The Bronzeville Map

When I was in Chicago a couple of months ago I made a pilgrimage to the South Side to see the Bronzeville map. This is a bronze relief map created by artist Gregg LeFevre detailing the history of Chicago's African-American community.

I have not been able to find an image of the entire map online so I took pictures of various sections to give a sense of some of the many details. Quoted from the text below the map-the lower left of the image above:

"Depicted here are some of the geographic, cultural and historical features of this area - the “Black Metropolis” of Chicago. In the period after the First World War, an African-American community of vitality and influence developed along these streets. The mixture of people here since the late 19th Century and those drawn here during the Great Migration of the 20th Century produced a new force in Black America: an urban home distinguished for its accomplishments in business, the arts and community life. Particularly notable was a flowering of great music - jazz, blues and gospel - that has enriched American culture from that time forward. Today the Bronzeville legacy lives on in a community that looks with pride to its past and with confidence to its future."

There is a lot to unpack in this map including many maps within the map. Here is a section detailing the railroad history of the Great Migration.

A zoom in on the Illinois Central Railroad map.

A more close-up view shows the bronze relief.

There is a tribute to the many records that came out of this community,

as well as residences of famous musicians, recording studios and clubs. The feet represent walking tour routes.

 On the left below is the Vendome Theatre marquee, on the right is its site.

A tribute to the NAACP and other activist groups.

and a program from a Negro Leagues game between the Chicago American Giants and the New York Cubans-unfortunately I did not get the whole thing in the picture.

Here is the southeast corner of the map with the title block.

Finally, a bit of the lakefront area with my foot stupidly in the picture providing some scale. Nice waves!

The map can be found in the median of Martin Luther King Drive at 35th St.