“Former Ald. Mary Ann Smith’s quiet Edgewater block was renamed in her honor Sunday, commemorating the city official after she passed away this summer.
“A new street sign on the corner of North Wayne Avenue and West Balmoral Avenue was unveiled during a ceremony Sunday morning, with the 5400 block of North Wayne Avenue now being called “Honorary Mary Ann Smith Way.”
“During her 35 years in office from 1989-2011, Smith held a steadfast commitment to beautifying and preserving Edgewater, creating historic districts in Andersonville and Edgewater and dedicated herself to improving street and sidewalk quality across her ward.
“Thom Greene, architect and longtime collaborator of Smith’s, helped her develop traffic calming measures in the neighborhood to curb the negative environmental impacts of car pollution and to protect pedestrians.
“‘The first traffic calming circle I designed for Mary Ann was [in the neighborhood],’ Greene recounted. We got those ideas from Portland, Oregon… she did so many things for the neighborhood. When I drive around Edgewater, I just see all these touches we made to the community.”
“Smith even went so far as to earn a brief criminal record for her commitment to keeping the neighborhood looking good.
“In 1993, a private group began putting up ‘terrible’ advertisement benches and wouldn’t listen to the alderwoman’s warning that they couldn’t use public space like that. So, she took matters into her own hands, Greene previously told Block Club.
“Smith, Greene and one of her sons went out one night and painted over the benches — only to be caught, arrested and charged with criminal damage to property, Greene said and according to a 1993 Chicago Tribune article.” (Thrush, Block Club Chicago, 10/27/24)
“Former Ald. Mary Ann Smith’s fingerprints are all over the 48th Ward.
“From overseeing the creation of the city’s first traffic circles, speed humps and bike lanes to planting dozens of new trees along Broadway Street in Edgewater, she was all-in on environmentally-friendly beautification and making her ward more livable.
“She served on the Chicago City Council from 1989 to 2011. The 48th Ward includes parts of the Edgewater and Uptown.
“‘We had an experimental ward,’ said Bob Remer, former president of the Edgewater Historical Society. ‘And the former mayor (Richard M. Daley), who was known for his beautification efforts, embraced it and he sent her to urban planning conferences to represent the city.’
“Mrs. Smith, who helped create affordable housing for people with HIV/AIDS, was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1997. ‘She created that housing, as well as affordable housing for immigrants and refugees, in the spirit of inclusion and diversity over NIMBYism.
“Mrs. Smith also helped create three federally recognized historic districts in her ward to help preserve the character of its neighborhoods.” (Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/6/24)
Ward Miller and Preservation Chicago worked closely with Mary Ann Smith for decades. She was a tireless, visionary with the perseverance to get hard things done. She was an extraordinary leader who will be deeply missed.
Read the full story at Block Club Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times
- Former Edgewater Ald. Mary Ann Smith Honored With Street Sign; The former alderwoman and city official, who died this year, had her Edgewater block named in her honor, Charles Thrush, Block Club Chicago, 8/27/24
- Mary Ann Smith, former 48th Ward alderperson who ‘led a renaissance’ in the community, dies at 77; Mrs. Smith, a dog lover, looked to dog walkers as her community’s eyes and ears, Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/6/24
- Former Edgewater Ald. Mary Ann Smith, City Hall Staple For 2 Decades, Dies at 77; The former alderwoman, who served from 1989 to 2011, championed historical preservation, beautification and the protection of park spaces, friends, family and colleagues said, Madison Savedra, Block Club Chicago, 8/4/24