Bronzeville welcomes visitors with new information center

By Lisa R. Jenkins

In a continuing effort to restore
and revive Chicago’s African
American landmarks and historic
sites, the Black Metropolis
Convention and Tourism Council
(BMC&TC) has invested in African
American Heritage Tourism, an
economic development strategy
to revitalize the Bronzeville area.

As part of that strategy, the Bronzeville Visitors Information  Center opened earlier this year at he former site of the first Blackowned insurance company, Liberty Life Insurance Co., on the southeast corner of 35th Street and south King Drive.

BMC&TC, a community based non-profit organization, owns and operates the visitors’ center, which will offer a starting point of interest for thousands of visitors, residents, and others inquiring about the area.

Harold L. Lucas, BMC&TC’s president and CEO, stated, “It has taken us 20 years to preserve the community’s rich history, develop the infrastructure, and regenerate the entrepreneurial spirit within the community.”

Through a $100,000 Tourism Attraction Grant from the State of Illinois, the BMC&TC was able to match funds from an African American real estate developer who owns the Liberty Life property to design and build the visitors center.

The 4,000 square foot center occupies two floors of the 85-yearold building. The first floor holds a community information hub and gift shop; an exhibit gallery, community technology center, and digital archive are found on the second floor. A painted bronze sculpture, Bronzeville to Harlem, by School of the Art Institute Professor Preston Jackson, also is displayed on the second floor along with black and white photographs of Bronzeville people and places by Aleksandrovina Daria Amerik.

BMC&TC administrative offices call the center home, and the Bronzeville Community Development Planning Studio also will be moving in.

Bronzeville boasts seven historic districts, including the Black Metropolis Historic District, and 30 landmark sites documented on the National Resister of Historic Places.

In the early part of the 20th century, Bronzeville was the center of Chicago’s African American culture. It lost its flair following World War II, and when massive public housing developments were built in the 1960s many homeowners and businesses left the area.

Now they are coming back, bringing food and music with them. Former tax analyst Don Curry, 35, opened the Negro League Café at 301 E. 43rd St. and Clifford Rome, a former chef with Wolfgang Puck, is helping refurbish the historic Parkway Ballroom at 4445 S. King Dr. A Parkway Unplugged series started in May and features gospel, neosoul, and jazz sets.

The Blues Entertainment District, a new cultural corridor, supports four unique cultural centers. The largest is the Harold Washington Cultural Center, which honors Chicago’s first Black Mayor and has a 1,000-seat theater.

An Art Gallery District offers a host of specialty shops and boutiques, and even the neighborhood McDonald’s shows its support of the heritage tourism campaign with permanent displays that pay tribute to the community’s jazz, blues, gospel, and motion picture heritage.

The City of Chicago has won three awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for its reuse strategy for historic Bronze-ville properties that had sat vacant and abandoned for years. These properties now function as a public library, Chicago’s first public military academy, and a state-of-the- rt single room occupancy housing facility.

Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (4th), who, along with State Representative Ken Dunkin (D- 5th), toured the visitors center during a sneak peak prior to its opening, complimented Jackson’s sculpture installation and praised the center’s preservation mission. “I was a history teacher before taking the 4th Ward helm, so I am always happy to see people concerned about our past and focused on making that history more accessible,” Preckwinkle said.

The State of Illinois developed the www.soulofIllinois.com  program to help visitors customize their travel plans as well as hotel packages featuring cultural heritage attractions in Bronzeville and throughout Illinois. Bronzeville also has become a popular destination for the www.ChicagoNeighborhoodTours.com  program.

Said Lucas, “Bronzeville is a living, breathing community with layers and layers of authentic history to be uncovered.” To highlight that history, BMC&TC provides a series of educational tours that are more like study tours and often end up being mobile workshops, with participants adding to the discussion and sharing information about how Bronzeville has influenced their lives.

The visitors center promotes the Bronzeville Antique and Mongo Market, which will be held the Sundays of Sept. 10 and Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at the Doolittle Grade School parking lot at 35th Street and Cottage Grove Ave. Clothing, jewelry, salvage, furniture and more will be offered. To learn more about the  Bronzeville Visitors Information Center, visit www.bronzevilleonline.com/bvic.htm   or call (773)
373-2842.