Architecture
Top: Washington Park Court from north; Bottom: 50th St in Washington Park Court District
Washington Park Court, which runs one-way northbound from East 50th Street to East 49th Street, is a one-city block-long street located at 432 east in the Chicago street numbering system. Officially, it runs from 4900 south to 5060 south in the numbering system. [3] The street and several adjacent homes at one end are recognized as a distinct district within the city, according to the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development. [2] In May 1990, the district was one of ten that were under consideration for Chicago Landmark status, [7] and it was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 2, 1991. [2] The district was named for the Park, [3] which was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. [8]
The T. G. Dickinson Real Estate Company, which created the subdivision in 1892, mandated 10-foot (3.0 m) setbacks for all properties and originally sold lots in small groups of two or three. [4] Between 1895 and 1905, the tone of the district became clear with the development of its row houses. [2] [4] In 1990, the district contained forty-nine row houses that span a wide variety of architectural styles including Classical Revival and Romanesque. [7] As of 2004, the district contained fifty-one properties. [4] The street hosts residential designs of architect Henry Newhouse and of developers Andrew and John Dubach. [2] At least twenty-five of the lots were developed by the Dubaches and at least twelve of the properties were designed by Newhouse. [4] Their architectural contributions set the tone for the block, which uses mostly brick and limestone houses that share porch and cornice lines. [4] Most houses have mansards or recessed roofs with bay fronts. [4]
Demographic change
Between 1900 and 1934 the African American population in Chicago grew from 30,000 to 236,000. [9] The population was initially diluted in scattered places, but during this time, due to the change in the demographics of Chicago, it became concentrated in two large strips of land. [9] The racial concentration was enforced by violence for few decades, until restrictive covenants became the preferred way to enforce segregation. [9] Although they were previously rare, racially restrictive covenants among property owners that outlawed the purchase, lease, or occupation of their properties by African Americans became common in Chicago in the 1920s following the Great Migration, [10] especially after the 1926 United States Supreme Court upheld racially restrictive covenants in Corrigan v. Buckley (271 U.S. 323 (1926)). [9] [10]
During the first half of the 20th century, The Black Belt was the term for the African-American neighborhood from 22nd Street to 31st Street along State Street on Chicago's South Side. [11] South Side local businessmen and the University of Chicago became alarmed at the prospect of poorer blacks moving from the Black Belt due to a combination of racial succession and economic decline. [12] Because 85% of Chicago was covenanted, most black neighborhoods were bounded by covenanted areas. [9] The Washington Park Court Improvement Association changed its focus from neighborhood improvement projects, such as planting shrubs and cleaning streets, to upholding segregationist policies. [5] [13] When necessary, the organization resorted to violence to pursue its segregationist purpose, and between 1917 and 1921, bombs were used to discourage encroachment into majority white neighborhoods. The bombs were used at the residences of African Americans as well as the properties of real estate agents and bankers. [5]
Eventually the term Black Belt included the region from 39th Street to 95th Street between the Dan Ryan Expressway and Lake Michigan. [11] Since the 1930 United States Census, the Grand Boulevard community area has been over 90% African American. In both the 1960 and 1990 Census, the community area was over 99% African American. As of the 2000 Census, the area was 98.2% African American and 0.8% Hispanic. [6]
Hyde Park is the 41st of the 77 community areas of Chicago. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan 7 miles (11 km) south of the Loop.
Washington Park is a community area on the South Side of Chicago which includes the 372 acre (1.5 km²) park of the same name, stretching east-west from Cottage Grove Avenue to the Dan Ryan Expressway, and north-south from 51st Street to 63rd. It is home to the DuSable Museum of African American History. The park was the proposed site of the Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Aquatics Center in Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
South Shore is one of 77 defined community areas of Chicago, Illinois, United States. A predominantly African-American neighborhood on the city's South Side, the area is named for its location along the city's southern lakefront. Although South Shore has seen a greater than 40% decrease in residents since Chicago's population peaked in the 1950s, the area remains one of the most densely populated neighborhoods on the South Side. The community benefits from its location along the waterfront, its accessibility to Lake Shore Drive, and its proximity to major institutions and attractions such as the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Jackson Park.
Beacon Hill is a hill and neighborhood in southeast Seattle, Washington. It is roughly bounded on the west by Interstate 5, on the north by Interstate 90, on the east by Rainier Avenue South, Cheasty Boulevard South, and Martin Luther King Junior Way South, and on the south by the Seattle city boundary. It is part of Seattle's South End.
West Adams is a historic neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. The area is known for its large number of historic buildings, structures and notable houses and mansions throughout Los Angeles. It is a youthful, densely populated area with a high percentage of African American and Latino residents. The neighborhood has several public and private schools.
The Central Area, commonly called the Central District or The CD, is a mostly residential district in Seattle located east of downtown and First Hill ; west of Madrona, Leschi and Mt. Baker; south of Capitol Hill, and north of Rainier Valley. Historically, the Central District has been one of Seattle's most racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods, and was once the center of Seattle's black community and a major hub of African-American businesses.
Oakland, located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, USA, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Bordered by 35th and 43rd Streets, Cottage Grove Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, The Oakland area was constructed between 1872 and 1905. Some of Chicago's great old homes may be seen on Drexel Boulevard. The late 19th-century Monument Baptist Church on Oakwood Blvd. is modeled after Boston's Trinity Church. Oakwood /41st Street Beach in Burnham Park is at 4100 S. Lake Shore Drive. With an area of only 0.6 sq mi Oakland is the smallest community area by area in Chicago.
Grand Boulevard, located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the well-defined Chicago Community Areas. The boulevard from which the community area takes its name now bears the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The area is bounded by 39th to the north, 51st Street to the south, Cottage Grove Avenue to the east, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad tracks to the west.
A covenant, in its most general sense and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. Under historical English common law a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a seal. Because the presence of a seal indicated an unusual solemnity in the promises made in a covenant, the common law would enforce a covenant even in the absence of consideration. In United States contract law, an implied covenant of good faith is presumed.
The history of African Americans in Chicago dates back to Jean Baptiste Point du Sable’s trading activities in the 1780s. Du Sable, the city's founder, was Haitian of African and French descent. Fugitive slaves and freedmen established the city's first black community in the 1840s. By the late 19th century, the first black person had been elected to office.
Paul Cornell was an American lawyer and Chicago real estate speculator who founded the Hyde Park Township that included most of what are now known as the south and far southeast sides of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. He turned the south side Lake Michigan lakefront area, especially the Hyde Park community area and neighboring Kenwood and Woodlawn neighborhoods, into a resort community that had its heyday from the 1850s through the early 20th century. He was also an urban planner who paved the way for and preserved many of the parks that are now in the Chicago Park District. Additionally, he was a successful entrepreneur with interests in manufacturing, cemeteries, and hotels.
Washington Park is a 372-acre (1.5 km2) park between Cottage Grove Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, located at 5531 S. Martin Luther King Dr. in the Washington Park community area on the South Side of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. It was named for President George Washington in 1880. Washington Park is the largest of four Chicago Park District parks named after persons surnamed Washington. Located in the park is the DuSable Museum of African American History. This park was the proposed site of the Olympic Stadium and the Olympic swimming venue for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Washington Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 2004.
The Washington Park Subdivision is the name of the historic 3-city block by 4-city block subdivision in the northwest corner of the Woodlawn community area, on the South Side of Chicago in Illinois that stands in the place of the original Washington Park Race Track. The area evolved as a redevelopment of the land previously occupied by the racetrack. It was originally an exclusively white neighborhood that included residential housing, amusement parks, and beer gardens.
The neighborhoods of Omaha are a diverse collection of community areas and specific enclaves. They are spread throughout the Omaha metro area, and are all on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River.
The South Side is an area of Chicago. It is the largest of the three Sides of the city that radiate from downtown—the others being the North Side and the West Side.
Broadway–Flushing is a historic district and residential subsection of Flushing, Queens, New York City. The neighborhood comprises approximately 2,300 homes. It is located between 155th and 170th Streets to the west and east respectively, and is bounded on the north by Bayside and 29th Avenues, and on the south by Northern Boulevard and Crocheron Avenue. Broadway–Flushing is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Strivers' Section Historic District is a historic district located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Strivers' Section was historically an enclave of upper-middle-class African Americans, often community leaders, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It takes its name from a turn-of-the-20th-century writer who described the district as "the Striver's section, a community of Negro aristocracy." The name echoes that of Strivers' Row in Harlem, a New York City historic neighborhood of black professionals. The district is roughly bounded by Swann Street and the Dupont Circle Historic District on the south, Florida Avenue and the Washington Heights Historic District on the north and west, and the Sixteenth Street Historic District on the east.
Prairie Avenue is a north–south street on the South Side of Chicago, which historically extended from 16th Street in the Near South Side to the city's southern limits and beyond. The street has a rich history from its origins as a major trail for horseback riders and carriages. During the last three decades of the 19th century, a six-block section of the street served as the residence of many of Chicago's elite families and an additional four-block section was also known for grand homes. The upper six-block section includes part of the historic Prairie Avenue District, which was declared a Chicago Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The West Side is one of the three major sections of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, along with the North Side and the South Side. The West Side consists of communities that are of historical, cultural, and ideological importance to the history and development of Chicago. On the flag of Chicago, the West Side is represented by the central white stripe.
Corrigan v. Buckley, 271 U.S. 323 (1926), was a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1926 that ruled that the racially restrictive covenant of multiple residents on S Street NW, between 18th Street and New Hampshire Avenue in Washington, D.C., was a legally binding document which made the selling of a house to a black family a void contract. This ruling set the precedent upholding racially restrictive covenants in Washington; soon after this ruling, racially restrictive covenants flourished around the nation.
