Bronzeville

Love at Twentieth Sight

Thursday, May 17, 2012
By Josh Kovensky

Can getting hitched survive today’s fast-paced hookup culture? Where can South-Siders go for traditional long-term relationships? Is love at first sight really possible in our time? Tameka Jones of Pretty in Pink Productions has answers. Her speed dating service, Twenty First Dates, presents the opportunity for love at first (or twentieth) sight to the... »

Ain’t She Sweet Café

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
By Lily Gabaree
Ain’t She Sweet Café

Ain’t She Sweet Café in Bronzeville serves up a smoothie worthy of a billboard—but glistening condensation and an upright straw meet their match with a decidedly solid sandwich. Originally opened in 2006 at another location two minutes away, the café relocated to its current space in 2010. Everything still seems new, and crisply clean,... »

A State of Nonbelief

Friday, February 24, 2012
By Gregor-Fausto Siegmund
A State of Nonbelief

For a bunch of atheists, the conversation was in some ways unsurprising. Gathered in a Bronzeville Starbucks, the group broached all the major talking points—evolution, the Bible, zealots. The inaugural meeting of the Black Nonbelievers of Chicago (BNOC) also brushed with more intimate topics, such as the members’ personal trajectories towards atheism and issues... »

Garden Fresh

Thursday, January 5, 2012
By Eric Green
Garden Fresh

The Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments in Bronzeville are a sorry sight. At one time, this building was among the city’s largest housing projects. It was built in 1929 by Julius Rosenwald, owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company, at the request of Rosenwald’s friend, Booker T. Washington. Stretching west from Michigan to Wabash and north... »

Rose Tinted

Wednesday, November 30, 2011
By Katherine Sacco
Rose Tinted

The genesis of the “Pink | Space” exhibition was a simple question. Noyes asked herself, “What is my space?” To come to an answer, she looked inside humanity for something we all share: the color pink. »

Building Up

Thursday, November 10, 2011
By Nathan Worcester
Building Up

Skilken’s website advertises “The Shops and Lofts at 47” as an example of the firm’s ability to “capture opportunity in underserved markets.” Per their plans, retail space at the site will total 55,000 square feet, including a 40,000 square foot anchor store and seven or eight small shops. »

Waiting for the Bus

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
By Maria Nelson
Waiting for the Bus

Today, there is no bus along 31st Street. In the neighborhoods the street cuts through, east-west bus service is lacking. Between Cermak Road and 47th Street, Chicago’s grid system of bus service breaks down, leaving large areas of white space on the CTA system map and roughly 200,000 people without a direct route. »

Noble Lineage

Wednesday, October 19, 2011
By Chelsea Leu
Noble Lineage

White Castle #16, at Wabash and Cermak, was built in 1929. Weathering the Depression and the eight decades that followed, the porcelain structure slowly lost its sheen. But in September, the site was deemed so important that the Commission on Chicago Landmarks awarded White Castle #16 the “2011 Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation... »