South Shore is one of 77 defined community areas of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Located 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.[2] 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.
History
Like all of what is now the City of Chicago, the South Shore community area was originally inhabited by a number of Algonquian peoples, including the Mascouten and Miami.[3] After the expulsion of Native Americans by white settlers in the nineteenth century, it became characterized by small settlements including Essex, Bryn Mawr, Parkside, Cheltenham Beach, and Windsor Park.[4] The area is bounded by 67th and 79th streets to the north and south and by Stony Island Avenue and Lake Michigan to the west and east. In 1861, the Illinois General Assembly incorporated Hyde Park Township, which included South Shore.[5] The area's population grew as workers in the nearby steel industry settled in the area.[4] Following the June 29, 1889 elections, the South Shore community area was annexed into the City of Chicago with the entirety of Hyde Park Township.[6] The location of the World's Columbian Exposition in nearby Jackson Park prompted the sale of land and building lots. As in other parts of Chicago, the desire for affordable housing at the start of the twentieth century led to the large scale construction of bungalows. Unlike other areas in which bungalows were built en masse, South Shore's bungalow residents were largely affluent. Additionally, South Shore was the destination for white flight from Washington Park as immigrants and African Americans moved there.[4]
After racially restrictive covenants were declared unconstitutional by Shelley v. Kraemer, African American families began to move into historically white neighborhoods such as South Shore.[4] The South Shore Commission initiated a program they called "managed integration", designed to check the physical decline of the community and to achieve racial balance. The initiative was largely unsuccessful on both counts. Per the 1950 census, South Shore had 79,000 residents and was 96% white. A 1951 University of Chicago study estimated that over 20% of the neighborhood’s residents were Jewish. In 1960, the population had dropped to 73,000 residents and was 90% white and 10% black.[7] Like many other urban neighborhoods across the United States undergoing racial change and tensions, many of the white residents began to choose to move to new locations.[4] By 1970, the population had risen to 81,000 and was 69% black and 28% white as South Shore itself became a victim of white flight. By 1980, the population had fallen slightly to 78,000, but was 94% black.[4]
By the late 1990s South Shore had developed into a middle-class African American community. The Chicago Park District purchased the waning South Shore Country Club in 1972, converting it into a cultural center.[8]
The Jackson Park Highlands District is a sixteen block area bounded by East 67th Street on the north. East 71st Street on the south, South Cregier Avenue on the west, and South Jeffrey Boulevard on the east.[9]
The Jackson Park Highlands District is a historic district in the South Shore community area of Chicago. The district was built in 1905 by various architects. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 25, 1989.[9]
The Jeffery–Cyril Historic District is a national historic district in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The district comprises a cluster of six apartment buildings on Jeffery Boulevard, 71st Place, and Cyril Avenue. All six buildings were built between 1927 and 1929.[10] The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 1986.[11]
The South Shore Bungalow Historic District is a residential historic district in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The district contains 229 Chicago bungalows and twenty other residential buildings built between 1911 and 1930. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 2008.[11]
Architecture
South Shore Cultural Center
The South Shore Cultural Center, previously the South Shore Country Club, began as a lakefront retreat for the wealthiest of Chicago's movers and shakers. The firm of Marshall and Fox, architects of the Drake, Blackstone, and Edgewater Beach hotels, were hired to design an opulent, Mediterranean-style clubhouse for a membership that included some of Chicago's most prominent families. The grounds provided private stables and members-only beach, and golf course. Tennis, horseback riding, and skeet shooting were enjoyed by guests the likes of Jean Harlow, Will Rogers, and Amelia Earhart. Between the first and second World Wars, a housing boom brought a development of luxury cooperative apartments and mansions to the neighborhood surrounding the club. In 1974 the club held its last members-only event. Today, the Chicago Park District owns the property. It has been restored to its original design and is now open to the public. A major drawback to the South Shore and surrounding South Chicago neighborhoods is that they are one of the few remaining Chicago lakefront neighborhoods that lack a fully publicly accessible neighborhood shoreline. There are lakefront gaps between the existing South Shore Cultural Center and Rainbow Beach to its south. Even larger masses of lakefront land along the South Chicago neighborhood (at the abandoned USX steel mill) with their beautiful vistas of the city's lakefront and Chicago skyline are undergoing development as parks and not completely available for recreational enjoyment by the adjacent neighborhood residents. Presently, Chicago Lakeside Development has proposed plans that call for the completion of this southern portion of lakefront with the development of new parklands, beaches, and a continuous waterfront bicycle and jogging path that will link Calumet Park and Beach in the East Side neighborhood to the South Shore Cultural Center in South Shore. Completion of such a project would result in improved access to Chicago's southern lakefront and connect it to neighborhoods such as Hyde Park and Bronzeville to the north.
At the northern end of South Shore is the historic district Jackson Park Highlands, one of Chicago's greatest examples of structural history and 19th-century architecture, with an abundance of homes in the style of American Foursquare, Colonial Revival, and Renaissance Revival on suburban-sized lots.
Located in the Bryn Mawr section of South Shore is the Allan Miller House at 7121 South Paxton Avenue. Commissioned by advertising executive Allan Miller, this home is an excellent example of Prairie-style architecture. Built in 1915, it is Chicago's only surviving building designed by John Van Bergen, a former member of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture firm.
On July 14, 2018, the community clashed with the Chicago Police Department after a local barber, Harith Augustus, was shot multiple times by a police officer at 71st Street and Chappel Avenue. Body camera footage without audio was released immediately contrary to past practices of months-long waits for video in other police shootings. Footage taken by body cameras of other officers has not been released.[14][15][16]
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago operates Catholic churches. On July 1, 2020, Our Lady of Peace, St. Bride, and St. Philip Neri in South Shore and Our Lady Gate of Heaven Church in Jeffery Manor will merge.[19]
Transportation
The South Shore community area has five stations along the South Chicago Branch of the Metra Electric District. In South Shore, the South Chicago Branch runs the median of along East 71st Street, making stops at Stony Island, Bryn Mawr, and South Shore stations before turning southeast along South Exchange Avenue to make stops at Windsor Park and Cheltenham stations. In addition, the 75th Street station is on the Greater Grand Crossing side of the border between that area and South Shore.[20]
Marshall Bennett (1915–2018), real estate developer credited with creating the modern industrial park. He was a childhood resident of South Shore.[23]
Bo Diddley (1928–2008), singer, guitarist, songwriter and music producer. He resided in South Shore.[9]
Frank Drake (born 1930), astrophyscist and co-founder of Project Ozma. He was a childhood resident of 7347 South Crandon Avenue and a graduate of South Shore High School.[24][25]
Stanley Elkin (1930–1995), novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He was a childhood resident of South Shore.[26]
Fred Goetz (1897–1934), Chicago Outfit member and a suspected participant in the Valentine's Day Massacre. He resided at 7827 South South Shore Drive at the time of his murder.[32]
Jacqueline Jackson (born 1944), peace activist and wife of Jesse Jackson. She resided in South Shore for a time.[37]
Jesse Jackson (born 1941), activist, Baptist minister, and politician. Jackson moved to South Shore in 1960 after his financial supporters purchased him a home in the area.[37]
Jonathan Jackson (born 1966), businessman, activist, and son of Jesse and Jacqueline Jackson. He was a childhood resident of South Shore.[37]
Sandi Jackson (born 1963), politician and wife of Jesse Jackson Jr. She resided in South Shore during her political career.[38][39]
Santita Jackson (born 1963), singer, political commentator, and daughter of Jesse and Jacqueline Jackson. She was a childhood resident of South Shore.[37]
Jeremiah Jae (born 1989), rapper, record producer, and multi-media artist. He is a South Shore resident.[40]
Ferguson Jenkins (born 1942), professional baseball player. He resided at the home of fellow player Billy Williams for a time during their professional careers.[41][42]
Gene Krupa (1909–1973), jazz drummer, bandleader and composer. He was a childhood resident of South Shore.[43]
Ramsey Lewis (born 1935), jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. He resided in South Shore.[9]
Marv Levy (born 1925), football coach. He was raised in the South Shore neighborhood.[44]
David Mamet (born 1947), playwright. His family moved from Hyde Park to South Shore while he was a teenager.[45]
Bayo Ojikutu (born 1971), essayist, novelist, university lecturer. Author spent early childhood in South Shore at 7251 S. South Shore Drive, among other neighborhood dwellings. His novel Free Burning is based in the South Shore and South Chicago communities.[52]
Johnny Torrio (1882–1957), early member of the Chicago Outfit. Torrio resided in South Shore for a portion of his criminal career before being incarcerated in Waukegan.[65]
Richard B. Vail (1895–1955), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 2nd district during the 80th and 82 U.S. Congresses. He resided at 6946 South Bennett Avenue while a Congressman.[66]
Lee Weiner (born 1939), activist and member of the Chicago Seven. He was a childhood resident of South Shore.[69]
Kanye West (born 1977), rapper. West was raised at 7815 S. South Shore Drive.[70]
Billy Williams (born 1938), professional baseball player. He purchased a home near East 74th Street and South Constance Avenue in 1966. Williams resided in South Shore until moving to Glen Ellyn, Illinois in 1974.[41][71]
^Burne, Tom (September 11, 1995). "Chicago a dirty word in Seattle political feud: Washington state GOP paints ex-Illinoisan as power hungry". Chicago Tribune – via ProQuest.
