south side chicago 1950s
As always, if you have any information to share about these pictures, or simply have a question or comment, do not hesitate to let us know. 2. 5:09 Passenger interurban #9 To commemorate these anniversaries, we have written a new book, Building Chicagos Subways. 08. Third Avenue El (New York City): 20 Restaurants That Define Chicago's South Side While the Census doesnt follow traditional Chicago neighborhood boundaries, areas of Englewood, Park Manor and Woodlawn have poverty rates above 60 percent. Racism Of Chicago : The 1950 ' S - 1737 Words | Bartleby (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4408 on Western at 66th on July 16, 1951. Black communities bore the brunt of the closings of fifty-plus Chicago Public Schools that were shuttered during former Mayor Rahm Emanuels administration. 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. City and Suburb | National Museum of American History This is one reason why the CTA began repainting these cars with a darker green around 1951-52. (The Census Bureau didn't begin to identify "non-Hispanic whites" as a separate category until 1980, when that group accounted for . I remember as a kid in late 1961 seeing the Humboldt Pk tracks from my seat on the Logan Sq El. (1) The red-and-white bus in the background belonged to the South Suburban Safeway Lines. https://chicagology.com/wp-content/themes/revolution-20/century/194063rdhalsted.jpg. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here. Note that the platforms have been moved to the east and no longer extend over Halsted St. Puerto Rican people are the second-largest Latinx group in Chicago. Native American tribesthe Potawatomi, Odawa, Sauk, Ojibwe, Illinois, Kickapoo, Miami, Mascouten, Wea, Delaware, Winnebago, Menominee, and Mesquakiewere forced out of what is now Chicago by early French and British settlers. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway. As a field interviewer I had to look for displaced residents from the projects. Known as "Bronzeville," the neighborhood was surprisingly small, but at its peak more than 300,000 lived in the narrow, seven-mile strip. There were 28 buildings which was originally housed for 11,000 residents but soon became over 27,000- Population Crisis The growing Black population eventually formed settlements farther south and up north in isolated and undeveloped areas along the Kinzie rail lines, Roosevelt, and the North Branch of the Chicago River. Chance The Rapper Will Host 'Saturday Night Live' Next Month, How To Look Like Svengoolie: Sven Shows You How To Do The Makeup (VIDEO). 04. While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. Chicago in the 1950s - The Trolley Dodger 07. My Auntie Stell and her co-workers, Chicago. 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. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4020 on Western at 73rd during track work on June 26, 1955. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4102, a Pullman PCC, is heading west at about 500 W. Madison, operating on the Madison-Fifth branch of Route 20. (Wien-Criss Archive), The Western and Berwyn loop on June 10, 1956. The developments were primarily clustered into six groups in addition to scattered sites with low-rise buildings and row houses. 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). As we have said before, If you buy here, we will be here.. Went to kindergarten there. ChicagoGenealogy | How to Find Chicago City Directories What was South Side Chicago like in the 1950s? Jacqueline Serrato is the Weeklys editor-in-chief. View of members or supporters of the Almighty BlackStone Rangers as they march on 63rd Street, in Chicago's southside, Chicago, Illinois, 1969. 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. Beautiful Vintage Postcards of Chicago's Restaurants from the 1950s and Discriminatory housing policies meant that the majority of African American families lived like the Youngers, in kitchenette apartments - larger apartments were broken up into several smaller homes, with a very small kitchen and one bedroom. Remembering Chicago's racial tensions from the late 1960s A few years later, the CHA placed a light-skinned Black woman named Betty Howard in the previously all-white Trumbull Park Homes. (Wien-Criss Archive), Passengers are getting off northbound CTA 7192 at Western and Van Buren on October 10, 1952. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. The other bus company running from the south suburbs into Englewood was the Suburban Transit System, which ran primarily east and west along 95th St. out to Oak Lawn and beyond. Our friend Kenneth Gear recently acquired the original Railroad Record Club master tapes. Photo 513 has a pet peeve caption as far as I am concerned. During the 1950s, Puerto Ricans began to arrive in the city of Chicago. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic558.jpg 4:13 Loco #12 In those days, the fastest way from the south side to the Loop was the Englewood L, which ended at 63rd Place and Loomis (1400 W.) And of course the Englewood business district was very prosperous. Lost Stores in Chicago - Pinterest The CTA Pink Line runs there now, although there arent any stations on this segment. (Wein-Criss Archive), Northbound CTA PCC 7206 is on Western Avenue, passing a two-car train of PCC rapid transit cars on the Garfield Park temporary trackage in Van Buren Street. 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. One of my enduring childhood memories, growing up in the 1970s and 1980s on Chicago's South Side, was something I called the "boundary." PDF Housing Segregation in 1950s South Side Chicago - Mr. Barringer'S Weebly (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7123 at Western and 69th on January 28, 1954. The streetcar is running on the Halsted/Vincennes/111th St. line, heading northeast on Vincennes. 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. Median income and employment plummeted, and L ridership fell. From the Original Master Tapes 4:51 Notice the Yellow cabs waiting for L passengers. Copyright 2009-2018, New York Public Radio. 07. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4008 is on Western at 65th on October 2, 1955. This picture was taken on June 17, 1955 at Western and 71st. Total time: 74:02 Chicago Burnside Bums Gang - South Side Chicago White Street Gang 1. We look forward to hearing from you. Between 1950 and 1960, most white residents in Chicago's south side Woodlawn neighborhood fled as poor blacks moved in. Riverdale. 4 Board of Trustees/Directors minutes May 1952-Oct 1956 draft copy. Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2018 (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 453 and 190 are on Halsted at 63rd Place on May 21, 1954. The station was closed in 1952, probably just a few months before this picture was taken. March 20, 2019. #534 looks south on Halsted from the (A line) L station, note the curved pull-offs of the overhead which is well defined along with the curves corresponding track which converges into the south bound track in view #536. Photo 530 is at the south end of the Vincennes Ave. private right-of-way segment at the 10800 block of Vincennes (108th St. did not go through to Vincennes, there were no intersections along Vincennes between 107th St. and 109th St.). These segregated communities maintained a tense coexistence until 1919, when racist white hostility bubbled over. There were approximately 813,000 Black residents in Chicago by 1960. You can also see trolley bus wires, used on North Avenue. Chicago's Carson Pirie Scott built in 1907, Other Restaurant & Fast Food Advertising for sale | eBay, PHOTO - CHICAGO - SOLDIERS FIELD - AERIAL - NIGHT - SKYLINE BACKGROUND - ALL-STAR GAME - 1953, Chicago, Marshall Field & Co. They turned east on 63rd to Union Ave. (700 W.), then south to 63rd Place, then west to alongside (south of) the Halsted L station, then back north on Halsted. The Trolley Dodger On the Air From the beginning, Chicagos demographic makeup was segregated by race and ethnicity along neighborhood boundaries and the physical features of the built and natural environment. 1950s The Neighbourhood Siding Universe T Tom Dudones My Chicago - I grew up on the South Side in the 1950s & sixties. This segment focuses on the Chicago Outfit during the period after Prohibition. 29:34 (Johnstown Traction recordings were made August 9, 1953) Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1s: 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. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4201, operating on Route 36 Broadway-State, has apparently been diverted from State Street, possibly due to a parade, and is northbound on Dearborn at Lake Street. chicago Go To Homepage Before You Go 08. According to a reliable website called HeyJackass!, during 2017, someone in Chicago was shot every 2 hours and 27 minutes and murdered every 12 hours and 59 minutes. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7039 is at Western and 71st on August 12, 1955. 09. The University of Illinois at Chicago's digital photo collections archive has about2,300 black-and-white scans of photos of various intersections and notable outdoor areas throughout the city from the 1920s-50s. 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. 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. 09. Toledo & Eastern: This portion of the old Humboldt Park line was not demolished for another decade, and the story goes that it would have been used by Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban trains as a midday storage area, if service on that line could have continued after 1957. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7236 is at Archer and Western on November 17, 1954. 1:43 # of Discs 1 [/caption], RRC-OMTT (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4402 on Western at 21st on June 17, 1954. Researching Chicago Jazz Venues - Library Guides at UChicago I was born on the south side then raised in Logan Square. The cross street is 63rd St. The introduction to Polk's Chicago Directory 1923 provides a brief history of Chicago directories and a list of published volumes. 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. 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. 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. But the most creative period for the city was the 1950s, when rivals Chess and Vee Jay battled for supremacy in the rhythm-and-blues market. But CHA maintenance began to fall off quickly, and by the 1980s the War on Drugs and mass incarceration created crises of crime and concentrated poverty in the densely populated towers of the Robert Taylor Homes, adjacent Stateway Gardens, and Cabrini-Green. They lived around Halsted ave. This is post 1 of 6 in the series FIRSTHAND: SEGREGATION. Building new lives in the 'Black Belt' by Alex Q. Arbuckle (opens in a new tab) It is such a same they did not have the foresight to keep these lines going. You can hear our 19-minute conversation here. 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? The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal: The Brief https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7788385,-87.6447587,3a,75y,3.14h,91.82t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYcGafc7OK9fQ0w712doa2A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192, 63rd and Halsted in 1939 when this Sears store was 6 years old. Interesting to look at photos 591 & 565 which show the same area on Western. The Truth About White Flight | City Journal Two restaurants were bombed last weekend, the damage at one estimated at $40,000. The ease of getting around that city is amazing. Total time (3 discs) 215:03. This led to disinvestment and redlining to . The State Street Subway 4:45 Car 5727, January 16, 1954 5:17 I LOVE this article! To reach Englewood, this bus line ran east on 95th to Vincennes, north to 87th, west to Morgan, north to 63rd, then east to the Englewood L. 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. Despite the high-stakes campaign led by the Young Lords and the Rainbow Coalition against the Citys urban renewal plan, they were priced out and pushed to Humboldt Park and Hermosa, and in recent years they have been partially displaced again by new development. He is still stuck on the poverty line, working a food delivery job to support his girlfriend Tami and their son Freddie. 05. The expressway was originally called the South Route. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4262 is on 77th, by the car barn at 77th and Vincennes. HOUSING SEGREGATION IN 1950S SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO (Setting: A Raisin in the Sun) 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. A cropped version of this photo ran in one of our earlier posts, but this was scanned from the original negative. Clock (in Explore 9/20/09). According to the Hyde Park Herald, since 1916, restrictive covenants kept Chicagos neighborhoods white from the northern gates of Hyde Park at 35th and Drexel Boulevard to Woodlawn, Park Manor, South Shore, Windsor Park, and all the far-flung white communities of the South Side.. 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. After returning from World War II, American service members brought back memories and souvenirs from the South Pacific. 04. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA prewar PCC 4008 is southbound on Wabash at about 900 South. 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. 09. By 1964 most of the large packers had disappeared. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4004 is on Western at 26th on June 7, 1956. PCC 7151 is a two-man car, and passengers are boarding at the rear. Striking images capture black life on Chicago's South Side in 1941 Photos 534, 535 & 536 Englewood, at 63rd & Halsted was one of Chicagos largest and most important commercial shopping districts outside of the loop. The 'Old Roseland': One Man's Experience During White Flight What was South Side Chicago like in the 1950s? The first waves of Black migrants fleeing the Jim Crow South were relegated to a vertical strip of land near Lake Michigan. 08. I always knew about racism growing up in the 70s, recall seeing the hippies in Old town. Take a trip underground and see how Chicagos I Will spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Pullman post-war PCCs did not disappear in one fell swoop. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Disc Three In the background, you can see the viaduct which is now part of the 606 Trail. National Archives Stateway Gardens, a housing project on Chicago's South Side, housed nearly 7,000 people in 1973. The shots of Chicago will surprise you. Interesting experience for me,mind you I am Latina searching for African Americans to complete 2.5hrs survey ?and more details no problem. Extending trolly lines is much easier and economical than L tracks. In the 1950s, the Chicago Transit Authority sought to . 1950. Notice Note the circa 1953 Cadillac at left. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4101 is westbound on Madison, but where did it cross the Chicago & North Western? 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. Are We All Losing It? Total time: 79:30 A long-lost side of South Side - Chicago Tribune Type in the name of your neighborhood or select one from the list below. That would be the old Paulina L that ran to Logan Square and Humboldt Park from 1895 to 1951. To date, we have received over 559,000 page views, for which we are very grateful. All copies purchased through The Trolley Dodger will be signed by the author. I trust that the Trolley Dodger blog will continue as it is regardless of the future of ChicagoTransit. Chicago 's historic South Side neighborhood is a largely residential community defined by its red brick houses and tree-shaded sidewalks. 60 years since the West Side Subway opened (June 22, 1958) 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. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic544.jpg (2) As can be seen from each side of the street in this photo, Western Ave. was auto dealer row for a mile or so to either side of 63rd St. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic555.jpg Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto: Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The southeast corner building was nondescript, although at one point it was a Stineway drug store. Building Chicagos subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pridemaking it a Second City no more! Sixty-three percent of the time, Black testers posing as potential renters holding CHA Housing Choice Vouchers experienced some form of discrimination. 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!). Another 537 were injured, more than half of whom were Black. 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. A man walks down Clark Street in Chicago in 1940. 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 Google view shows the approximate location from which #536 was taken. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7213, the last streetcar to operate in Chicago, is on Western at 21st on July 16, 1951. If there was one impresario of the South Side during that period, it was Johnny Robinson, also known as Johnny Pepper, who operated three successive clubs from the late 1950s through the early . See What Your Neighborhood Looked Like From 1920 to 1950 in - DNAinfo The sign indicates that this bridge is going to be converted to one man operation, meaning that it will be operated from only one tower instead of two. Subways and Superhighways the streetcar tracks turning between Halsted and 63rd. 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. They were simultaneously subject to predatory practices such as contract selling, in which realtors would deceive buyers into signing contracts to buy marked-up houses on installment with high interest rates and no guarantee of title. The date is June 16, 1954. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 5248 at Vincennes and 105th on November 27, 1949. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7193 has three followers at Western and 69th on October 13, 1953. 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.