Woodlawn
Although Woodlawn first boomed during the World's Columbian
Exposition in 1893, it was not until the 1920s that the neighborhood
around 63rd and Cottage Grove reached residential and commercial
maturity. Woodlawn proved an appealing retail and amusement district in
large part due to its convenient transportation connections and close
proximity to dense concentrations of affordable housing in lakeside
apartment buildings. During the 1920s, as African-Americans looked to
move out of the overcrowded slums to the north, Woodlawn residents, in
an attempt to keep their neighborhood all-white, established restrictive
covenants and engaged in rogue violence against those seeking to move
in. Some Woodlawn amusements followed suit by excluding African-American
patrons. During the 1950s and 1960s, as racial tensions mounted,
Woodlawn declined as one of Chicago's largest outlying business
districts. To learn more about Woodlawn during the Jazz Age, click on
the links below. |
|
White City,
ca. 1908 |
