“Legendary musicians, long-lost night clubs and forgotten record labels — all from the West Side — are the focus of a permanent exhibit that opened last month at the Austin Town Hall Park and Cultural Center.
“‘Unsung Austin-West Side Stories,’ organized and presented by the Chicago Blues Museum, explores 70 years of musical history on the West Side through large reprints of archival photos, banners and posters along with extensive descriptions. The free exhibit is hosted in the lobby of the park’s cultural center, 5610 W. Lake St.
“This is the first time the West Side is getting an exhibit that chronicles its unique history and contributions to music, said Gregg Parker, founder of the Chicago Blues Museum and curator of the exhibit.
“‘Chicago is known all around the world for its blues and soul. But they just say ‘Chicago,’ so it made the West Side pretty much get overlooked,’ Parker said.
“Spanning the 1920s to the 1990s, the exhibit honors West Side-born or based legends, from jazz musician Benny Goodman, blues guitarists Eddie Taylor and Otis Rush and groups like The Emotions and Earth, Wind & Fire to modern artists like rappers Twista and Da Brat.
“Legendary West Side nightclubs and lounges are featured in the photographs and posters, including Copa Cabana and The 1815 on Roosevelt Road and Silvio’s on Lake Street, where early Chicago blues musicians would play before their music was taken to other parts of the city and the world.
“Placing the exhibit in a Chicago Park District field house was intentional, Parker said.
“Parker has worked with the Park District since the early ‘90s. That’s when he started the Chicago Blues Museum, an expansive and still growing collection of images, photographs, films, recordings, memorabilia and artifacts. With the museum’s co-founder and designer, Stefanie Mielke, they put the artifacts together into custom-made exhibits that travel to community-based settings around the city and beyond.
“The ‘Unsung Austin’ exhibit is a part of a larger effort to revitalize the Austin Town Hall building, a 1929 Georgian Revival-style Chicago landmark that went through a recent pool and basement restoration and auditorium renovation. (Marszałek, Block Club Chicago, 6/24/25)
“Unsung Austin-West Side Stories”
Presented by the Chicago Blues Museum
Austin Town Hall Park and Cultural Center, 5610 W. Lake St.
9 a.m.-7p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
Free exhibit