OOTA Ep. 23 / “This is Still My Neighborhood”: Memories of Taylor St. and the Village

National Public Housing Museum (NPHM) Podcasts

Narrators Janetta Pegues and Allen Schwartz, in conversation with oral historian Liú Chen, share stories of living in the Jane Addams Homes, intimately known as “The Village”, during the 1940s–1980s. Janetta and Allen share insights about the neighborhood’s different periods of redevelopment and change, including the construction and development of University of Illinois Chicago in the 1960s and the ongoing gentrification of Little Italy.

Read the transcript here.

For more information about the historical and contemporary issues discussed in the episode, see our research sources below, along with additional learning materials.:

• Sources for sound design

• Raymond “Shaq” McDonald and Deral Willis challenging Mayor Richard M. Daley, excerpted from 70 Acres in Chicago documentary by Ronit Bezalel (2014). Accessed Sept. 5, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwW-Gw9CxyI.

• Florence Scala, excerpted from “Florence Scala for the People,” a video made by Italian Heritage Chicago (2011). Accessed Sept. 5, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8FMZOD3r3E.

• Chicago Indigenous Communities

• List of Illinois American Indian Organizations, Native American Chamber of Commerce of Illinois: www.nacc-il.org/illinois-american-indian-organizations

• An Exploration of Native American History in Chicago with Geoffrey Baer, WTTW (2021): interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2021/11/29/native-american-history-geoffrey-baer

• Center for Native Futures: www.centerfornativefutures.org/

• Chicago American Indian Oral History Project Records, The Newberry Library: i-share-nby.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CARLI_NBY/i5mcb2/alma991762098805867

• John N. Low, “Chicago is on the Lands of the Potawatomi: Why Land Acknowledgments for Chicago should acknowledge this historical fact,” https://johnnlow.com/2023/02/05/updates-at-long-last-chicago-is-on-the-lands-of-the-potawatomi-why-land-acknowledgments-for-chicago-should-acknowledge-this-historical-fact/

• Plan for Transformation and Roosevelt Square Redevelopment

• Finalization of Lease for the Chicago Fire Football Club Training Facility, Chicago Housing Authority (2023): www.thecha.org/lease-chicago-fire-football-club-training-facility

• “This Land Was Promised for Housing. Instead It’s Going to a Pro Soccer Team Owned by a Billionaire.” ProPublica & WTTW, Mick Dumke & Nick Blumberg (2022): www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-abla-fire-soccer-cha
• “Chicago Claims Its 22-Year ‘Transformation’ Plan Revitalized 25,000 Homes. The Math Doesn't Add Up.” ProPublica, Mick Dumke (2022): www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-authority-hud-transformation-plan

• Roosevelt Square Development Articles, DNAInfo News Aggregator: www.dnainfo.com/chicago/places/roosevelt-square/

• University of Illinois Chicago demolition, displacement, and development:

• “Renewal for Whom? The Origins of the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus,” Chicago History Museum, Katherine Quiroa (2023): www.chicagohistory.org/origins-of-university-of-illinois-chicago/

• The Boss & the Bulldozer documentary, WTTW, Stacy Robinson (2023): interactive.wttw.com/chicago-stories/boss-and-the-bulldozer/video

• “Daley vs. Little Italy” Interactive Article, WBEZ, Monica Eng (2016): interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/littleitaly/

• “Displaced: When the Eisenhower Expressway Moved in, Who Was Forced Out?” Interactive Article, WBEZ, Robert Loerzel: interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/eisenhower/

• Florence Scala Collection, University of Illinois Chicago Special Collections and University Archives: archivesspace.uic.edu/repositories/2/resources/1078

• Flashback: Florence Scala took on City Hall and Fought for Little Italy and a ‘gutsy’ Chicago, Chicago Tribune, Ron Grossman (updated 2022): www.chicagotribune.com/2022/03/10/flashback-florence-scala-took-on-city-hall-and-fought-for-little-italy-and-a-gutsy-chicago/

• Florence Scala: A Disowned Community Leader, Italian Americana, Sandro Corso (2019): www.jstor.org/stable/45210818