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| Essential
Architecture- Chicago
South and West Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District |
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Neighbourhood |
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These nine structures are what remain of the "Metropolis," one of the
nation's most significant landmarks of African-American urban history.
Developed during the first decades of the 20th century, this
"city-within-a-city" was home to numerous nationally prominent,
African-American-owned and -operated businesses and cultural
institutions. This district offered a commercial alternative to the race
restrictions and indifference that characterized much of the city during
the early part of the 20th century. Between 1910 and 1920, during the
peak of the "Great Migration," the population of the area increased
dramatically when thousands of African-Americans fled the oppression of
the south and emigrated to Chicago in search of industrial jobs. Further
development of the area was halted by the onset of the Great Depression.
Many famous people were associated with the development of the area
including: Jesse Biga, banker ; Anthony Overton, entrepreneur; Joesph
Jordan, musician; Andrew "Rube" Foster, founder of the Negro National
Baseball League; Ida B. Wells, a civil rights activist, journalist and
organizer of the NAACP; Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman
pilot; and Louis Armstrong, the legendary trumpet player and bandleader
who performed at many of the area's night clubs. The name, "Black
Metropolis," became firmly established with the publication of a 1945
sociological study of the same title. In later years the area was
referred to as "Bronzeville," a term attributed to an editor at the
Chicago Bee. |
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links |
With special thanks to the City of
Chicago website,
www.egov.cityofchicago.org , for much of the info on this page.
Photos copyright City of Chicago. |
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| www.essential-architecture.com | |