Reese Hospital and the Illinois Institute of Technology, in the northern portion of the neighborhood. Great swaths of land were cleared in northeast Bronzeville to make way for new high-rise communities, such as Lake Meadows, which catered to middle-class individuals and families, most of whom were white or Asian. In the northwest corner, tenements were leveled to permit a campus expansion by IIT, which also served mainly whites. The Mecca, first targeted by IIT in March 1943, was one of those tenements, and its 1,500 people had to find new homes. […] imuel Black, having lived so long and seen so much, is often called upon to lead groups around Bronzeville, recalling its past glories. I take people on a he have to point at some vacant land to talk about the “When tour,” says, “I Regal or the Savoy or the Metropolitan, the Binga Arcade, the Vendome, the Pythian have to point to a to live on the second floor of that Temple. All that’s gone. You site: ‘I used vacant The imagination can only stretch so far to help the tourists understand the richness. I lot.’ up the steps of a building that there. When I look at the restoration [of can’t walk isn’t Bronzeville] taking place, so much of the physical been that’s history’s demolished.” As the many remaining graystones and redstones are renovated and returned to neighborhood’s something like their original elegance, they to the overcrowded days of the won’t hark back Black Belt, but to the earlier time when the community was one of wealth and privilege. […] the changes take Black says, [of what Bronzeville once looked like] will “As place,” “the image be very difficult to evoke, simply because so much of it has been wiped out. And so, when you want to learn about the history of Bronzeville, to have to go to books and read you’re going about it.”
Reese Hospital and the Illinois Institute of Technology, in the northern portion of the neighborhood. Great swaths of land were cleared in northeast Bronzeville to make way for new high-rise communities, such as Lake Meadows, which catered to middle-class individuals and families, most of whom were white or Asian. In the northwest corner, tenements were leveled to permit a campus expansion by IIT, which also served mainly whites. The Mecca, first targeted by IIT in March 1943, was one of those tenements, and its 1,500 people had to find new homes. […] imuel Black, having lived so long and seen so much, is often called upon to lead groups around Bronzeville, recalling its past glories. “When I take people on a tour,” he says, “I have to point at some vacant land to talk about the Regal or the Savoy or the Metropolitan, the Binga Arcade, the Vendome, the Pythian Temple. All that’s gone. You have to point to a site: ‘I used to live on the second floor of that vacant lot.’ The imagination can only stretch so far to help the tourists understand the richness. I can’t walk up the steps of a building that isn’t there. When I look at the restoration [of Bronzeville] that’s taking place, so much of the physical history’s been demolished.” As the neighborhood’s many remaining graystones and redstones are renovated and returned to something like their original elegance, they won’t hark back to the overcrowded days of the Black Belt, but to the earlier time when the community was one of wealth and privilege. […] “As the changes take place,” Black says, “the image [of what Bronzeville once looked like] will be very difficult to evoke, simply because so much of it has been wiped out. And so, when you want to learn about the history of Bronzeville, you’re going to have to go to books and read about it.”
A-Brief-History-of-Bronzeville-edited.docx