CHICAGO, IL — A new self-guided Chicago Greeter tour spotlights Bronzeville, a South Side neighborhood shaped by African American migration, culture and civic life. The route was created from a tour by Roy Malone, who was born and raised in Bronzeville.
The walk focuses on the area’s history, notable residents and landmarks tied to Chicago’s Black heritage, with stops along King Drive, Calumet Avenue and nearby streets.
Tour begins at Bronzeville Gateway and the Great Migration monument
The route starts at the Bronzeville Gateway at 24th Street and King Drive, which marks the neighborhood entrance. Two blocks south, visitors reach the Monument to the Great Migration, a bronze statue at 26th Street honoring African Americans who came to Chicago from the South.
Along King Drive, the Bronzeville Walk of Fame runs from 25th Street to 35th Street and includes 92 bronze plaques recognizing influential African Americans and Bronzeville residents such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Sam Cooke and Ida B. Wells.
Historic churches, lakefront access and Calumet Avenue architecture shape the route
At 31st Street and King Drive, the tour passes Olivet Baptist Church, described as the second-oldest African American church in Chicago and the city’s oldest African American Baptist church, organized in 1850.
Visitors can head east to Margaret Burroughs Beach at the end of 31st Street, or west to Calumet Avenue, where greystone and brownstone mansions reflect development from the 1880s. The street also has history reaching back to the Civil War.
Frank Lloyd Wright townhomes and Camp Douglas history appear farther south
Farther south, the route includes Roloson Row at 3213 S. Calumet, identified as the only townhomes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Nearby, the schoolyard at 32nd and Calumet sits on land that has been the site of archaeological excavations.
That area once held the barracks of Camp Douglas, opened in 1861 to train Union soldiers and later used as a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Confederate soldiers.
Supreme Life Building and Ida B. Wells home end the Bronzeville walk
Near 35th Street, the Map of Historic Bronzeville and the World War I Victory Monument mark more of the neighborhood’s past. The monument honors African Americans of the 8th Regiment National Guard.
The final stops include the Supreme Life Building, headquarters of Supreme Life Insurance Company and a Chicago Landmark since 1998, and the home of educator, journalist and civil rights leader Ida B. Wells at 3624 King Drive.
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