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Neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois
Photo: Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bronzeville, the Black Metropolis, is a mecca of African-American History on Chicago's South Side, just miles south of downtown. Gwendolyn Brooks published poetry in the Chicago Defender, Andrew Rube Foster created Negro League Baseball, and Louis Armstrong kept his trumpet singing at the Sunset Cafe to keep Al Capone off his back. Long in disrepair, the neighborhood is coming back, with new residents refurbishing historic homes, and with new dining and nightlife scenes beginning to take root.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
The home of the Chicago Bee newspaper, which was founded by Anthony Overton to promote black businesses and issues. The art deco building has an elegant terra cotta façade and today houses the Chicago Bee Branch Library.
Built in 1899 as a synagogue, this building housed the Chicago Defender (the nation's foremost African-American newspaper through World War I) from 1920-1960. The Chicago Defender published works by Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks, and is largely credited for starting the Great Migration in its exhortations to southern blacks to move to the North for greater economic opportunities and freedom. The building is oddly vacant and neglected and may be available for sale.
Bronzeville Military Academy
This was the first armory for an African-American regiment, serving the "Fighting 8th," which fought in the Spanish-American War and served with distinction in World War I. After years of disuse, this grandiose building has been restored and now houses the nation's first public college-prep military school, which is unfortunately not open for visitors.
Built by the wildly successful African-American entrepreneur Anthony Overton to house the headquarters of his nation-wide cosmetics franchise. The building housed several of his other businesses, including Victory Life Insurance Company and Douglass National Bank, America's first national African-American bank. The building is now owned by the Mid-South Planning and Development Commission. Just across the street from the now demolished, notorious Robert Taylor Homes, the formerly beautiful art-deco building is in a sad state of disrepair.
Ace Meyers Hardware Store
Countless jazz legends played at this legendary jazz club, including: Bix Beiderbecke, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, and of course, Louis Armstrong. The club was run by unsavory mafia types and the musicians often had no choice but to keep playing here! Disjointed as it may be, the legendary club no longer exists and the building houses a hardware store. Nonetheless, the Sunset Cafe is Chicago's number one jazz history site and should not be missed by anyone traveling along The Jazz Track. There has been talk of resurrecting the club, but plans remain embryonic. Feel free to stop in if you'd like — the owner is used to all sorts of foreign jazz aficionados wandering in.
Built to house the first African-American insurance company, which was one of the few Black Metropolis businesses to survive the Great Depression. The building houses the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center (see below) and is finally undergoing a proper restoration which will restore the 1920 classical façade.
Built in 1887 to house a Jewish social organization, this building became famous as the headquarters of the Peoples Movement Club, founded by Oscar Stanton De Priest (1871-1951), the first African-American on Chicago's City Council and the first northern black delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
This monument was built in 1928 to honor the service of the African-American Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard in France during World War I.
Bronzeville's YMCA, housed in a huge 1913 brown-pressed brick building, was a major social and cultural center for the neighborhood in its heyday, providing job training and housing for recent arrivals in addition to its more common functions. A painstaking restoration was completed in 2000 and the YMCA is again open to the community.
Chicago's museum of African-American history is named after the first settler of Chicago, a Haitian named Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. The museum often has excellent and moving temporary exhibits.
The home of Ida B Wells, prominent African-American civil rights activist and suffragette, founder of the Black Women's movement, and founding member of the NAACP, lived here from 1919–1929. Today it is a private residence and is closed to the public.
A major architectural landmark designed by Mies van der Rohe.
Another, newer, architectural landmark, distinguished by the wild L tunnel on top - the first building in the U.S. by Rem Koolhaas.
A 1½-mile stretch of Martin Luther King Jr Dr full of plaques and monuments to the neighborhood's culture and history. Highlights include Alison Saar's statue at 24th St, "Monument to the Great Northern Migration," and at the 35th St intersection, Gregg LeFevre's 14 ft bronze map of the neighborhood's history and the "Victory Monument" to the African-American 8th Regiment of the Illinois State Guard (which served in France during World War I). Also, look for Geraldine McCullough's "Walk of Fame," a public art installation spread throughout the median and sidewalks along the boulevard, decorated with plaques bearing the names of Bronzeville's numerous famous residents. Keep an eye out for the public benches, also designed by local artists, which range from the subtly interesting to the wildly fantastic. Since it's more than a mile long, taking a "King Drive Gateway walk" isn't really practical—it's not meant to be seen in one visit, so just check out the main sites and appreciate what you do catch.
A community arts center open since 1940, which was for long the only place around where minority artists could exhibit their work. Today, the center's gallery (free and open to the public) focuses primarily on African-American art, especially art related to the South Side. The arts center also features occasional poetry readings.
A 46-ft-tall column marks the mausoleum of one of the most prominent senators in US history (a prominent resident from whom the Douglas neighborhood gets its name), who ran and lost against Abraham Lincoln for the U.S. presidency in a race where debate over slavery dominated the discussion.
Margaret Burroughs Beach
While small, 31st St Beach is one of the nicest places for a swim on the South Side. It's family-friendly, never crowded, and always has stunning views of the Chicago skyline.
Some very serious basketball players hit the pavement here on weekends and the courts are worth a visit to watch the local players, but keep in mind that the park is in one of Chicago's roughest areas.
This major Bronzeville landmark is a performance venue showing movies, live jazz, blues, and more.
A very big park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The park has big open fields, which host numerous festivals, sporting events, and performances throughout the summer. Be sure to check out the DuSable Museum of African-American History and the "Fountain of Time" sculpture.
Open very late and offering some of the best Chicago-style barbecue, Alice's would be a great take-out stop if there were fewer people inside bumming for money. Ignore them, though, and you'll be treated to a fantastic meal.
The great South Side fried chicken chain is cheap, usually a little dirty, and always delicious. Harold's was born right near here on 47th street, by the way, in north Kenwood, although the original location (at Greenwood) closed long ago.
Rosscoe's
A great little place serving all sorts of different combinations of, as you might expect, chicken and waffles, as well as your standard soul food menu, expertly executed. The neighborhood is underserved by such nice establishments, though, and given the small space that means there's a significant wait to be seated virtually any time of the week. Oh, and the extra "s" in Rosscoe's is to forestall lawsuits from the Los Angeles chain. The pretty building the place inhabits was a hotel back in the days when blacks could not stay at "white hotels" around the city, so this one played host to some big African-American celebrities, including local Muhammad Ali.
A great soul food breakfast spot, where the biscuits can't be missed and the pancakes are delicious. It's in a dicey area, but you should have no trouble parking right in front, and the place itself is friendly, bright, and cheery. And the food is really heads and shoulders above the competition throughout much of the South Side.
A nice sit-down soul food eatery in the heart of Bronzeville and adorned with pictures of famous historical Bronzeville residents (and adjacent to the Amber Inn). Brunch/breakfast is where they really shine, with famous sausage, Belgian waffles, and of course sweet potato pie. Very friendly staff.
Originally in Bucktown, but moved here in 2015, this has claimed its spot as one of the most venerable purveyors of Chicago-style barbecue despite being relatively new. Takeaways only, and cash only, but there is an ATM inside.
The Hyde Park Jazz Society's Sunday Jazz has moved north out of Hyde Park to a little known bar/venue, which is a small, more intimate space. The performances are going strong, and the laid back Hyde Park crowd makes for great company. Drinks and food are served throughout the performances.
115-room hotel. One of the few nice places to stay in the area. Much cheaper and infinitely less pretentious than the big hotels downtown, with a fine, southern Sunday brunch. Just off I-90.
A really nice, mid-range hotel on the border of the Near South, quite close to downtown. It's most convenient to Chinatown, as well as the Cermak-Chinatown L station, two blocks away. Gym, business center, free parking (!), sports bar, and an on-site restaurant.
A Bronzeville art gallery dealing in fine art, especially related to Africa and the African diaspora as well as multicultural art from around the world. Contact Gallery Guichard to visit the gallery and experience fine art exhibitions held every 2 to 3 months.
By bus
Many CTA bus lines travel throughout Bronzeville.
By car
Bronzeville is one of the few neighborhoods close to the Chicago center that is actually best seen by car.
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