The Sunset Cafe , also known as The Grand Terrace Cafe or simply Grand Terrace , was a jazz club in Chicago , Illinois operating during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It was one of the most important jazz clubs in America, especially during the period between 1917 and 1928 when Chicago became a creative capital of jazz innovation and again during the emergence of bebop in the early 1940s. From its inception, the club was a rarity as a haven from segregation, since the Sunset Cafe was an integrated or "Black and Tan" club where African Americans, along with other ethnicities, could mingle freely with white Americans without much fear of reprisal. Many important musicians developed their careers at the Sunset/Grand Terrace Cafe.
44-595: The building that housed the Cafe still stands at 315 E 35th St in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Originally built in 1909 as an automobile garage, after a 1921 remodelling it became a venue with around 100 tables, a bandstand and dance floor. While the historic structure that once housed New York's original Cotton Club was torn down decades ago for urban renewal , Chicago's original Sunset/Grand Terrace Cafe building still stands, and still has some of its original murals on
88-1053: A "natural area" that underpinned Park's and Burgess's thinking has also been challenged. Chicago is traditionally divided into the three "sides" of the North Side, West Side , and South Side by the Chicago River. These three sides are represented by the white stripes on the Flag of Chicago . The city is also divided into 50 wards for the purpose of electing one alderman each to the Chicago City Council . These wards have at times generated identities similar to neighborhoods. Unlike community areas, wards are adjusted decennially to account for population shifts. Another method of neighborhood nomenclature in heavily Catholic neighborhoods of Chicago has been to refer to communities in terms of parishes . For example, one might say, "I live in St. Gertrude's, but he
132-615: A charter school, is in the community area. Bronzeville is also home to the renowned Illinois Institute of Technology , which is famous for its engineering and architecture programs. It is home to the VanderCook College of Music and the Illinois College of Optometry . In 2006 the liberal arts school Shimer College , based on the Great Books , moved into the neighborhood. Community areas of Chicago The city of Chicago
176-1011: A civil rights activist, journalist and co-organizer of the NAACP; Margaret Taylor-Burroughs , artist, author, and one of the co-founders of the DuSable Museum of African American History ; Bessie Coleman , the first black woman pilot; Gwendolyn Brooks , poet laureate and first black American awarded the Pulitzer Prize , as well as, other acclaimed authors and artists of the Chicago Black Renaissance ; actresses Susie Garrett , Marla Gibbs and Jennifer Beals ; acclaimed R&B singers Minnie Riperton , Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls ; and cornet player and jazz bandleader King Oliver . His protégé, jazz musician, trumpeter and bandleader Louis Armstrong from New Orleans and his wife Lil Hardin Armstrong , who
220-477: A distinctive identity. Ernest Burgess , a colleague of Park's who shared his thinking, was crucial in creating and naming the community areas. Initially able to identify 400 neighborhoods of the city, he considered that number excessive and trimmed it down to 80 and thereafter 75 by grouping related neighborhoods into a single community area. The Chicago Department of Public Health wished to present local differences in birth and death rates; it worked with
264-495: A five-building, 1677-unit public housing project erected in 1962 by Michael Reese Hospital , Prairie Shores has been adapted as a market rate, middle-class community. Along with the adjacent Lake Meadows development, this was part of the city's largest urban renewal project at the time of its inception in 1946. The total project included construction of the Illinois Institute of Technology and Mercy Hospital . The development
308-450: A neighborhood or encompasses several neighborhoods, but the areas do not always correspond to popular conceptions of the neighborhoods due to a number of factors including historical evolution and choices made by the creators of the areas. As of 2020 , Near North Side is the most populous of the areas with over 105,000 residents, while Burnside is the least populous with just over 2,500. Other geographical divisions of Chicago exist, such as
352-630: A new Metra station, Jones/Bronzeville Station , opened to serve the neighborhood on the Rock Island and planned SouthEast Service . Bronzeville is located in Chicago 's 3rd ward , currently represented by Alderman Pat Dowell . In the early 20th century, Bronzeville was known as the "Black Metropolis", one of the nation's most significant concentrations of African-American businesses , and culture . The groundbreaking Pekin Theatre rose near 27th street in
396-432: A part of the culture of Chicago, contributing to its perception as a "city of neighborhoods" and breaking it down into smaller regions for easier analysis and local planning. Nevertheless, Park's and Burgess's ideas on the inevitability of physically related areas forming a common bond have been questioned, and the unchanging nature of the areas has at times been seen as analytically problematic with major subsequent changes in
440-412: A remarkable decrease in poverty with minimal displacement of the existing communities between 2000 and 2015. This trend has been attributed to the abundance of vacant lots throughout the neighborhood, which encourage development without driving out residents. Furthermore, commentators have noted that Bronzeville is unique among Chicago neighborhoods in that the majority of gentrification has been driven by
484-484: Is a Tree More Ancient than Eden [The Bloodworth Trilogy], Bayo Ojikutu 's crime novel 47th Street Black , and Sara Paretsky 's detective mystery Blacklist , part of the V. I. Warshawski series. Historical images of Bronzeville are in Explore Chicago Collections, a digital repository made available by Chicago Collections archives, libraries and other cultural institutions in the city. Originally
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#1732851225675528-456: Is divided into 77 community areas for statistical and planning purposes. Census data and other statistics are tied to the areas, which serve as the basis for a variety of urban planning initiatives on both the local and regional levels. The areas' boundaries do not generally change, allowing comparisons of statistics across time. The areas are distinct from but related to the more numerous neighborhoods of Chicago; an area often corresponds to
572-604: Is the Regal Theater (demolished in 1973), where many great performers took the stage. The Forum Hall building was built in 1897 designed by Chicago architect Samuel Atwater Treat (1839-1910) and may contain the oldest hardwood ballroom dance floor in Chicago. It filled a significant role in Bronzeville's cultural scene, being the venue for famous musicians From the 1940s and 1960s, high-rise public housing projects were constructed in
616-518: The Chicago Bee publication. It refers to the brown skin color of black Americans, who predominated as residents in that area. It has become common usage over decades. The Bronzeville community features in various literary works set in Chicago, including Richard Wright 's Native Son , Gwendolyn Brooks' A Street in Bronzeville , Lorraine Hansberry 's stage play A Raisin in the Sun , Leon Forrest 's There
660-538: The Carroll Dickerson Orchestra at the Sunset Cafe in 1926, with Earl Hines on piano. In July of that year, Percy Venable staged and produced Jazzmania, which had a finale with the whole cast supporting Armstrong as he sang "Heebie Jeebies." Venable would also later design a show with a "prime attraction," or Armstrong, singing "Big Butter and Egg Man" with Mae Alix. The band with Hines as musical director
704-555: The Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections. In the 2016 presidential election , the Douglas cast 6,342 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 187 votes for Donald Trump (97.13% to 2.80%). In the 2012 presidential election , Douglas cast 8,206 votes for Barack Obama and cast 158 votes for Mitt Romney (98.11% to 1.88%). The Metra Electric District has a flag stop at East 27th Street , where trains stop either at
748-712: The Great Migration . Bronzeville is the area comprising the Douglas, Grand Boulevard , and Oakland communities on the South Side of Chicago , around the Illinois Institute of Technology , VanderCook College of Music , and Illinois College of Optometry . It is accessible via the Green and Red lines of the Chicago Transit Authority , as well as the Metra Electric District Main Line . In 2011,
792-473: The South Side of Chicago, Illinois , is one of Chicago's 77 community areas . The neighborhood is named for Stephen A. Douglas , Illinois politician and Abraham Lincoln 's political foe, whose estate included a tract of land given to the federal government. This tract later was developed for use as the Civil War Union training and prison camp, Camp Douglas , located in what is now the eastern portion of
836-590: The "sides" with origin in the 3 branches of the Chicago River , the 50 wards of the Chicago City Council which undergo redistricting based in population movements, and the parishes of the Roman Catholic Church. The Social Science Research Committee at the University of Chicago defined the community areas in the 1920s based on neighborhoods or groups of related neighborhoods within the city. In this effort it
880-517: The 1920s the Social Science Research Committee at the University of Chicago wanted divisions that were more natural and manageable than the arbitrarily-designated and numerous census tracts. The sociologist Robert E. Park led this charge, considering physical barriers such as railroads and the Chicago River to form distinctive and consistent areas within the city, which he deemed "natural" areas that would eventually merge into
924-439: The 1990s, however, Bronzeville and Douglas began to see renewed interest from middle- and upper-income black professionals attracted to its past. This trend has continued in recent times, with Douglas finally turning the corner on population growth in the 2020 census with an increase of 11.3% over the past decade. Notably, researchers have identified that Bronzeville contains two of the 193 census tracts nationally that achieved
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#1732851225675968-549: The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) contributed to the displacement of over 18,000 individuals from Bronzeville. The turn of the 21st century saw the CHA enact its Plan for Transformation, resulting in the demolition of many of the public housing projects erected in the prior decades. Consequently, the population of the neighborhood plummeted at an even faster clip from 2000-2010, bottoming out at 18,238 residents. Beginning in
1012-623: The Douglas neighborhood. Douglas gave that part of his estate at Cottage Grove and 35th to the Old University of Chicago . The Chicago 2016 Olympic bid planned for the Olympic Village to be constructed on a 37-acre (15 ha) truck parking lot, south of McCormick Place , that is mostly in the Douglas community area and partly in the Near South Side . The Douglas community area stretches from 26th Street, south to Pershing Road along
1056-571: The Lake Shore, including parts of the Green Line, along State Street and the Metra Electric and Amtrak passenger railroad tracks, which run parallel to Lake Shore Drive . Burnham Park runs along its shoreline, containing 31st Street Beach . The community area also contains part of the neighborhood of Bronzeville , the historic center of black culture in the city, since the early 20th century and
1100-592: The Sunset Cafe continued its tradition, introducing under Hines Charlie Parker , Dizzy Gillespie , Sarah Vaughan , Nat "King" Cole and Billy Eckstine , as well as the dancer - Bill "Bojangles" Robinson . And it was "live" from The Grand Terrace that the Hines Band became the most radio broadcast band in America. 41°49′51″N 87°37′07″W / 41.8309°N 87.6186°W / 41.8309; -87.6186 Douglas, Chicago#Bronzeville Douglas , on
1144-492: The Sunset. A few years later Calloway followed his mentor Armstrong to NY, and before long found himself headlining at The Cotton Club , while back in Chicago, Hines inherited the Sunset Cafe mantle. In 1928, the 25-year-old Earl Hines opened what was to become a twelve-year residency at what was now renamed The Grand Terrace Cafe - by now "controlled" [or 25% 'controlled'] by Al Capone . With Hines as its bandleader, what used to be
1188-600: The University of Chicago, they have been used by other universities in the Chicago area, as well as by the city and regional planners. They have contributed to Chicago's reputation as the "city of neighborhoods", and are argued to break up an intimidating city into more manageable pieces. Chicago was an early adopter of such a system, and as of 1997 most cities in the United States still lacked analogous divisions. The areas do not necessarily correspond to popular imagination of
1232-435: The area notorious for its poor living conditions. Some of these discrepancies are due to names that were common at the time of the adoption of community areas but have since been supplanted by others. The static nature of area boundaries is one of their benefits, but is also problematic at times such as when expressways were built in the mid-20th century and divided neighborhoods without area boundaries adapting. The concept of
1276-551: The area, which were managed by the Chicago Housing Authority . The largest complex was the Robert Taylor Homes . They developed severe social problems exacerbated by concentrated poverty among the residents and poor design of the buildings. This project was demolished in the late 1990s and early 21st century. The nickname "Bronzeville" was first used for the area in 1930 by James J. Gentry, a local theater editor for
1320-425: The black middle class. The following Chicago Public Schools campuses serve Bronzeville: Beethoven Elementary School, Phillips Academy High School , Dunbar Vocational High School , Bronzeville Scholastic Institute , Chicago Military Academy , and Walter H. Dyett High School . Notable private schools include De La Salle High School and Hales Franciscan High School . Young Women's Leadership Charter School ,
1364-765: The boundaries of the community areas. O'Hare was created from land that was annexed by Chicago in 1956 to control O'Hare International Airport . Edgewater was separated from Uptown in 1980 as residents considered being joined to it a detriment to obtaining aid for local improvements. In addition to these two there have been minor changes due to further annexations and additions to the Lake Michigan shoreline. The areas are used for statistical and planning purposes by such professions as assessors, charities, and reporters. Shortly after their development they were used for all kinds of statistics, including movie theater distribution and juvenile delinquency. Although developed by
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1408-528: The committee to produce the list of 75 community areas, which were divided into 935 census tracts. After the community areas were introduced, the University of Chicago Press published data sorted by them from the 1920 and 1930 Censuses , as well as a citywide 1934 census to help collect data related to the Great Depression , in what was known as the Local Community Fact Book . With
1452-501: The exception of 1970 (whose data was published in 1980 ), it continued this publication for every subsequent census through 1990, expanding in the 1960s to also cover major suburbs of Chicago. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning continues this work by periodically publishing "Community Snapshots" of the community areas and suburbs, the most recent being data from 2018 published in June 2020 . Only two major changes have occurred in
1496-513: The first decade of the 20th century. Between 1910 and 1920, during an early peak of the " Great Migration ", the population of the area increased dramatically when thousands of black Americans escaped the de jure segregation and prejudice rife in the U.S.South and migrated to Chicago in search of industrial jobs. The Wabash YMCA is considered the first black Y in the U.S. It remains active today due to ongoing support from nearby black churches. The Wabash YMCA's work to commemorate black culture
1540-400: The growing neighborhood. Following its peak in 1950, the population of the neighborhood began a long decline as racial covenants restricting black settlement were lifted and black families sought residence in other areas. Economic decline in the 1960s and 1970s coinciding with disinvestment further contributed to the flight of families from the area. Furthermore, urban renewal projects led by
1584-505: The neighborhoods. For example, the Pilsen and Back of the Yards neighborhoods are much better known than their respective community areas Lower West Side and New City . In the case of New City this was a deliberate choice; Burgess opted for the less common "New City" to name the area as "Back of the Yards" carried a stigma after the publication of Upton Sinclair 's The Jungle (1904), which made
1628-603: The request of a passenger on-board, or if riders are seen waiting on the platform. The population of Douglas climbed precipitously through the mid-20th century as a result of the Great Migration of black families to the North. At the time, African American families were primarily limited to an area known as the "Black Belt", which constitutes much of the area of historic Bronzeville. [1] The rapid influx of new residents notoriously contributed to overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in
1672-463: The some of the areas' urban landscapes, such as the construction of expressways. During the 19th century wards were used by the Census Bureau for data at the level below cities. This was problematic as wards were political subdivisions and thus changed after each census, limiting their utility for comparisons over time. Census tracts were first used in Chicago in the 1910 Census . However, by
1716-915: The walls. The Sunset/Grand Terrace Cafe building returned to its modest roots after the then Grand Terrace Cafe closed in 1950, serving as a political office for a short time, and then an Ace Hardware store. The building received Chicago Landmark status on September 9, 1998. Owned by Louis Armstrong 's manager, Joe Glaser , the venue played host to such performers as Louis Armstrong , Adelaide Hall , Billie Holiday , Dinah Washington , Fletcher Henderson , Cab Calloway , Lionel Hampton , Johnny Dodds , Bix Beiderbecke , Jimmy Dorsey , Benny Goodman , Woody Herman , Gene Krupa and Earl "Fatha" Hines and his orchestra's members: Billy Eckstine , Dizzy Gillespie , Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughan . On September 23, 1939, Ella Fitzgerald made her Chicago debut on this famous stage. Shortly after beginning to record his Hot Five records, Louis Armstrong began playing in
1760-580: Was a pianist, composer and bandleader, lived in Bronzeville on E. 44th Street and performed at many of the area's night clubs, including the Sunset Cafe and Dreamland Cafe. The neighborhood includes the Chicago Landmark Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District . 47th Street was and remains the hub of the Bronzeville neighborhood. In the early 21st century, it has started to regain some of its former glory. Gone for good
1804-598: Was funded under the Title I of the Housing Act of 1949 , using US$ 6.2 million ($ 62.5 million today) of subsidies. Of all the sections of Douglas originally developed by Stephen A. Douglas , only Groveland Park survives. Its homes are built around an oval-shaped park. Groveland Park is located between Cottage Grove Avenue, 33rd Street, 35th Street and the Metra Electric railroad tracks. The Douglas community area has supported
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1848-473: Was led by sociologists Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess , who believed that physical contingencies created areas that would inevitably form a common identity. Except for the addition of two areas ( O'Hare from land annexed by the city in 1956 and Edgewater 's separation from Uptown in 1980) and peripheral expansions due to minor annexations, the areas' boundaries have never been revised to reflect change but instead have been kept stable. The areas have become
1892-439: Was soon renamed Louis Armstrong and his Stompers . Cab Calloway got his professional start onstage under Louis Armstrong at the Sunset Cafe. Calloway eventually became one of only a few big band leaders to come up under Armstrong and, of course, Earl Hines . When Louis departed the Cafe for New York - it was the young Cab Calloway - 20-year-old "kid from Baltimore" whom Armstrong and Glazer picked to take over from Louis at
1936-477: Was the genesis of Black History Month . In 1922, Louis B. Anderson , a Chicago alderman, had the architects Michaelsen & Rognstad build him a house at 3800 South Calumet Avenue. The surrounding area would take on the name of this house (which he had named Bronzeville) . Key figures in the area include: Andrew "Rube" Foster , founder of the Negro National Baseball League; Ida B. Wells ,
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