Jahmal Cole runs the group
My
Block, My Hood, My City (MBMHMC) to encourage Chicagoans to explore the
different neighborhoods of the city. MBMHMC takes young people monthly to visit
new areas. In April 2016 he started a series of walks to encourage the public
to see places they might not otherwise visit. My husband and I joined “Explore
Englewood”.
We boarded a southbound bus in our neighborhood of Hyde
Park. In Woodlawn we transferred to the 63rd Street bus going
west to Englewood. The area wasn’t far from our home, but I’ve never been
there. It’s somewhere I don’t generally feel comfortable walking on my own.
Meeting a group did encourage us to make the trip.
Everyone gathered at St. Benedict the African-East Church.
Tables were set up with information from neighborhood groups and maps with
points of interest. Then everyone left on their own to explore and meet
together later at a café for lunch. My husband and I began to wander the area.
As we walked Englewood I noticed all of the lots and lawns
had been neatly mowed. In its glory days Englewood was a grand neighborhood filled
with expensive mansions. In recent times, it has fallen on hard times. However,
there are still people who obviously take pride and care for the area.
Upon closer inspection I began to notice that, unlike the
North Side, few of the old homes were completely restored. Pieces of the houses
were sometimes gone, such a missing spire from a turret, or more perplexing, a
spire with a gap where the turret should be. We often saw deferred maintenance,
missing or boarded architectural elements, and lots of siding.
I’d been to East Garfield Park, which experienced
high
rates of fires and looting during the April 1968 riots. Many buildings in
that area of the West Side were burned and later removed, leaving numerous
vacant lots. Almost every business and
factory left. Still, East Garfield Park seems more stable now than some areas
of the South Side.
According to what little is remembered about the South Side,
rioters in April 1968 marched along 63rd Street from Woodlawn to
Halsted in Englewood, once the second busiest shopping district in Chicago. It
was the same route we’d followed on the bus. Later accounts claimed, because of
stronger community leadership, the South Side April 1968 riots were quickly
quelled and the communities didn’t suffer the same fate as the West Side.
Regardless, the resulting long term damage from the 1968 riots
seems to be similar for both neighborhoods. There was a mass exodus of
businesses and many buildings have been reduced to vacant lots in Englewood,
just like East Garfield Park. Except the foreclosure crisis hasn’t deeply
impacted many places as badly as here. Englewood continues to erode from
both historical and recent crises.
The only complete blocks of well-maintained homes, without
empty units, appeared to be the newer charity or public housing projects, at
least where I walked. Otherwise, nearly everywhere was distressed. It was common
to see people living in between boarded and vacant units. I would also see
second stories occupied while the first floors were closed off. While sealing
the lower levels of abandoned buildings was common, only some had the upper
windows boarded.
Homes with people living in them had their curtains drawn
and windows closed, despite the beautiful Saturday afternoon. No one seemed to
feel it was safe to leave them open. Some of the boarded buildings had a window
or two exposed, where the boards were removed. Reportedly they are used for
illicit activities, like gangs, drugs or prostitution.
Most of the areas we walked were eerily quiet. With all of
the green vacant lots it reminded me of being in the country. We heard lots of
crickets. Despite the warmer weather kids weren’t playing out in the fields or
parks. Almost no one was walking around. Residents stayed on their porches and
kids were only allowed a few feet from their front doors. The playgrounds we
passed were completely empty.
Later I was told a railroad company was buying a section of
Englewood, tearing the buildings, to expand their railyards into the
neighborhood. I suddenly wondered if that was the section we’d traveled? It would
have explained a lot. After researching I found out we never saw the railroad
expansion area.
We met back with MBMHMC at the Dream Café. Despite the
continued distress in Englewood, there are people working to make improvements.
New investments are happening, like the building of a Whole Foods grocery
store. Local entrepreneurs have met with the store about marketing their products.
There are people who clean trash in front of vacant
buildings and plant spring bulbs. I saw an active Little Free Library; which
volunteers were keeping stocked with giveaway books. I saw a planter of flowers
placed out by the road to enliven the entire street. Residents are fighting to
restore their neighborhood.
We enjoyed lunch. My husband tried the jerk chicken and
rice, while I couldn’t resist sampling chicken and macaroni and cheese. The
pasta had some extra peppers and spices. Afterwards, we walked over to the Aldi
grocery store. My husband wanted to see it, as he’s read a lot about how the
store significantly undersells Wal-Mart. They’ve brought affordable groceries
to food deserts, particularly on the South Side.
I didn’t have a quarter with me to unlock the grocery cart.
Aldi gets customers to return carts by charging a deposit. They operate on
almost no staff and limited selections of only a brand or two for each item, which
lowers their costs. Inside we found the store clean and well lit. Cashiers were
extremely fast. We managed to grab a couple bags worth of food and the cashier
graciously lent us a cart to bag them.
I’ve seen the location of the H. H. Holmes “Murder Castle”
(of Devil in the White City fame) listed as the Aldi store in Englewood. Others
cite it being across the street, where the
post office is now located. Not surprisingly, the post office is rumored to
be haunted. That’s where we caught the bus home.
