Between 1916 and 1970, more than half a million Black Southerners moved to Chicago in the Great Migration, and most of them first landed here, in a narrow strip of the South Side. Shut out of the rest of the city, they built a city of their own: the Black Metropolis, with its own banks, newspapers, insurance companies, churches and nightclubs. Louis Armstrong played jazz here, gospel music was born here and Black History Month was founded here. This walk takes you from the businesses of the 1920s past the church where Emmett Till's mother showed the world what was done to her son, the club where Armstrong played and the homes of the people who changed America.
- Nearest 'L' station
- 35th-Bronzeville-IIT Green · 4 min walk to the start
The first 3 stops
Try these stops for free in the app. The full stories and directions are waiting for you there.
1Overton Hygienic Building
2Chicago Bee Building
3Roberts Temple
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🔒19 more stops to discover
In the app, Bronzeville will be $2.99 for the full 4.6 mi route: every stop's photos and stories, and GPS guidance that tells you when you've arrived.
Coming soon to the PaveTrail app. The Chicago walks are on their way; New York's 26 walks are in the app now.
Also on this walk: Sunset Cafe, Victory Monument, Wabash Avenue YMCA and more
Sights
- Bronzeville Walk of Fame
- Eighth Regiment Armory
- Harold Washington Cultural Center
- Ida B. Wells House
- Oscar De Priest House
- Robert Abbott House
- Rosenwald Courts
- South Side Community Art Center
- Sunset Cafe
- Supreme Life Building
- The Forum
- Victory Monument
- Wabash Avenue YMCA
Food and drink
- Bronzeville Soul
- Chicken and Waffles
- Peach's
- Pearl's Place
- Shawn Michelle's
- Yassa
