Grand Boulevard on the
South Side of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, is one of the city's
Community Areas. The boulevard from which it takes its name is now
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.
Bronzeville
This is one of the two community areas that encompass the
Bronzeville neighborhood, with the other being
Douglas. Grand Boulevard also includes the
Washington Park Court District neighborhood that was declared a
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...
on October 2, 1991.
The
Harold Washington Cultural Center is one of its newer and more famous buildings. It arose on the site that from the 1920s through the 1970s housed a famous center of African American cultural life, the
Regal Theater. Among the other notable properties in this neighborhood are the
Daniel Hale Williams House, the
Robert S. Abbott House, and the
Oscar Stanton De Priest House.
Demographics
According to a 2018 US Census American Community Survey, there were 22,784 people and 10,383 households in Grand Boulevard.
The racial makeup of the area was 92.6%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 2.7%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.7%
Asian, and 2.3% from
other races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino residents of any race were 1.8% of the population.
In the area, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 19, 19.4% from 20 to 34, 22.6% from 35 to 49, 16.4% from 50 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.9 years.
Education
Grand Boulevard is part of
City of Chicago School District #299 and
City Colleges of Chicago District #508. The nearest City Colleges campus was
Kennedy–King College in
Englewood. A high school diploma had been earned by 85.5% of Grand Boulevard residents and a bachelor's degree or greater had been earned by 31.3% of residents compared to citywide figures of 82.3% and 35.6% respectively.
Transportation
The
Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
operates the
Chicago "L"
The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...
system in the Grand Boulevard community area. The
Green Line provides rapid transit at four stations:
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
,
43rd Street,
47th Street and
51st Street stations.
Politics
The Grand Boulevard community area has supported the
Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections by overwhelming margins. In the
2016 presidential election, Grand Boulevard cast 10,081 votes for
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
and cast 171 votes for
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. In the
2012 presidential election, Grand Boulevard cast 10,646 votes for
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and cast 81 votes for
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
.
Notable people
*
Robert Sengstacke Abbott
Robert Sengstacke Abbott (December 24, 1870 – February 29, 1940) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher and editor. Abbott founded ''The Chicago Defender'' in 1905, which grew to have the highest circulation of any black-owned newspaper in ...
(1870–1940), founder of ''
The Chicago Defender
''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...
''. He lived in Grand Boulevard from 1926 until his death in 1940.
*
Noble Drew Ali (1886–1929), founder of the
Moorish Science Temple of America
The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American national and religious organization founded by Noble Drew Ali (born as Timothy Drew) in the early 20th century. He based it on the premise that African Americans are descendants of the Moabite ...
. He resided at 3613 South Indiana Avenue at the time of his death.
*
Sol Bloom (1870–1949),
Congressman
A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
from 1923 until 1949. He resided at 4736 South Prairie Avenue between 1897 and 1903.
*
Floy Clements (1891–1973), first African American woman to serve in the
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...
. She moved to Grand Boulevard in the 1920s and lived there during her political career.
*
Bessie Coleman
Elizabeth Coleman (January 26, 1892April 30, 1926) was an early American civil aviation, civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native Americans in the United States, Native American to hold a Pilot certification in ...
(1892–1926), first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot's license. She resided at 4533 South Indiana Avenue prior to leaving for
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
to earn her pilot's license.
*
Michael Colyar (born 1957), comedian and actor. He was raised at 4352 South State Street before his family moved to
Morgan Park.
*
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the 19th century for high-profile representations of trade union causes, and in the 20th century for several criminal matters, including the ...
(1857–1938), attorney famous for his involvement in, among others, the
Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the
Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He resided at 4219 South Vincennes Avenue during his first marriage.
*
Oscar Stanton De Priest
Oscar Stanton De Priest (March 9, 1871 – May 12, 1951) was an American politician and civil rights advocate from Chicago. A member of the Illinois Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States House of Repres ...
(1871–1951), first African-American member of the United States House of Representatives elected after the end of
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
. The
apartment building in which he lived from 1929 to 1951 was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1975.
*
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957September 3, 2012) was an American actor. He is best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor a ...
(1957–2012), actor. He was raised in the Robert Taylor Homes.
*
Open Mike Eagle
Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...
(born 1980), hip hop artist. He lived in the Robert Taylor Homes until the age of 13.
*
Rube Foster
Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
Foster is considered by sports historians to hav ...
(1879–1930), baseball player, manager, and founder of the
Negro National League. He resided at 4131 South Michigan Avenue from 1907 until 1926.
*
Mittie Gordon (1889–1961), founder of the
Peace Movement of Ethiopia
The Peace Movement of Ethiopia was an African-American organization based in Chicago, Illinois. It was active in the 1930s and 1940s, and promoted the Back-to-Africa movement, repatriation of African Americans to the African continent, especially ...
. At the time of her trial for conspiring with the Japanese in relation to the work of the P.M.E. she resided at 4451 South State Street.
*
John R. Lynch
John Roy Lynch (September 10, 1847 – November 2, 1939) was an American writer, attorney, military officer, author, and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives ...
(1847–1939), Congressman from
Mississippi's 6th congressional district from 1873 to 1877 and 1882 to 1883. Lynch moved to Chicago in 1912 and resided at what is now 4028 S. Martin Luther King Dr. at the time of his death.
*
The Marx Brothers, comedians. During their early career, the family moved from
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to an apartment at 4649 South Calumet Avenue. The family bought a house at 4512 South King Drive.
**
Chico Marx
Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx ( ; March 22, 1887October 11, 1961) was an American comedian, actor, and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, alongside his brothers Harpo Marx, Arthur ("Harpo"), Groucho Marx, Juliu ...
(1887–1961)
**
Harpo Marx
Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico, Harp ...
(1888–1964)
**
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...
(1890–1977)
**
Gummo Marx (1892–1977)
**
Zeppo Marx
Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American comedic actor. He was the youngest, and last survivor, of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films from 1929 to 1933 ...
(1901–1979)
*
Edward Morris (1866–1913), President of
Morris & Company, a meatpacking company. In 1892, he and his wife moved to
a house at 4500 South Michigan Avenue.
*
Helen Swift Morris (1869–1945), wife of Edward Morris. She and her husband resided at a house at 4500 South Michigan Avenue
*
George W. Murray (1853–1926), Congressman from
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
from 1893 to 1897. He fled South Carolina after a racially motivated conviction and moved to Chicago in 1905. At the time of his death, he resided at 4752 S. Evans Ave.
*
Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett was instrumental in helping the Twins t ...
(1960–2006), professional baseball player.
*
Earl W. Renfroe (1907–2000), aviator and one of the first Black
orthodontists in Illinois. In 1939, he resided at 4646 South Michigan Avenue.
*
Mr. T
Laurence T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952), known professionally as Mr. T, is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A ...
(born 1952), actor known for his roles as
B. A. Baracus in ''
The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...
'' and
Clubber Lang in ''
Rocky III
''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written and directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film is the sequel to ''Rocky II'' (1979) and the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt You ...
''. He was raised in the Robert Taylor Homes.
*
Daniel Hale Williams (1856–1931), surgeon who performed the first documented, successful
pericardium surgery in the United States to repair a wound.
His residence at 445 East 42nd Street was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
*
Richard Wright (1908–1960), author of novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. He resided at a second floor apartment at 4831 South Vincennes Avenue from 1929 until 1932.
References
External links
Official City of Chicago Grand Boulevard Community Map*
{{Chicago
Community areas of Chicago
South Side, Chicago