Located in what used to a Buick showroom, it features a large taproom with a BYOF policy that encourages delivery. The Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company was the first to successfully obtain right-of-way and permission to build an elevated passenger railway in Chicago. Note the circa 1953 Cadillac at left. So we're diving into that jet-setting, Mad Men time when Michigan Avenue became the "Mag Mile.". 5 . There are different types of segregation beyond the Black-white binary that normally, and rightfully, comes to mind. Our resident South side history expert M. E. writes: I have a lot of comments about your latest post #241. Between 1950 and 1960, most white residents in Chicago's south side Woodlawn neighborhood fled as poor blacks moved in. The Watch for Reopening sign in the window, visible just above the newsstand in the Humboldt Park L photo, makes me think this was taken in early 1954. This story was produced for WTTWS FIRSTHAND: SEGREGATION, an award-winning FIRSTHAND multiplatform, multi-year initiative focusing on the firsthand perspectives of people facing critical issues in Chicago. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Early 1960s: Unequal learning opportunities lead parents in Chicago's South Side to protest public school . At this time, the temporary Van Buren trackage was still under construction, and this picture was taken from the Garfield Park L station, then still in use. Riverdale. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7208 is on Western near 34th on September 3, 1950. 4:35 August 27, 1954 The PCC is going to go northbound on Route 22 Clark-Wentworth. This move included the expansion of popular music styles, bringing jazz to Chicago and the rest of the country. In the mid-1950s Chicago faced its first postindustrial crisis as the major meatpacking companies began to close their production facilities. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic556.jpg What makes this picture so interesting is the road sign, Keep left of tracks. Thats because, precisely at this spot, the streetcar tracks moved off the street and onto private right-of-way between Vincennes Ave. and the main line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7236 is at Archer and Western on November 17, 1954. 1950. 08. 12:40 Car #202 (ex-1202), between Springfield and Decatur, February 1955 20 Restaurants That Define Chicago's South Side Street Scenes of Chicago in the 1970s Through Amazing Photos October 24, 2020 1970s, Chicago, Illinois, life & culture, street Charles William (Bill) Brubaker (1926-2002) was a member of the Chicago-based architecture firm Perkins & Will from 1950 until 1998. Notice Most Accurate Chicago Gangs Map (Full Tour of Chicago Hoods) 06. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 7271 is northbound on Clark at Roosevelt. From the 1920s through the 1950s, Chicago's South Side was the center for African-American culture and business. 4 Board of Trustees/Directors minutes May 1952-Oct 1956 draft copy. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4208 is southbound on State Street at 64th, just a few blocks south of where car 7078 was involved in a horrific crash with a truck on May 25, 1950. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here. Clock (in Explore 9/20/09). 02. You can compare the different CTA paint schemes on the first two cars. 01. Recorded between 1955 and 1963 on the Skokie Valley Route and Mundelein branch. PDF Housing Segregation in 1950s South Side Chicago - Mr. Barringer'S Weebly Store which was acquired by the Sears interests who replaced the original Becker-Ryan building. History. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 640 is running under the L on Halsted at 63rd Place on May 25, 1954. The car at right has a 1953 Illinois license plate, but when this picture was taken, Dearborn was still a two-way street, meaning it is prior to November 16. Chapter Titles: Known as "Bronzeville," the neighborhood was surprisingly small, but at its peak more than 300,000 lived in the narrow, seven-mile strip. (Wien-Criss Archive). Todays photos have two things in common. Coverage spans 1839-1928 but no directories are available for 1840-1842, 1918-1922, and 1924-1927. This pattern ran from 107th St. north to the Rock Island suburban line viaduct at 89th St., at which point the streetcar tracks rejoined Vincennes Ave. to go under the viaduct. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park L into the median of Chicagos first expressway. The Truth About White Flight | City Journal (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7039 is at Western and 71st on August 12, 1955. By 1960 there were 32,371 Puerto Rican residents in Chicago, a number that more than doubled within a decade. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7042, in the distance, is about to clear a temporary switch so that the car on the right can cross over to that side during track work. Chicago Youth Organize Townhall for Mayoral Candidates, Op-Ed: Chuy Garca Isnt Running as a Progressive This Mayoral Bid, Chicago Rapper 8MatikLogan Gives Himself A Second Chance, IRS Approves Federal Nonprofit Status for South Side Weekly NFP, Mayoral Debate was a Poor Night for Chicago, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. These restrictive covenants were outlawed in 1948, allowing Black residents to begin to spread out beyond the Black Belt and to pursue a middle-class life in better-resourced communities. There were 300 Pullmans in all. Dr. Martin Luther Kings visit to Chicago during the Freedom Movement campaign for fair housing made headlines in 1966. PCCs were taken off Madison on December 13, 1953. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7239 is on Western at the Douglas Park L on November 11, 1955. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4037 is on Western at the Chicago River on June 10, 1956 just one week before the end of streetcar service on Route 49. Mapping Chicago's Racial Segregation - South Side Weekly On June 25, 1965, Vito and Nick's moved to 84th and Pulaski, at 8433 South Pulaski, in the Ashburn neighborhood of Chicago, where it remains today. Shaker Heights Rapid Transit: and The YMCA Hotel, seen in the background, opened in 1916 and closed in 1979. Chicago Park District - Marquette Park Bridge over the lagoon--east side of the park. 09. For Shipping Elsewhere: Western/Berwyn canopies lasted a long time, into late 80s, before they rusted off at the ground! This is our 241st post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. As he led a march through Marquette Park on the Southwest Side, he was attacked with bricks by a racist white mob. During its heyday, there was Soft Sheen Products, a $100 million-a-year. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCCs 4103 and 4076 pass each other while crossing the Chicago River on Madison Street. A community can be described as a collection of individuals who share a common location or trait.People who live in the same neighborhood, work at the same company, or attend the same school together are . 1. Newly rediscovered and digitized after 60 years, most of these audio recordings of Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee interurban trains are previously unheard, and include on-train recordings, run-bys, and switching. The suburban bus company had two routes into Englewood one north along Western, then east on 63rd (this was the Harvey bus), the other north along Halsted St. from the south (this was the Chicago Heights bus). During the 1950's, the time that the Younger family was living in Chicago, whites and blacks were living completely separate lives and a majority of the blacks were living in poverty. Their early presence is not reflected in our interactive map because the U.S. Census did not accurately track the Mexican population in Chicago during this time period. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4373 is on Western near the Douglas Park L on October 5, 1953. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4050 is southbound on Western at the Douglas Park L on November 11, 1955. Title Building Chicagos Subways This view is looking south along Western at 71st St. This was later the end of the line for the Wentworth half of the line, between 1957 and 1958, when buses replaced streetcars north of here. Railroad Record Club North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963 In the early years of the twentieth century, Chicago was the fastest-growing city in the U.S. First, a nit: I think this picture is at 107th rather than 105th. Chicago Hoods: West Side. #536 is a companion picture from the street to #534. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic566.jpg 4. Copyright 2009-2018, DNAinfo. st jerome croatian catholic church - celebtates 104th year. People wait for a streetcar in downtown Chicago. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4020 on Western at 73rd during track work on June 26, 1955. This is now the outdoor seating area for a restaurant. A cropped version of this photo ran in one of our earlier posts, but this was scanned from the original negative. The restaurant was now known as "Vito and Nick's," The pizza soon became a southside Chicago sensation. The original objective was to treat basic illness and to train nurses and interns. Two restaurants were bombed last weekend, the damage at one estimated at $40,000. Wonderful shots as usual. The restaurant that once occupied this corner space had been gutted in a spectacular fire during the Summer of 1953, along with a tavern next door on the North Avenue side. Building Chicagos subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pridemaking it a Second City no more! . 4. A wooden Garfield Park L train is nearby, on temporary trackage. The African-American population in Chicago now makes up 25 percent of the city, but racial segregation is high, and much of the South and West sides have become densely populated, marginalized, low-income areas. ca. Price: $15.99 Median income and employment plummeted, and L ridership fell. While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. 5,034 1950s Chicago Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 5,034 1950s Chicago Premium High Res Photos Browse 5,034 1950s chicago stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. 29:34 (Johnstown Traction recordings were made August 9, 1953) In the 1950s, the Chicago Transit Authority sought to . The highest ratio of discriminatory acts to race-related tests occurred in the Near North Side neighborhood, where over half of the tests involved race discrimination, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the Chicago Lawyers Committee found. 01. Press ESC to cancel. South Side - Encyclopedia of Chicago Seen as one of the most massive internal movements in United States history, it was an era that sparked the Harlem Renaissance . 02. Another treasure trove of photos thanks to the Wien-Criss Archive. To the left, is an embankment where Illinois Central commuter trains (now Metra Electric) ran. Chicago, city, seat of Cook county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. With a population hovering near three million, Chicago is the state's largest and the country's third most populous city. The conductor then raises the trolley pole onto the parallel wire. They were concentrated in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on the North Side and are credited for pioneering the fight against displacement due to gentrification spurred by the expanding DePaul University campusa fight they lost. From the Original Master Tapes 1. At the turn of the twenty-first century, as the City realized the projects sat on prime real estate, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley introduced a plan to transform public housing in 1999. 04. 1:39 After Chicagos incorporation by Yankees in 1837, European immigrants flocked to the city through the early 1900s; Irish, Jewish, Polish, German, Italian, Czech/Bohemian, Swedish, and Lithuanian immigrants among them. There are miscellanous directories available for later yearsbusiness directories and . The Union Stock Yard finally closed its doors on August 1, 1971, after nearly 106 years of operation. You can also see trolley bus wires, used on North Avenue. One of my enduring childhood memories, growing up in the 1970s and 1980s on Chicago's South Side, was something I called the "boundary." Black residents did not enjoy the same geographic freedom. 1.5k Views. Black communities bore the brunt of the closings of fifty-plus Chicago Public Schools that were shuttered during former Mayor Rahm Emanuels administration. What is the South Side of Chicago called? CHICAGO If you think your neighborhood has changed since you first moved in, you should see what it looked like 60 years ago. Look at this classic car in Rockford back in 1956. CHA admitted they lost track of thousands of displaced people as they moved to other Black neighborhoods. US-born citizens make up 85.22% of the resident pool in South Side Chicago, while non-US-born citizens account for 7.1%. South Side Apartments for Rent - Chicago, IL - 4 Rentals | Apartments.com Additionally, 7.68% of the population is represented by non-citizens. African Americans who settled in northern cities like Chicago, New York, and Detroit earned at least twice as much as those who stayed in the South in 1930, according to work by Leah Boustan, an. Chicago Burnside Bums Gang - South Side Chicago White Street Gang Here are some shots around Illinois during the 1950s. For Shipping to US Addresses: The comments about the photo at Division and Crosby are confirmed by the street sign at left showing that street to be Burling Street. Look at the bottom of the photo. By the 1960s, Black residents had moved into grade B (blue) communities in the South Side, such as Roseland and Beverly. The purpose was to find residents that were given Section 8 vouchers vs those who did not receive them. 0:56 PCC car 1557, Route 20 Cabin John line, July 19, 1953 Beautiful Vintage Postcards of Chicago's Restaurants from the 1950s and 1960s. Your financial contributions help make this web site better, and are greatly appreciated. Known as Bronzeville, the neighborhood was surprisingly small, but at its peak more than 300,000 lived in the narrow, seven-mile strip. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4408 on Western at 66th on July 16, 1951. Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2018 https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic512.jpg Much of the promised housing failed to materialize, and its uncertain whether the CHA will ever build new housing for the 40,000 families currently on their waiting lists. Copyright 2009-2018, New York Public Radio. At this stage, it appears the Western Avenue bridge over the Congress Expressway was not yet finished, as the streetcar (and auto traffic) are using a shoo-fly. 5:17 I always knew about racism growing up in the 70s, recall seeing the hippies in Old town. Two laws in 1947, the Blighted Areas Redevelopment Act and the Relocation Act, helped create the Chicago Land Clearance Commission, enabling the City to raze areas that it deemed blighted without regard for who it would displace. 2. Forgotten Chicago Nightlife History: Three Swanky 60s Clubs In any case, thanks again for all you offer on this website. Is BCD Travel a good company to work for. Under the Plan for Transformation, the City began to knock down the projects one by one like dominos. Images of America Most resided in Humboldt Park with Division Street being the heart of the neighborhood. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7012 at Western and Congress, crossing over the new expressway, on June 11, 1956. Note the dark areas where some touch-up painting has been done on the PCC. As a field interviewer I had to look for displaced residents from the projects. After returning from World War II, American service members brought back memories and souvenirs from the South Pacific. South Side Chicago. Two things in this picture: Extending trolly lines is much easier and economical than L tracks. Chicago's South Side April 1941: Life In 'The Black Belt' - Flashbak In the background, you can see the viaduct which is now part of the 606 Trail. 7113 crossing back to the right-hand track would have involved the same procedure unless there was a common, wired, trailing crossover a couple of blocks further. The tracks going to the right were for the 67th/69th/71st line, which used Western to travel between 69th and 71st. It's a glorious and sloppy mess, but one that represents home for many South Siders. It is very unlikely that he will ever be able to recoup his investment, but we support his efforts at preserving this important history, and sharing it with railfans everywhere. With its neighborhoods, parks, museums, and universities, the South Side continues to play an important role in the social, cultural, political, and economic life of the city. Through a century of discriminatory strategies from the City and the real estate industry, in addition to antiquated attitudes toward Black residents and people of color, Chicago continues to be a city of neighborhoodshighly segregated neighborhoods. Seems to have been a good choice since the same building is still a Ford dealer today. 07. PCC 7113 would be powered into the crossover while the conductor pulls the pole from the rear window, as the car then coasts onto the parallel track. "We were far enough away from downtown to be quiet and peaceful yet close enough to shopping, the lake . Chicago South Side 1940s-1950s - Untitled During the 1940s & 50s During the 1940s and 50s, the South Side of Chicago, was the creatively teeming area called Bronzeville This was the home to poet Gwendolyn Brooks, playwright Richard Wright and dancer Katherine Dunham, and a lot more. Building Chicagos Subways is in stock and now available for immediate shipment. Yusay beer stands out on a lot of the photos. (Wien-Criss Archive), The Western-Berwyn loop on June 10, 1956. 01. The expressway was originally designed to run through Bridgeport, then Mayor Daleys neighborhood, but the development was moved eight blocks to the east, installing a multi-lane barrier between Bridgeport and the Black Belt, literally cementing the segregation of Black and white communities. Take a Step Back in Time at the Oldest Bars and Restaurants in Chicago Famous Chicago Restaurants | Domu https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic558.jpg Mexican residents of the area around Jane Addamss Hull House settlement housetodays University Villagehad a similar fate as the Puerto Ricans. Chicago nightlife history is full of fun and fascinating stories. In addition, the greater Chicagoland areawhich encompasses northeastern Illinois and extends into southeastern Wisconsin and northwestern Indianais the country's third largest metropolitan area and . Join us in looking back on three swanky nightclubs from the '60s. Second, they were all shared with our readers by Jeffrey L. Wien of the Wien-Criss Archive. https://chicagology.com/wp-content/themes/revolution-20/century/194063rdhalsted.jpg. # of Discs 1 Wayne Miller Three Teenagers in a Kitchenette Apartment, from the "Chicago's South Side" Series c.1946 Wayne Miller, Magnum Photography Great 1918-2013 Ave atque Vale. Seen in March of 1985 prior to demolition. Through the citys use of eminent domain, much of that neighborhood, which included Black, Italian, Greek, and Jewish residents, was razed in the 1960s for the construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway and the development of the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus. 12. South Side Weekly partnered with WTTW and the Invisible Institute to co-publish text and visual reporting and analysis covering the impact racial divisions have on individuals, the city, and our region. Your email address will not be published. #535 looks north on Halsted from the L station, this was the main crossroads of the Englewood shopping district. Though most of the series is shot on a sound stage at Warner Bros. Studios in California, the exterior shots in Shameless are filmed on-location in Chicago. Neighborhood That Inspired 'Raisin in the Sun' May Revitalize - realtor.com Chicago in the 1950s - The Trolley Dodger Chicago in the 1950s October 29, 2019 15 Comments You would be forgiven for not recognizing this location, but that's the Western Avenue station on the Humboldt Park "L", just north of North Avenue. 143 followers . It appears that the street has already been made a one-way, which did not happen until November 16, 1953. Chicago, Then and Now | Washington Examiner (Wien-Criss Archive), Here, a CTA Pullman PCC is northbound on Clark at Roosevelt Road. Are We All Losing It? Photo 516 is not at Halsted and Waveland, it is a half a block north at the streetcar layover area wedged between Halsted and Broadway (Hence the Route 8 destination sign!). ), Now Available On Compact Disc South Side, Chicago - Wikipedia I remember as a kid in late 1961 seeing the Humboldt Pk tracks from my seat on the Logan Sq El. This segment focuses on the Chicago Outfit during the period after Prohibition. The Dearborn-Milwaukee Subway Sixty-three percent of the time, Black testers posing as potential renters holding CHA Housing Choice Vouchers experienced some form of discrimination. The Ugly History Of Racism In Chicago That Persists To This Day [/caption], RRC-OMTT Total time 73:14 The 1919 Race Riots, which were part of the racial violence seen across the country during a period known as the Red Summer, were provoked by an attempt to enforce segregation in the waters of Lake Michigan.