Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.2
South Side communities containing the blues clubs.
Nine Dominant South Side Blues Clubs
In this context, we also need to know that the locations of these South Side blues clubs
were established many decades ago and reflect this virulent segregation. As this se-
gregation intensified over the decades and these clubs were confined especially to the
South Side, Mayor Richard J. Daley's (1955-76) programs and policies systematically
cemented this situation. Daley's mantra, from the outset, was to sustain an established
social fabric—it was a city that supposedly worked (Bennett 2006). Adhering to this,
Daley's elaborate securing and orchestrating of public housing funds turned South Side
Chicago into the largest home for public housing in America. Daley's South Side was to
house,confine,andseparateblacks.Theopeningofthelargestpublichousingprojecton
earth,theRobertTaylorHomesin1962(28high-risebuildingsthatcontainedmorethan
27,000 people), was flanked by “public-housing city”: Hilliard Homes, Harold Ickes
Homes,DearbornHomes,StatewayGardens,andHenryHornerHomes.By1980,more
thantwo-fifthsofBronzeville'spopulationlivedinpublichousing.Daleyreinforcedthis
segregating most directly via zoning policies, policing practices, and targeting of Sec-
tion8vouchers(Kovaletal.2006;Greene, Bouman,&Grammenos 2006).Against this
backdrop, there have been precious few locations outside of this area that blues clubs
interested in serving their dominant patron—African Americans—could locate.
Thusoutlined,abriefmentionoftheSouthSide'sever-evolvingblues-capepost-2000
is important. After 2000, circumstances in the clubs diverged, reflected in the “Big
Nine” of venues (Lee's Unleaded, Checkerboard Lounge, Celebrity Lounge, 7313 Club,
Artis's Lounge, City Life, Club Eniquity, Reggie's Music Joint, East of the Ryan). On
theonehand,clubsintheSouth20suptothe50s—Reggie'sMusicJoint,ClubEniquity,
Checkerboard Lounge—experienced sustained economic stability. Bronzeville's gentri-
fying was at the heart of this. Growing numbers of middle-class “clubbers” (tourists,
gentrifiers, university students-professionals) meant greater gate sales and more spend-
ing on drinks and food. Owner L.C. Thurmond of Checkerboard Lounge called his club
“a renewed place by 2007 or so financially from what existed in the 1990s—the place
wasjustdoingbetter.”OwnerKalP.ofReggie'sMusicJointnotedthat“by2003wehad
squarely become a South Loop phenomenon—the South Loopers put us on their sched-
ule and they were massing at the door on weekends to come in … I had no complaints
about that.”
On the other hand, the clubs south of 53rd (Lee's Unleaded, Celebrity Lounge, 7313
Club, Artis's Lounge, City Life, East of the Ryan) continued an economic struggle. The
core of this: The post-2000 economic fortunes of many far South Side Chicago areas
