Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes


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Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: March 29, 2015 08:49PM

Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes all ran from 22nd street to 54th Street. All of these four projects were between South State and South Federal. Looking at old aerial photo's before they were built sat many homes also some big buildings. My questions are is there anything on web referring to these areas before the housing projects were built or pictures? I can't find anything on Google images or other search engines.
Also in this area between 22nd & 54th and S. State & Federal some big buildings were torn down to build the housing projects. One big complex before the housing projects was on 47th & S. Wentworth. Another area of bigger buildings was between 23rd & 27th Streets pre 1952.

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: WayOutWardell ()
Date: March 29, 2015 10:35PM

'Making The Second Ghetto' is a really good book on the history of those areas.

There was also a WPA photography project that documented life in the Black Belt ca. 1941, and many photos show living conditions along State or Federal at that time.

I know that many of the buildings that were later demolished along Federal had long been abandoned before the housing shortage during the Great Migration made them fair game to rent to newcomers.

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: March 30, 2015 09:50PM

Thanks much for that information. I find it very interesting what you described and will check out that book you mentioned. Someone gave me this link today about the Federal Street Slums. http://jamesiska.blogspot.com/2013/06/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.html

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: WayOutWardell ()
Date: April 01, 2015 01:23AM

Another good book on the pre-project Black Belt is 'Building The South Side', which has an extensive history on the 35th Street 'main stem' through the Black Belt ca. 1910. Considering the eventual fate of the neighborhood, there are a surprising number of buildings still standing on 35th which date from that era.

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: Roadway ()
Date: September 27, 2015 01:50PM

One large building near the middle of the block at 53rd and State (on the East Side of State) was the large "South Side" garage for the Herald American/Chicago American/Chicago Today newspaper, that stored and repaired the Newspaper delivery trucks. There were small businesses across the street--an ice cream parlor and the like.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2015 02:04PM by Roadway.

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: SWEDE ()
Date: September 30, 2015 12:19AM

I remember back in the 60's my buddy was selling plastic couch covers and we had to go for a fitting at 54th and state in one of the projects. That was an experience to say the least.

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: Dunning1 ()
Date: September 30, 2015 05:37PM

You know, at one time I was picking up and dropping off kids for my church for the Awana Club meeting on Wednesday night. Dropping them off required that you take them right to your apartment door. I used to pull up at Cabrini Green in a marked van from the church, and take the kids up to their apartment, and I never had a problem. The biggest problem is that the kids liked the attention, and would try and bolt and run from you when you were trying to deliver them to their parents, and you had to run them down.

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Date: September 30, 2015 10:38PM

[b]thanks[/b]

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Re: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes & Harold Ickes Homes
Posted by: Jeff_Weiner ()
Date: February 07, 2016 12:44AM

I went to IIT in the mid- to late 70's, and we were always told [u][b]NOT[/b][/u] to go into the projects.

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