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.