Your financial contributions help make this web site better, and are greatly appreciated. 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. The streetcar in the photo is headed northbound, with the Rock Island Main Line to its right and Vincennes Ave to its left. The Civic Opera House is to the left. All copies purchased through The Trolley Dodger will be signed by the author. Seems to have been a good choice since the same building is still a Ford dealer today. CHA high-rises were stigmatized by the city and the media, which portrayed them as vertical drug-ridden ganglands. 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? During the 1950s many residents called the northeast . Here we see the curved track from 63rd place along with the nicely highlighted companion overhead wire. $5 from the sale of each set will go to Kenneth Gear, who has invested thousands of dollars to purchase all the remaining artifacts relating to William A. Steventons Railroad Record Club of Hawkins, WI. CHICAGO Perched along a quiet, tree-lined street on this city's South Side, the worn brick and concrete building on South Champlain Avenue is hard to miss.The tall structure stands out among . 4:46 Loco #400, August 17, 1955 The comments about the photo at Division and Crosby are confirmed by the street sign at left showing that street to be Burling Street. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7213, the last streetcar to operate in Chicago, is on Western at 21st on July 16, 1951. (Wien-Criss Archive), A CTA prewar PCC is on Western at Congress on June 11, 1956. You can also see trolley bus wires, used on North Avenue. Chicagos first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. Children listen attentively at Hollstein School in 1952. This bar is well-known by DePaul University students who frequent here on the weekends, and god knows also the weeknights. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 153 is northbound at Halsted and Congress on October 5, 1953. This picture is the reverse direction, looking north from the westbound platform of the Englewood L at Halsted. 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. 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. What I would also love to see is pictures of what the Chicago neighborhoods and its residents looked like during that specific time period. Andre Kristopans says it is Crossing under CNW and PRR at Rockwell. Western/Berwyn canopies lasted a long time, into late 80s, before they rusted off at the ground! 1:43 https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic512.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic530.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic534.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic535.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic544.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic555.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic558.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic556.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic566.jpg, https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic568.jpg, https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7788385,-87.6447587,3a,75y,3.14h,91.82t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYcGafc7OK9fQ0w712doa2A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192, https://chicagology.com/wp-content/themes/revolution-20/century/194063rdhalsted.jpg. You would be forgiven for not recognizing this location, but thats the Western Avenue station on the Humboldt Park L, just north of North Avenue. Recorded between 1955 and 1963 on the Skokie Valley Route and Mundelein branch. The PCC is going to go northbound on Route 22 Clark-Wentworth. At the end of Shameless, Lip has decided to sell the Gallagher house for a mere $75,000 a far cry from the $250,000 he was offered by a developer before he pushed too hard and lost that deal. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7240 is at 69th and Morgan on October 25, 1954. (Wien-Criss Archive), The Western-Berwyn loop on June 10, 1956. 08. I wish they could just appreciate from afar without taking and still destroying everything in their way. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 7189 is passing through an area where tracks are being worked on at Western and Cermak on October 15, 1954. Close to a third of Chicago neighborhoods were given a D grade and marked red on a mapthus, redlined. These areas, all of which were predominantly Black communities, were deemed undesirable, and residents from these neighborhoods were usually denied bank loans and insurance, severely limiting their housing prospects and mobility. 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. The Union Stock Yard finally closed its doors on August 1, 1971, after nearly 106 years of operation. Chicago Southside 1950's 95 square miles of the 228 square miles were considered the "south side". The big building on other side is the old Madison carbarn. PCCs were taken off Madison on December 13, 1953. Public housing was intended to house a mix of working-class and poor families and was welcomed and enjoyed by new residents, according to early testimonies. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway. Capital 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). In the background, you can see the viaduct which is now part of the 606 Trail. Note the dark areas where some touch-up painting has been done on the PCC. 05. You can see the shadow of the now-gone Ogden Avenue viaduct at the bottom of the photo. Order your copy today! (Wien-Criss Archive), An unidentified CTA red car is on Halsted at 63rd Street on September 16, 1953. In any case, thanks again for all you offer on this website. 4:35 August 27, 1954 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. March 20, 2019. Note the difference in fonts used for the numbers. This is post 1 of 6 in the series FIRSTHAND: SEGREGATION. My parents came from PR in 1950s. 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. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4028 is on Western at 27th on November 20, 1955. The heart of the Englewood shopping district on Chicago's South Side, photographed looking north on Halsted Street from the 63rd Street elevated train platform, circa May 1945. 01. Size: 7 microfilm reels. 5:20 #80, October 1954 The Trolley Dodger On the Air 5:02 Streamliner #300, northward from Edwardsville, February 14, 1955 (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4096 is westbound on Madison, crossing over the Chicago River. In the early years of the twentieth century, Chicago was the fastest-growing city in the U.S. 4:34 PCCs #1708, 1752, 1727, 1739, December 6, 1953 (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4050 is southbound on Western at the Douglas Park L on November 11, 1955. The streetcar is running on the Halsted/Vincennes/111th St. line, heading northeast on Vincennes. South Side Chicago. IND Subway (New York City): Skilled workers and factory workers lost their jobs during the crisis. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4108 is westbound on Madison at the Chicago River, running on the Madison-Fifth branch of Route 20. . Looking back at Chicago in the 1960s and the racial tensions that divided Blacks and Whites, I decided to write a book about that experience. Disc Two There are miscellanous directories available for later yearsbusiness directories and . 3:45 Box motor #5 Some southbound 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. This northeast corner was originally occupied by the long defunct Becker-Ryan Dept. But folks are also going back to the South, citing a lack of well-paying jobs and resources, as well as steady gun violence and a rising cost of living, as their main reasons for leaving the city. Back then, you could live that close to the steel mills. Dr. Martin Luther Kings visit to Chicago during the Freedom Movement campaign for fair housing made headlines in 1966. Known as Bronzeville, the neighborhood was surprisingly small, but at its peak more than 300,000 lived in the narrow, seven-mile strip. Western Ave. cars had used the carbarn at 69th and Ashland until it closed. African Americans who settled in northern cities like Chicago, New York, and Detroit earned at least twice as much as those who stayed in the South in 1930, according to work by Leah Boustan, an. During the 1940s Mercury Records was founded from a Chicago base and emerged as a viable rival to the established major companies. Twentytwo of the targets has been restaurants. 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. 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. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA PCC 4208 is southbound on State Street at 64th, just a few blocks south of where car 7078 was involved in a horrific crash with a truck on May 25, 1950. 75 years since the State Street Subway opened (October 17, 1943) Sixty-three percent of the time, Black testers posing as potential renters holding CHA Housing Choice Vouchers experienced some form of discrimination. The rest of Madison was bussed. It's a glorious and sloppy mess, but one that represents home for many South Siders. 8:40 Queens Plaza station, December 31, 1954 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. 4:56 Car 5706, January 16, 1954 If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The South Side has been home to some of the most significant figures in the history of American politics. (Wien-Criss Archive), The date at which this photo of CTA PCC 4421 could have been taken, southbound on Clark at Van Buren, is a bit of a mystery. By 1964 most of the large packers had disappeared. While the Gallaghers are said to live on Wallace Street, the house is actually located on Homan Avenue. From the Original Master Tapes A cropped version of this photo ran in one of our earlier posts, but this was scanned from the original negative. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4227 is on the turnback loop at Clark and Howard, the north end of Route 22. #535 looks north on Halsted from the L station, this was the main crossroads of the Englewood shopping district. 143 followers . https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic558.jpg From the 1920s through the 1950s, Chicago's South Side was the center for African-American culture and business. Stunning Vintage Historical Photos Show What Chicago Looked Like In The 1960s. 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. It radiates and lies south of the city's downtown area, the Chicago Loop . I lived in Portland, OR for 6 years and they still have street cars. The Robert Taylor Homes, located between 39th and 54th streets, had more than half of those apartments. White residents in several neighborhoods left the city for suburban areas, and the real estate industry made vast sums by blockbusting. https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/pic566.jpg 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. #536 is a companion picture from the street to #534. By 1960 there were 32,371 Puerto Rican residents in Chicago, a number that more than doubled within a decade. 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. Along with hundreds, or perhaps even a few thousand other onlookers, I watched as 30 ft flames gutted the building that July evening. 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. 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. (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. As a field interviewer I had to look for displaced residents from the projects. On the one hand, the South Side of Chicago was the "capital of black America." It was home to the nation's most powerful black politician, Democratic congressman William L. Dawson; the most prominent black man in America . (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4060 is southbound at Wabash and Wacker, running on Route 4 Cottage Grove. (Wien-Criss Archive), CTA 4402 on Western at 21st on June 17, 1954. 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