Best Places in Bronzeville

Best Places in Bronzeville

Boundaries: Between 26th Street South to 47th Street, from Federal Street East to Cottage Grove

Once known as the “Black Metropolis,” Bronzeville was the center of African-American culture in the 1940s and was home to historical figures such as Duke Ellington, Ida B. Wells and Daniel Hale Williams. It’s believed an editor of the Chicago Bee in the 1930s was the one who coined the name “Bronzeville” to refer to the skin color of the residents who replaced the white upper-class community members who lived there in the 1870s.

Our Picks

Alice's BBQ

Alice's is one of the best kept secrets in Chicago and probably has the "the best bar-b-que in the city". People come from everywhere to get their ribs.
Many local's are aware of the food and conditions of this establishment, having said that the food is of high quality and the over-all condition may not be to your standards. This is for take-out only and please call ahead for your order....

More...

Pearl's Place Restaurant

Saluting Historic Bronzeville
A soul food hidden gem!!
If you are looking for that comfort soul food that your mama use to make then this is the place...

More...

Bronzeville Art District Trolley Tour

Bronzeville Art District Trolley Tour on Friday's
The trolleys will run between the following locations throughout the night allowing riders to board and get off at any location: Faie African Art Gallery, 1005 E. 43rd St; Gallery Guichard, 3521 S. King Drive; and South Side Community Art Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave.


Chicago Daily Defender

Founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott, this leading African-American newspaper was run by John H. Sengstacke until his death in 1997. Always a champion for the rights of all citizens, the Defender gained influence and was one of the first African-american newspapers to reach a  circulation of more than 100,000. The newspaper was also instrumental in convincing thousands of African Americans to leave the racial oppression of the south to come north in search of equality, education, employment, and a better life.


Griffin Funeral Home

Site of Camp Douglas Civil War Training and Induction Center

During the Civil War, a Union Army Training Post was built at 31st Street between Cottage Grove and South Parkway. It served as a Confederate prisonerof war camp from 1862-1865 housing approximately 26,000 Confederate soldiers in temporary wooden barracks. Because of the harsh conditions, approximately foru thousand men died and were buried in unmarked pauper's graves in the Chicago City Cemetery, located in what is now the southeast corner of Lincoln Park.


Alice's BBQ

Alice's is one of the best kept secrets in Chicago and probably has the "the best bar-b-que in the city". People come from everywhere to get their ribs.
Many local's are aware of the food and conditions of this establishment, having said that the food is of high quality and the over-all condition may not be to your standards. This is for take-out only and please call ahead for your order....


Bronzeville Visitor Information Center

Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council:
The Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council (BMC&TC) is an Illinois not-for-profit 501(c)3, tax exempt, Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), formed to provide Illinois travel and tourism professionals/entrepreneurs with ongoing technical, marketing and research support to create new, competitive African American heritage tourism products.


Chess Records

Blues legend Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation is located in the former site of Chess Records, the recording home of blues luminaries such as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor and Etta James.
Chress Records was founded by Leonard and Phil Chess, who came to Chicago along with many European Jew seeking a better life in the United States. Their's is an interesting tale of immigrant success mixed with Black musicians, ioneers in a musical art form born in the south.


Chicago Bee Building

The home of the Chicago Bee Newspaper, which was founded by Anthony Overton to promote black businesses and issues. The art-deco building has an elegant terra cotta facade and today houses the Chicago Bee Branch Library 


Eighth Regiment Armory

This was the first armory for an African-American regiment, serving the "Fighting 8th," which fought in the Spanish-American War and served with distinction in World War I. After years of disuse, this grandiose building has been restored and now houses the nation's first public college-prep military school, which is unfortunately not open for visitors 


eta Creative Arts Foundation

Incorporated in April 1971, ETA is recognized as one of Chicago's leading African-American cultural performing arts institutions. It has garnered a national and international reputation for the quality of its artistic product, its management, volunteer leadership and community involvement. 


Gallery Guichard

 A Bronzeville art gallery dealing in fine art, especially related to Africa and the African diaspora as well as multicultural art from around the world. Contact Gallery Guichard to visit the gallery and experience fine art exhibitions held every 2 to 3 months.


Harold's Chicken Shack

Harold Pierce, an African-American Chicago entrepreneur, founded the restaurant in 1950. The character of Harold's developed primarily out of necessity, because the larger fast food chains tended to avoid African-American neighborhoods. In turn, Chicago's legal and social obstacles to black-owned businesses at the time prevented Harold's from expanding into downtown or the North Side. Harold's became one of the few examples of a thriving fast food chain that was owned by, and primarily served, the black community.


Highlights of Chicago Tours

Bernard Turner’s career has been in teaching and educational publishing. He is a docent at the Chicago History Museum where he gives walking tours of Old Town and Lincoln Park. He also provides Green Line and Brown Line ‘L’ tours and guided tours of Bronzeville. In 2002, Mr. Turner founded Highlights of Chicago Press with the publication of A View of Bronzeville, a neighborhood tour guide that focuses on the important institutions and people that made Bronzeville a great neighborhood. Other publications by Highlights of Chicago Press include: TJ and The Mysterious Stranger, a children’s story; Our Chicago—People and Places; The Windies’ City—Chicago’s Historical Hidden Treasures; Chicago Neighborhoods with Flavor—Getting Out of the Loop. The most recent Highlights of Chicago Press publication is My Spanish Coloring Book.


Ida B. Wells-Barnett House

 Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931), journalist, civil rights advocate, suffragist
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett lived in Chicago in this late-19th-century Romanesque Revival style stone residence while fighting to end lynching, segregation and the economic oppression of African Americans. She and her husband bought the building in 1919 and lived there until 1929.


Jokes and Notes

 JOKES & NOTES, a hip new beautifully designed state-of-the-art 150 seat club with a rich and sophisticated decor equipped with a full bar, cozy circular banquettes and television monitors.
JOKES & NOTES is certain to provide their audience with a quality place to unwind, have a great time with good company and guests may relax and enjoy a beverage in the lounge area prior to show time or, during performances, with visual of on stage performance from 24" monitors.


Pearl's Place Restaurant

Saluting Historic Bronzeville
A soul food hidden gem!!
If you are looking for that comfort soul food that your mama use to make then this is the place...


Roscoe's Chicken And Waffles

Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles is a Long Beach, California-based soul food restaurant chain founded by Herb Hudson, a Harlem native, in 1975.
It is best known, as the name states, for serving chicken and waffles, both together and separately, although they do offer more traditional menu items as well.

 


South Loop Hotel

 A unique urbane experience in hospitality, the Chicago South Loop Hotel's radiant sophistication invokes the ambient feel of a private club nestled just outside the hustle and bustle of Downtown Chicago. The Chicago South Loop Hotel rests in the heart of the historic Bronzeville District and just a few minutes from McCormick Place, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chinatown and U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago South Loop hotel flaunts a myriad of amenities and services.


Sunset Cafe (Ace Meyers Hardware Store)

Countless Jazz Legends played at this legendary jazz club, including: Bix Beiderbecke, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, and of course, Louis Armstrong. The club was run by unsavory mafia types and the musicians often had no choice but to keep playing here! Disjointed as it may be, the legendary club no longer exists and the building houses a hardware store. Nonetheless, the Sunset Cafe is Chicago's number one jazz history site and should not be missed by anyone traveling along The Jazz Track.


Welcome Manor Inn

Built in 1893, this Queen Anne historic home is 12 minutes away from the center of Chicago’s Downtown Loop near popular attractions including the Museum Park Campus, Soldier Field, Millennium Park, the Chicago Art Institute, Museum of Science and Industry and the world class Theatre District. Our Chicago Bed and Breakfast is also within 3 miles of the McCormick Convention Center, University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology and U.S. Cellular Field.