The tree-lined boulevards of the Bronzeville community are steeped in history and culture. This storied African American enclave was the headquarters for a cultural and entrepreneurial renaissance during the first half of the 20th century. Fleeing the brutality and injustice of the Jim Crow south during the Great Migration, thousand…
The tree-lined boulevards of the Bronzeville community are steeped in history and culture. This storied African American enclave was the headquarters for a cultural and entrepreneurial renaissance during the first half of the 20th century. Fleeing the brutality and injustice of the Jim Crow south during the Great Migration, thousands of African Americans landed in Bronzeville, where they developed their own businesses, traditions, and art. It was in Bronzeville that Chicago’s signature strains of blues, jazz, and gospel sprang up, where Gwendolyn Brooks and Lorraine Hansberry created literary classics and where Daniel Hale Williams completed the world’s first open heart surgery.
Nicknamed the “Black Metropolis”, the neighborhood’s residents were crammed between 22nd street on the north and 51st on the south. Chicago’s segregation and racist housing covenants forced African Americans to live in only a few areas so Bronzeville became a city within the city, with newspapers, churches, schools, and businesses to serve the population.
Between 30th and 39th and State Street was the epicenter of Bronzeville’s creative energy, bursting with music and creativity. This strip, called “The Stroll,” boasted 70 famous theaters and clubs like The Regal, The Savoy Ballroom, and the Pekin Theater.
They featured legends like Louis Armstong, Nat King Cole (who both lived in Bronzeville), King Oliver, Bessie Smith, and Cab Calloway. Landmark African American businesses like the Supreme Life Insurance Company, Overton Hygienic Company, and Binga Bank formed the economic foundation for a vibrant community.
Many buildings and homes from Bronzeville’s historic era remain, and offer a glimpse into an era that still influences Chicago today.
The Greystone mansion of the ground-breaking civil rights activist and journalist. A National Historic Landmark, this 19th century Romanesque style building is where she lived with her husband while she battled to end lynching, segregation…..
The former house of the pioneering jazz musician. This is where ‘Stachmo” lived after he married pianist and composer Lil Hardin. The trumpet player was responsible for popularizing jazz and transforming American pop music...
The Chicago home of the legendary singer and pianist. The velvety-voiced crooner was the first African American to host a TV show. He gained fame as a piano player while living at this stone building...
The 3-story greystone that was the home of the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize in literature. This is the kitchenette apartment that she lived in when she wrote her debut poetry collection, A Street In Bronzeville. The co…..
The site of the nationally circulated African American newspaper that helped guide migrants during the Great Migration and published works by Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks. The Chicago Defender remained the strongest voice for Afri…..
Dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1941, this is the oldest African American art center in the U.S. Founded when Dr. Margaret Burroughs banded together with other leading African American artists to create a venue to showcase their art, the…..
The first armory built for an African American regiment in the U.S. The three-story brick structure included a drill hall, meeting rooms and a dining parlor. The Fighting Eighth was noted as the last regiment to drive German forces from th…..
Bronze plaques scattered along streets and medians honor famous residents including Muddy Waters, Katherine Dunham, Bessie Coleman and Sam Cooke. More than 100 residents are featured on 91 markers scattered over 10 blocks. The walk of fam…..
Alison Saar’s towering bronze statue carrying a battered suitcase, represents the thousands who escaped the Jim Crow South to find opportunities in Chicago. Looming over the entrance of Bronzeville, the monument is surrounded by more suitc…..