south side chicago 1950s

(Wien-Criss Archive). Join us in looking back on three swanky nightclubs from the '60s. As we have said before, If you buy here, we will be here.. 4:53 Engine whistle signals, loco #12, January 17, 1954 04. The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.Read the press release here. Effectively acting as sundown towns, suburbs such as Cicero utilized police and mob violence to draw a line in the concrete. 5 . https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic558.jpg Black communities protested, and the strife culminated in five days of violence that left thirty-eight deadtwenty-three Black and fifteen white Chicagoans. The station was closed in 1952, probably just a few months before this picture was taken. The photographer who took the black-and-whites is not known, but it seems possible it was someone who did not live in this area, but came to visit. A 2017 fair housing study looked into six community areas that had the most reported complaints of racial and income discrimination against renters: Jefferson Park, the Near North Side, Bridgeport, Hyde Park, Clearing, and Mount Greenwood. The area is on the south side of the city. Shameless fans, you are welcome to come inside the gate and take pictures on the porch, a sign in front of the house reads. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4373 is on Western near the Douglas Park L on October 5, 1953. Black families in Chicago lost between $3 billion and $4 billion in wealth because of predatory housing contracts during the 1950s and 1960s, according to a new report released Thursday. 4:45 Car 5727, January 16, 1954 Your financial contributions help make this web site better, and are greatly appreciated. Residents enjoy close access to several major shopping destinations, particularly the 87th Street Center and the diverse selection of shops and restaurants . He would later say, I have been in the Civil Rights Movement for many years all through the South, but I have never seen not even in Alabama or Louisianamobs as hostile and hateful as this crowd. The Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968. On the northeast corner, the 1933 art deco Sears store building with its tenant, the Hillmans Pure Foods grocery store are partially obscured by the Arthur Murray sign and the one in back of it. Then, Douglas Park L trains used these tracks from 1954-58. The discriminatory practice known as redlining was a color-coded classification system implemented by the Federal Housing Administration that determined the value of housing based on the racial demographics of a neighborhood. From north to south, they were Hull House, the Stockyards, Blue Island, South Chicago, East Chicago, and as far as Gary, Indiana. You can help us continue our original transit research by checking out the fine products in our Online Store. Another treasure trove of photos thanks to the Wien-Criss Archive. Known as "Bronzeville," the neighborhood was surprisingly small, but at its peak more than 300,000 lived in the narrow, seven-mile strip. (312 . Chance The Rapper Will Host 'Saturday Night Live' Next Month, How To Look Like Svengoolie: Sven Shows You How To Do The Makeup (VIDEO). HOUSING SEGREGATION IN 1950S SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO Already experiencing a population boom after Reconstruction, Chicago was a popular destination for African Americans moving from the South to the North in the early 20th century. PCCs were taken off Madison on December 13, 1953. Greektown, the south side's Chinatown, South Asians on Devon Street, Pilsen's Mexican Americans, and the Polish Triangle are just a handful of the vibrant communities in Chicago - famously. In the Windy City, jazz started out in small local clubs on the South Side. 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. By the 1960s, Black residents had moved into "grade B" (blue) communities in the South Side, such as Roseland and Beverly. The Last Street Railway Building Chicagos Subways is in stock and now available for immediate shipment. Keep up the excellent effort. Black residents did not enjoy the same geographic freedom. #536 is a companion picture from the street to #534. 03. Building Chicagos subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pridemaking it a Second City no more! Photo 513 has a pet peeve caption as far as I am concerned. Store which was acquired by the Sears interests who replaced the original Becker-Ryan building. The interactive map shows that by the 1950s, Black residents had started to trickle into "grade C" or "yellow-lined" European immigrant neighborhoods on the West and Southeast sides. Total time 73:14 Chapter Titles: Note the difference in fonts used for the numbers. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA prewar PCC 4039 is at Cottage Grove and 115th, south end of Route 4. Chicago, though arguably racially diverse overall, is considered by researchers to be the nation's most racially segregated city. White flight caused redlining as the community was now at almost 90% black by 1960. Notice A 2017 study by the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Urban Institute looked at Latinx/white segregation, finding considerable disparities in educational attainment, upward mobility, and generational wealth between these groups. 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. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic566.jpg Halsted cars ended their runs at 63rd. Cheryl Johnson and Peggy Salazar, lifelong residents of Chicago's South Side, grew up in some of the city's most polluted neighborhoods, in the shadow of dirty industries, including steel. Note the circa 1953 Cadillac at left. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4028 is on Western at 27th on November 20, 1955. Total time: 74:02 Copyright 2009-2018, DNAinfo. (Wien-Criss Archive), The Streetcar Waiting Room at Archer and Western on November 15, 1954. Why does every recent description and photo caption of the segment of the Cottage Grove line south of 95th St. talk about it paralleling the Metra Electric? Of this, 46.22% are males and 53.78% are females. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7240 is at 69th and Morgan on October 25, 1954. In the mid-1950s Chicago faced its first postindustrial crisis as the major meatpacking companies began to close their production facilities. 10. Chicago Park District - Marquette Park Bridge over the lagoon--east side of the park. (Wien-Criss Archive), The Western and Berwyn loop on June 10, 1956. Those canopies were short-lived after the end of streetcar service, as buses eventually ran into them. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7189 is passing through an area where tracks are being worked on at Western and Cermak on October 15, 1954. Capital Transit: Southside 1-1000 - 1950 is rated/received certificates of: Finland:K-16 Sweden:15 USA:Passed (National Board of Review) USA:Approved (PCA #14768) West Germany:16. Located in what used to a Buick showroom, it features a large taproom with a BYOF policy that encourages delivery. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic556.jpg Length 128 pages With all the different types of people Chicago attracted at this time, the entertainment industry became a powerful force to be reckoned with. There were approximately 813,000 Black residents in Chicago by 1960. The significance that play takes place on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s because families like the Youngers experienced segregation from the white community.. What is the community? The comments about the photo at Division and Crosby are confirmed by the street sign at left showing that street to be Burling Street. It truly is a phenomenal resource, not only for those interested in transit history, but also for anyone researching Chicago or Twentieth Century urban life. I see no turning track from southbound Western to eastbound 69th. The streetcars shown here were Western Ave. cars, running east on 69th St. to get to the Vincennes / 77th St. barn. Mexican residents of the area around Jane Addamss Hull House settlement housetodays University Villagehad a similar fate as the Puerto Ricans. In the background, you can see the viaduct which is now part of the 606 Trail. 12th street beach, the beach we swam at in the 1950s, when we lived in Bridgeport. 12:40 Car #202 (ex-1202), between Springfield and Decatur, February 1955 The first waves of Black migrants fleeing the Jim Crow South were relegated to a vertical strip of land near Lake Michigan. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4227 is on the turnback loop at Clark and Howard, the north end of Route 22. The restaurant was now known as "Vito and Nick's," The pizza soon became a southside Chicago sensation. One comment, the photo of CTA 687 is at Division and Crosby, not Larrabee. Most famously, the Clarks were a middle-class Black Chicago family that in 1951 attempted to move into a Cicero apartment, but couldnt last a day after thousands of white protesters set their belongings and the whole property on fire. 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. Interesting to look at photos 591 & 565 which show the same area on Western. 2. 10:36 (recorded May 3-7, 1958 line abandoned July 1958) They lived around Halsted ave. I was born on the south side then raised in Logan Square. We are donating $5 from the sale of each disc to Kenneth Gear, who saved these and many other original Railroad Record Club master tapes from oblivion. 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. Also, its wonderful to see all the old advertising signs on the street cars and the buildings. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4008 is on Western at 65th on October 2, 1955. 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. Black communities bore the brunt of the closings of fifty-plus Chicago Public Schools that were shuttered during former Mayor Rahm Emanuels administration. 16:26 sounds recorded on board a PCC (early 1950s) Note the dark areas where some touch-up painting has been done on the PCC. Under the Plan for Transformation, the City began to knock down the projects one by one like dominos. 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. (Wien-Criss Archive), The conductor of CTA 7156 is throwing a track switch at Western and Archer on November 17, 1954. #535 looks north on Halsted from the L station, this was the main crossroads of the Englewood shopping district. Illinois Terminal: As a field interviewer I had to look for displaced residents from the projects. In order to continue giving you the kinds of historic railroad images that you have come to expect from The Trolley Dodger, we need your help and support. 01. The address is 2119 N Wallace St, Chicago, Illinois 60609. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 453 and 190 are on Halsted at 63rd Place on May 21, 1954. Although the show is set in Chicagos Back of the Yards neighborhood, the house used for filming is actually located in the citys North Lawndale neighborhood. 12. 07. In any case, thanks again for all you offer on this website. The postwar relocation of urban whites, known as white flight, was facilitated by the new expressways that connected them to the developing suburbs west of the city limits, where Black, Latinx, and the growing Asian population were kept out. 3. There were 300 Pullmans in all. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4060 is on Western at the Logan Square L on June 8, 1956. The renovation plans of the 40s failed and building quality decreased. [/caption], RRC-OMTT 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. 17:34 Car #172, February 20, 1954 as broadcast on WJEJ, February 21, 1954, with host Carroll James, Sr. Hollstein School was a one-room schoolhouse in Tinley Park. 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. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4373 and others at the Western and 79th loop on November 23, 1952. You can see the shadow of the now-gone Ogden Avenue viaduct at the bottom of the photo. 1.5k Views. Most resided in Humboldt Park with Division Street being the heart of the neighborhood. 1954 It is such a same they did not have the foresight to keep these lines going. In the 1980 census African Americans made up about 50% of the Chicago South side' population while Mexicans made up 40% as a result of white flight. By the 1960s, Black residents had moved into grade B (blue) communities in the South Side, such as Roseland and Beverly. The PCC is going to go northbound on Route 22 Clark-Wentworth. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4053 at Western and Leland on June 10, 1956. Contract-buying schemes during the 1950s and 1960s cost Black families between $3 billion and $4 billion, according to "The Plunder of Black Wealth in Chicago: New Findings on the Lasting Toll of Predatory Housing Contracts," published in 2019 by the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University and the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center From the 1920s through the 1950s, Chicagos South Side was the center for African-American culture and business. 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. Martee Kelso Lost Stores in Chicago Chicago Loop Evanston Illinois Chicago Christmas Sears Tower KROCH'S & BRENTANO'S Chicago Street Clark Street Chicago Art Street Art Old Town Art Fair Colors Do you recall the L that ran across Chicago Ave near Goldblatts in the 50s it crossed Chicago Ave between Ashland & Wood St. Im trying to find a photo but cant locate one. (The Census Bureau didn't begin to identify "non-Hispanic whites" as a separate category until 1980, when that group accounted for . Between 1950 and 1960, most white residents in Chicago's south side Woodlawn neighborhood fled as poor blacks moved in. Southside of Chicago Capital of Black America By Carla Punla Suffered its first postindustrial crisis as the meatpacking industries began to close Robert Taylor Homes was known to be the largest housing project. I lived in Portland, OR for 6 years and they still have street cars. Chicagos first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. (Source: A. If youre ever in the neighborhood, the TV house is located at 2119 South Homan Ave, Chicago, IL, 60623. ISBN 1467129380, 9781467129381 And we thank you for sharing this helpful bit of history! Look at the bottom of the photo. Striking B&W Photos Capture the Black Experience in 1940s South Side Chicago. Recorded between 1955 and 1963 on the Skokie Valley Route and Mundelein branch. Thank you. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7039 is at Western and 71st on August 12, 1955. The only way to get there (still with usable tracks and live trolley wires) was along 69th St. to Wentworth (200 W.), south to 73rd St. at Vincennes, then southwest on Vincennes to the barn at 77th. Shaker Heights Rapid Transit: The segment actually ran not quite two and a half miles from 89th St. to the 10800 block of Vincennes (where 108th St. would have been had it gone through). Railroad Record Club North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963 ca. The date is June 16, 1954. Chicago Skyline Downtown Chicago Chicago Restaurants Chicago Illinois Chicago Area Chicago City White Castle Restaurant White Castle Hamburgers South Side Chicago All Rights Reserved. # of Discs- 3 St. Louis Public Service: Displaced This picture is the reverse direction, looking north from the westbound platform of the Englewood L at Halsted. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7157 is northbound on Western at 67th on June 15, 1955. Railroad Record Club North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963 01. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4101 is westbound on Madison, but where did it cross the Chicago & North Western? 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. The Dearborn-Milwaukee Subway Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. The color pictures were taken by the late Bill Hoffman. There is no shoo-fly yet, meaning construction had not yet started on the Western Avenue bridge that would eventually go over the Congress Expressway. The southeast corner building was nondescript, although at one point it was a Stineway drug store. This view is looking south along Western at 71st St. The Trolley Dodger On the Air IND Subway (New York City): Cincinnati Street Railway: Properties covered include: 06. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic568.jpg Children listen attentively at Hollstein School in 1952. 18. The introduction to Polk's Chicago Directory 1923 provides a brief history of Chicago directories and a list of published volumes. Chicago 's historic South Side neighborhood is a largely residential community defined by its red brick houses and tree-shaded sidewalks. 01. I wish they could just appreciate from afar without taking and still destroying everything in their way. Went to kindergarten there. 4:13 Loco #12 Sixty-three percent of the time, Black testers posing as potential renters holding CHA Housing Choice Vouchers experienced some form of discrimination. Immigrants typically lived in inadequate housing near railroads and industryin bunk houses, boxcars, and section houses. The Near North Sides Cabrini-Green complex at one time had 3,606 apartments. 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. and (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7044 is on Western at Leland on June 10, 1956. 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. 2008- University of Michigan launch a study Moving Towards Opportunity. #1 Looking south on State Street, 1964 6 Points Upvote Downvote * #2 Randolph Street theaters, 1967 5 Points Upvote Downvote . 4. 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. It should be taught in school. With yt people spreading almost all across Chicago and changing so much of the neighborhoods cultures and its peoples.. its hard to imagine those areas without them. A bit of detail on photos (pic571.jpg & pic572.jpg) at 71st & Western, the temporary facing crossover was installed without a corresponding crossover overhead wire. I trust that the Trolley Dodger blog will continue as it is regardless of the future of ChicagoTransit. Despite the simplicity of Chicagos famous grid system, designed for flat land and seemingly equitable on a map, residents of Chicago have never been equally dispersed or had the same freedom of movement and belonging. While the Gallaghers are said to live on Wallace Street, the house is actually located on Homan Avenue. Clock (in Explore 9/20/09). The city, which had been 85.9 percent white in 1950 and 76.4 percent in 1960, saw that proportion fall to 65.6 percent in 1970 and 49.6 percent in 1980. Bibliographic information: March 20, 2019. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway. There are pictures on my blog, and also in my book Chicagos Lost Ls. (Really! I remember old Chicago trolley buses from when I was a little girl. Coverage spans 1839-1928 but no directories are available for 1840-1842, 1918-1922, and 1924-1927. Prior to its more official naming, the media referred to the Bronzeville neighborhood and adjacent areas using derisive names such as the "Black Belt," "Black Ghetto," and even more appalling names such as "Darkie Town." You can compare the different CTA paint schemes on the first two cars. By 1960 there were 32,371 Puerto Rican residents in Chicago, a number that more than doubled within a decade. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA prewar PCC 4008 is southbound on Wabash at about 900 South. Total time: 79:30 Some southbound (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7113 is in an area where tracks are being worked on, and is crossing over from one track to another using a temporary switch. Tens of thousands of Black residents are also leaving their traditional South and West side neighborhoods in recent years, as has been extensively reported, in what some are calling an outmigration or a reverse migration. The citys Black population peaked in the mid-twentieth century and is now at its lowest level since then, with 787,551 Black residents as of 2020. All Rights Reserved. . Your caption says this streetcar is on 77th St. No, it is on Vincennes Ave., in front of the 77th St. barn, heading north. The State Street Subway Railroad Record Club Traction Rarities 1951-58 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. 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. 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. 05. 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. In my book Chicago Trolleys (page 107) there is a picture of track work being done at this location on July 17, 1954. 16. Perhaps there was a parade on State Street that day (between 1939 and 1949 there was no State Street bridge, and this would have been the regular route for 36 then). Take a look at these stunning historical photos of Chicago in the 1960s that shows the street, roads, transport, nightlife, and everyday life. 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. In the twenty years from 1890 to 1910, Chicago's African-American population increased from 15,000 to approximately (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4004 is on Western at 26th on June 7, 1956. The South Side's 87th Street, for instance, was a stronghold of Black businesses, particularly during the 1980s. A few include: the first Black President, Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, the first Black female Senator, Carol Moseley Braun, and the first Black presidential candidate to win a primary, Jesse Jackson. Since 1950, there have been 271 tornadoes recorded across . This corresponds to the white on dark green format of the 54 Illinois plates. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4050 is southbound on Western at the Douglas Park L on November 11, 1955. 1:39 Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1s: The Union Stock Yard finally closed its doors on August 1, 1971, after nearly 106 years of operation. The Southeast Side is a description that the city itself continues to resist, including this neighborhood with all of Chicago's South Side communities. One day I got off at Damen and walked under the tracks to see where they went. Total time: 61:31 The rest of Madison was bussed. That would be the old Paulina L that ran to Logan Square and Humboldt Park from 1895 to 1951. Subways and Superhighways To commemorate these anniversaries, we have written a new book, Building Chicagos Subways. To date, we have received over 559,000 page views, for which we are very grateful. There were three subway anniversaries in 2018 in Chicago: