In the early 20th century, Bronzeville was known
as the "Black Metropolis," one of the nation's most significant
landmarks of African-American urban history. Between 1910 and 1920,
during the peak of the "Great Migration," the population
of the area increased dramatically when thousands of African-Americans
fled the oppression of the south and emigrated to Chicago in search
of industrial jobs. Many famous people were associated with the
development of the area including: Andrew "Rube" Foster,
founder of the Negro National Baseball League; Ida B. Wells, a civil
rights activist, journalist and organizer of the NAACP; Bessie Coleman,
the first African-American woman pilot; Gwendolyn Brooks, famous
author and first African-American recipient of the Pulitzer Prize,
actress Marla Gibbs, the legendary singers, Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls,
and Louis Armstrong, the legendary trumpet player and bandleader
who performed at many of the area's night clubs.
The neighborhood contains the Chicago Landmark Black Metropolis-Bronzeville
District. 47th Street was and remains the hub of the Bronzeville
neighborhood and in recent years has started to regain some of the
former glory of years gone by. Gone though for good is the Regal
Theater (demolished in 1973) where many great performers took the
stage. |