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. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7253 is on Western at Leland (by the Ravenswood L, now the Brown Line) on June 10, 1956. In the 1960s, then-Mayor Richard J. Daleys administration began to address the dilapidated housing conditions of the citys poorest and signed off on the construction of 165 high-rises managed by the Chicago Housing Authority that would house mainly Black Chicagoans. St. Louis Public Service: The South Side has been home to some of the most significant figures in the history of American politics. This picture was taken on June 17, 1955 at Western and 71st. They were in various neighborhood, suburbs. It radiates and lies south of the city's downtown area, the Chicago Loop . On the South Side Existence in Chicago's South Side in the 1950's was harsh. Join us in looking back on three swanky nightclubs from the '60s. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 7057, a product of the St. Louis Car Company, is at Waveland and Halsted, the north end of Route 8. 4:04 5:02 Streamliner #300, northward from Edwardsville, February 14, 1955 A more detailed 1950s map showcases crowded clusters of Irish, Italian, and smaller ethnic groups establishing new communities across the city. Tenants were promised a right to return to soon-to-be-built housing on the sites and placed on voucher waiting lists, but many residents struggled to meet the bureaucratic requirements to be considered. 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. 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. 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. Foursquare. Capital Transit: We thank him for his generosity. 09. 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. 06. Can The New Affordable Requirements Ordinance Help Solve Chicagos Housing Inequality? Includes both Electroliners, standard cars, and locomotives. (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. 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. The ease of getting around that city is amazing. Between 1950 and 1960, most white residents in Chicago's south side Woodlawn neighborhood fled as poor blacks moved in. First, a nit: I think this picture is at 107th rather than 105th. 09. The South Side is one of the three major sections of the city of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sections of the city, with the other two being the North Side and the West Side. While the Census doesnt follow traditional Chicago neighborhood boundaries, areas of Englewood, Park Manor and Woodlawn have poverty rates above 60 percent. 16. 16:26 sounds recorded on board a PCC (early 1950s) Total time 73:14 01. 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. Chicago's South Side Building new lives in the 'Black Belt' by Alex Q. Arbuckle Image: Library of Congress In the early decades of the 20th century, millions of African-Americans began leaving. The rest of Madison was bussed. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 7271 is northbound on Clark at Roosevelt. This meant that what was once the Black Belt saw many of their upwardly mobile residents leave public housing and the immediate area. A wooden Garfield Park L train is nearby, on temporary trackage. Shaker Heights Rapid Transit: 01. I remember as a kid in late 1961 seeing the Humboldt Pk tracks from my seat on the Logan Sq El. 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. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway. It would have made Chicago a much more commuter friendly city. All rights reserved.. Espaol: Gua de recursos COVID-19 en el sur de Chicago, The Geography of Fear: Policing a Segregated Chicago. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4154 is at Waveland and Halsted, the north end of Route 8. There are 223,867 residents in South Side Chicago, with a median age of 36. 01. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7236 is at Archer and Western on November 17, 1954. The Gallagher House is the home of the Gallagher Family. Railroad Record Club Traction Rarities 1951-58 The neighborhood surrounding the East 63rd Street L lost more than 83 percent of its population over the next 30 years. Black residents did not enjoy the same geographic freedom. So, my best guess is this picture was taken during the summer of 1954. 1:39 (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA prewar PCC 4039 is at Cottage Grove and 115th, south end of Route 4. To replace workers at local factories, business brought in w. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 153 is northbound at Halsted and Congress on October 5, 1953. Is BCD Travel a good company to work for. Located in what used to a Buick showroom, it features a large taproom with a BYOF policy that encourages delivery. While Chicago Housing Authority was right on target for claiming the programs of urban redevelopment, urban renewal and public housing which . 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. 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. 11. Recorded between 1955 and 1963 on the Skokie Valley Route and Mundelein branch. 17. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s and '60sliterally across the street from U.S. Steel. Beneath this L platform, along 63rd Place, were streetcar tracks for Halsted cars that ended at 63rd St., as well as curb space for the two suburban bus companies, South Suburban Safeway Lines and Suburban Transit System. Nowadays, transit agencies have style manuals, used to maintain consistency, but such was not the case in the early 1950s. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the Initial System of Subways during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. A man walks down Clark Street in Chicago in 1940. We look forward to hearing from you. During its heyday, there was Soft Sheen Products, a $100 million-a-year. (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 One comment, the photo of CTA 687 is at Division and Crosby, not Larrabee. (Wien-Criss Archive), The conductor of CTA 7156 is throwing a track switch at Western and Archer on November 17, 1954. From the 1920s through the 1950s, Chicago's South Side was the center for African-American culture and business. 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. 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. 07. 8:40 Queens Plaza station, December 31, 1954 Jacqueline Serrato is the Weeklys editor-in-chief. 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. Keep up the excellent effort. From the Original Master Tapes 1960. Total time: 61:31 . . 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. 4:53 Engine whistle signals, loco #12, January 17, 1954 Once a separate community, South Chicago began as a series of scattered Native American settlements before becoming a village. 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. Another fantastic series of photos. The New York Times - August 2, 1964. During street car years, the Illinois Central RR owned the entire embankment. So, where is the Shameless house located? Located on the south side of Chicago, Bronzeville became an established neighborhood around the turn of the twentieth century. (David Sadowski Photo). 07. (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. Sixty-three percent of the time, Black testers posing as potential renters holding CHA Housing Choice Vouchers experienced some form of discrimination. # of Discs 1 This corresponds to the white on dark green format of the 54 Illinois plates. Type in the name of your neighborhood or select one from the list below. Amazing! (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4044 is on Western at the Douglas Park L on June 22, 1955. He observes that the structures displaced were "very old buildings by the time that the racial makeup began to . From the 1920s through the 1950s, Chicagos South Side was the center for African-American culture and business. 4:35 August 27, 1954 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. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7243 is on Western at the Chicago River on June 10, 1956. It should be taught in school. CHA high-rises were stigmatized by the city and the media, which portrayed them as vertical drug-ridden ganglands. Capital Transit: Maps of Chicagos early ethnic composition show that immigrants and their descendants lived in clusters. There were three subway anniversaries in 2018 in Chicago: The YMCA Hotel was on the west side of the street; the car is northbound, as evidenced by the Downtown head sign. 06. The Dearborn-Milwaukee Subway 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. History. 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. Stunning Vintage Historical Photos Show What Chicago Looked Like In The 1960s. By the 1960s, Black residents had moved into "grade B" (blue) communities in the South Side, such as Roseland and Beverly. 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 . In the background, you can see the large Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, which fronted on the north side of 107th St. 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. Many of the photos show the same area from a number of different angles, giving a snapshot early transportation worked and everyday life through a look at businesses, fashion, architecture and more. These were stipulations written into deeds of sale that prohibited Black residents and non-whites from buying, leasing, or inhabiting property in a determined parcel. At a beach near 29th Street, a white man began throwing rocks at Black boys who were swimming at a perceived whites-only beach, drowning seventeen-year-old Eugene Williams. Another 537 were injured, more than half of whom were Black. Then, Douglas Park L trains used these tracks from 1954-58. Streetcars were on rails, so they could maintain such clearances. The deadliest tornado hit on April 21, 1967, traveling through Oak Lawn and the South Side of Chicago, killing 33 and injuring 500. . The South Side's 87th Street, for instance, was a stronghold of Black businesses, particularly during the 1980s. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4389 is southbound on Western near Leland Avenue, having just passed under the Ravenswood L (todays Brown Line), where a train of wooden cars are in the station. Residents enjoy close access to several major shopping destinations, particularly the 87th Street Center and the diverse selection of shops and restaurants along Cottage Grove Avenue. This series 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. Additionally, 7.68% of the population is represented by non-citizens. A few years later, the CHA placed a light-skinned Black woman named Betty Howard in the previously all-white Trumbull Park Homes. 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. 80 years since subway construction started (December 17, 1938) But the largest group of projects was the Street State corridor in the former Bronzeville Black Belt, which had a total of 7,938 units. In Chicago, most of the South and West sides have 40 to 60 percent of residents living below the poverty level. Press ESC to cancel. (Wien-Criss Archive), PCC meets PCC in this famous Bill Hoffman photo, showing CTA PCC streetcar 4373 on Western Avenue, while a Garfield Park L train crosses on Van Buren temporary trackage. More than 1,000. At one point, Chicago boasted the largest Irish population and the second-largest Polish population of any city in the world. 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. While the Gallaghers are said to live on Wallace Street, the house is actually located on Homan Avenue. 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. (The Census Bureau didn't begin to identify "non-Hispanic whites" as a separate category until 1980, when that group accounted for . (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7160, viewed from the Douglas Park L (todays Pink Line), is operating on Western at 21st on June 15, 1955. 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. Known as Bronzeville, the neighborhood was surprisingly small, but at its peak more than 300,000 lived in the narrow, seven-mile strip. You can find those pages on the Newberry Library's Chicago Ancestors website.. Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2018 As he led a march through Marquette Park on the Southwest Side, he was attacked with bricks by a racist white mob. Halsted cars ended their runs at 63rd. Dates: 1936-2004. Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 1938 Secretary Harold Ickes, left, and Mayor Edward J. Kelly turn the first spadeful of earth to start the new $40,000,000 subway project. 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. 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