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Roseland Michigan Avenue Commercial District
Address: From 107th to 115th on S. Michigan Avenue
Architect: Various
Date: c. 1887 to c. 1930
Style: Chicago Commercial Vernacular
Neighborhood: Roseland
OVERVIEW
Roseland’s South Michigan Avenue Commercial District is the commercial center and heart of this Far South Side community, located approximately 15 miles from downtown Chicago. Situated on a hilltop ridge, the corridor extends between 100th Street and the viaduct just south of 115th Street, with the central core of the existing commercial district located between 110th and 115th Streets. Once referred to by local residents as “The Avenue,” the street’s viability as a commercial corridor began to deteriorate and fade in the mid-1970s. Over the decades, some historic buildings have been remodeled and
covered with new facades, and many other notable and significant commercial buildings, which further helped to define the district, have been lost to demolition. However, it is important to protect, restore and reuse the remaining structures, many of them noteworthy in their overall design and materials. This would honor the legacy and history of this remarkable community and encourage a holistic approach to further promote economic revitalization along the South Michigan Avenue commercial corridor.
HISTORY
The Roseland community was established with settlements in 1849 by Dutch immigrants mainly from the villages of Eenigenburg and Schoorl in the Netherlands. The initial group of early Dutch settlers traveled to America on a ship called the Massachusetts of Boston. While journeying from France to New York, an outbreak of Asiatic cholera impacted the ship, with 17 members of the original 64 passengers succumbing to their illness. After arriving in Buffalo, New York, they headed to Chicago via steamer ship through the Great Lakes and disembarked at the docks along the Chicago River. They traveled a series of roads southward from the city center and settled in the unincorporated Calumet Region. The initial settlements were perched on the west ridge of Lake Calumet and located near the Grand Calumet and Little Calumet Rivers. The region was part of the Lake Michigan watershed and included areas of vast prairies and wetlands. Noting the geography of their settlement along a natural ridge, the early Dutch settlers referred to this area as the “High Prairie” and were later to be known as “the Hollanders of High Prairie.”
The initial settlers, now remembered and honored as the “Nine Founding Fathers of Roseland” included Johannes Ambuul, Jakob and Pieter De Jong, Klaas and Pieter Dalenberg, Jan Jonker, Cornelis Kuyper, Jan Ton and Leendert van der Sijde, along with their families. They purchased land along an “old Indian Trail,” also known as “Chicago-Thornton Road,” “Holland Settlement Road” and “High Road,” which later became South Michigan Avenue in Roseland. Further settlement came in 1852 with the establishment of the Michigan Central Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad in the area to the east and the Calumet (later known as Kensington) Station
which later became part of a vast switching yard for the trains. In 1860, the administration of President Abraham Lincoln appointed the first postmaster for the area and named the post office Hope, Illinois.
Dutch residents of Roseland supported President Abraham Lincoln, vowing to help the Union, where possible, during the American Civil War from 1861-1865. According to the book Down An Indian Trail in 1849: The Story of Roseland, “It is well known that [Kornelius/Cornelius] Kuyper’s home was a station on the Underground Railroad and that he was a valuable member of that organization. As an Abolitionist and local Magistrate, he helped many fleeing slaves, seeing that they were safely conducted to the home of [Roseland settler] Jan Ton on the Little Calumet River, thence to Hammond, Indiana, Tremont, Indiana, Detroit, Michigan, and finally Canada.”
Other important Roseland figures in the Underground Railroad included Charles Volney Dyer (1808-1878), who was a prominent abolitionist and “Stationmaster,” hosting many freedom seekers, along with the Dalton Brothers (Charles and Henry) and both Jan/John Ton (1826-1896) and his wife Aggie Vander Syde-Ton, who resided on a farm on the north bank of the Calumet River from 1859 to 1867.
Colonel James Harvey Bowen (1822-1881), known as “The Father of South Chicago,” was a real estate developer who became the first president of the Calumet Chicago Land and Dock Company in 1873. He suggested the area be renamed “Roseland” because of the abundance of beautiful flowers, roses and gardens that had been planted by the Dutch settlers. Bowen renamed other nearby areas including Kensington (formerly called Calumet/Calumet Station), Riverdale and Burnside in 1873. In 1879, Bowen brokered the sale of thousands of acres of land to the Pullman Land Association for the Pullman Car Works, also referred to as the “Chicago Works of the Pullman Palace Car Company.”
In 1883, 4,000 acres of land became the planned industrial town of Pullman, which was established by American Industrialist George Mortimer Pullman (1831-1897) for the manufacturing of passenger railroad cars. The town of Pullman was planned for a site just east of Roseland, and was designed by architect Solon Spencer Beman (1853- 1914) and landscape architect Nathan Franklin Barrett (1845-1919). The Town of Pullman was opened with much fanfare and was a model industrial town, where factory workers lived in nearby residences built, controlled and
operated by Mr. Pullman and the Pullman Land Association. However, some workers and their families felt limited by Pullman’s strict control on commercial offerings in Pullman, which secured nearby Roseland as a popular destination. South Michigan Avenue in Roseland became an alternative to the limited businesses and services available in nearby Pullman within the Beman-designed Pullman Arcade Building (demolished in 1927) and Market Hall (partially extant following multiple fires). With this new industrial town of Pullman nearby, Roseland and its commercial districts including South Michigan Avenue thrived. Both Pullman and Roseland were annexed into the City of Chicago in 1889.
Roseland was integrally connected to Pullman from the early days. Roseland was a well-established community at the time of Pullman’s construction, and it offered goods and services in addition to restaurants and saloons, which were frowned upon by Mr. Pullman in pursuit of his idyllic and picturesque company town. It has been said that Mr. Pullman encouraged his workers to purchase homes in Roseland to remain loyal to the community and the company. In later years, when Pullman itself faced challenges in the 1930s through the 1960s and its neighborhood’s reputation appeared to fade, Roseland once again provided relief and resources to support its neighboring community.
However, in the 1960s and early 1970s, the town of Pullman was once again recognized, honored, and given National Register designation, followed by a Chicago Landmark designation, for its architectural, labor and Civil Rights history and links. It was designated the Pullman National Monument in 2015 and is expected to draw many additional tourists with this designation, along with the reinvestment of private developers and the National Park Service in the community.
Roseland and historic South Michigan Avenue, along with neighboring Pullman, have the opportunity to again assist and support each other toward redevelopment projects. Pullman as a National Monument will attract many visitors, expected to be in the hundreds of thousands over the course of a year. Roseland, which since the 1970s
has seen significant demographic changes and extreme disinvestment, can rely on Pullman to some extent with a draw of visitors’ tourism dollars and a place to visit as part of a Roseland-Pullman destination.
The First Reformed Church of Roseland was for many decades a centerpiece of the early community, beginning in about 1855. It was rebuilt in brick by the early Dutch settlers or “Hollanders” in 1887, with Jan Kleinhuizen and Hendrik De Jong as the contractors. Located at 107th and Michigan, the new church (still extant) replaced an earlier frame church adjacent to the immediate north. As the community transitioned rapidly from predominantly Caucasian to predominantly African-American in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Dutch Reformed Church Building became the Lilydale Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in 1971.
Early houses, including the 1849 home of Cornelis Kuyper (demolished) mentioned earlier as part of the Underground Railroad, stood just south of 103rd and Michigan Avenue. Another early house belonging to Pieter Boone at 10057 S. Michigan Avenue, circa 1869, is among the earliest structures in Roseland. It was constructed from locally made De Jong Brick and was built during a later wave of Dutch immigration. Both the First Reformed Church of Roseland, now Lilydale Church, and the Boone House should be considered for Chicago Landmark designation and protection.
As jobs left the steel mills, auto plants and the Pullman Car Company, the decline of the Roseland community and surrounding areas began to accelerate. Roseland and nearby communities suffered from “white flight” fueled by illegal real estate block-busting. Racial violence occurred in the past, dating back to August of 1947 when African- American veterans and their families moved into the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA) Fernwood Park Housing Development at 104th and Halsted. Similar events occurred in Altgeld Gardens, a CHA development, further south.
The once-thriving commercial corridor along South Michigan Avenue began a long period of decline. Many stores went out of business and vacant buildings deteriorated due to deferred maintenance. The lack of new replacement stores led to an increase in vacancy and discouraged reinvestment from property owners. After years of deterioration, some buildings were boarded up, abandoned, and in some cases, demolished. Interventions from the City of Chicago were either inadequate or ineffective and were unable to reverse the downward trend.
The strength and dedication of block clubs throughout the neighborhood has been a foundation for increased stabilization of housing stock and the strengthening of community networks.
THREATS
A significant number of historic buildings along South Michigan Avenue in Roseland have been lost over the past 50 years, and much of what remains is in vulnerable condition. Without the necessary investment and maintenance, the surviving historic buildings are at risk of demolition by neglect.
Since 2015, Preservation Chicago has worked closely with the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce to conduct neighborhood surveys and tours with local youth, supported by the One Summer Chicago program, Phalanx Family Services, Metropolitan Family Services, and 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale.
In the summer of 2019, Roseland community members and Preservation Chicago conducted an electronic survey of buildings and parcels along South Michigan Avenue between 103rd and 116th Streets. This mapping and data collection work was conducted with community residents and volunteers through a survey initiative of Preservation Chicago.
Much of the historic fabric along Michigan Avenue that has been lost has been replaced by vacant land and parking lots. Demolition has caused significant impact to the streetscape between 100th and 110th Streets, however, south of 111th Street the streetscape still retains much of its historic fabric along with a collection of viable and legacy businesses. The overall current condition of many of the existing commercial buildings ranges from fair to poor. The electronic survey data helps to identify and quantify vacant parcels, vacant buildings, building condition, and buildings with historic character.
Sadly, during the course of planning and surveying properties along South Michigan Avenue, the iconic Gately’s People’s Store was lost to fire in June 2019, another reminder of the fragility of these buildings and the urgency to
develop effective strategies for revitalization. We have identified at least 12 historic buildings along the Michigan Avenue corridor that are in extremely vulnerable condition. In February 2020 just prior to publication, two historic structures along South Michigan Avenue were lost to emergency demolitions due to life safety and public safety concerns.
Approximately 30 historic properties were identified as in good or excellent condition by volunteer surveyors, which could be models for other historic buildings along the commercial corridor.
There are several vibrant legacy businesses along the corridor, including Old Fashioned Donuts at 11248 S. Michigan, Ware’s Ranch Steakhouse at 11147 S. Michigan, Bass Furniture & Rug at 11431 S. Michigan, and Edwards Fashions at 11361 S. Michigan Avenue.
This commercial corridor once met the shopping and consumer needs of surrounding communities including Pullman, Kensington, Rosemoor, West Chesterfield, Roseland Heights, Chesterfield, Fernwood, Gano, Burnside, West Pullman, Riverdale and Altgeld Gardens. With revitalization happening in the area, especially to the immediate east in the Pullman National Monument
District, this is an opportune time to invest the financial incentives, energy and resources into reviving Roseland’s commercial corridor.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Historic preservation can be a p o w e r f u l to o l f o r e c o n o m i c development along Michigan Avenue. The number of historic buildings along South Michigan Avenue in Roseland exceed those recorded in the Chicago Historic Resource Survey (CHRS) completed in the 1990s, and more than 60% of those properties are in fair to poor condition. Of the original 17 orange-rated buildings listed in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey, only 12 remain today. Within days of publication, another historic building on South Michigan Avenue was lost to emergency demolition following a roof collapse. Without swift and effective investment, the deterioration and demolition will continue.
Chicago has an extraordinary opportunity to use the Invest South/West program to revitalize then South Michigan Avenue commercial corridor between 107th and 115th Streets. Priority should be focused on the preservation of existing historic structures and legacy businesses. Beautiful facades are obscured beneath subsequent remodelings. The restoration of these key historic buildings along South Michigan Avenue has the potential to inspire and catalyze a wider revitalization along the commercial corridor. Vacant parcels can be developed with new construction that visually enhances the historic character of the commercial district. Alternately, some of vacant land can be developed into landscaped sculpture gardens and brick-paved courtyards to provide unique and beautiful spaces for visitors to enjoy local businesses.
If strategically planned, South Michigan Avenue could experience a huge increase in tourism generated from the adjacent Pullman National Monument. Prior to the National Monument designation, visitors to Pullman numbered approximately 15,000 annually. Published estimates anticipate over 300,000 expected visitors to the Pullman National Monument annually. The City of Chicago and the community of Roseland have a great opportunity to capitalize on these visitors by investing in its historic buildings, sensibly developing vacant parcels along the commercial corridor and proactively attracting these visitors to South Michigan Avenue.
PlaceEconomics, a national organization that conducts local preservation impact studies, notes that historic preservation is an effective tool to stimulate commercial revitalization, encourage heritage tourism, increase property values, and generate additional jobs and incomes. Investing in historic buildings is a proven strategy to create more positive economic impact. PlaceEconomics’ research has determined that heritage tourists spend more for food/beverage, shopping, recreation, lodging, and transportation in comparison to average visitors.
Just down the hill from South Michigan Avenue on 111th Street is the historic, tree-lined Palmer Park which is almost adjacent to the Pullman National Monument. The creation of new Roseland-Pullman-Palmer Park Landmark District would serve as effective land bridge for heritage tourism, effectively drawing tens of thousands of visitors from the Pullman National Monument into Roseland and onto South Michigan Avenue. Additionally, it would create awareness, protections, and additional funding sources for significant commercial buildings, churches, schools, and greenspaces in Roseland with strong connections to George Pullman, the former “Pullman Lands,” and the Pullman National Monument.
For visitors to the Pullman National Monument to more fully understand the story of George Pullman, Pullman Porters, labor history, and the experience of Pullman workers, it’s essential to recognize George Pullman’s historic influence in shaping the development of Roseland and Pullman.
Pullman owned significant tracts of land on the west side of the Illinois Central railroad tracks. At that time, the tracks which were at street-level and land on the Roseland side were more visually connected and integrated to the Town of Pullman. These future parklands were on axis with the Town of Pullman, specifically the Administration Building and Hotel Florence along 111th Street. The concrete embankment which later raised the railroad tracks became an artificial barrier that bisected and divided the community. This landmark district proposal would help to reintegrate these two communities. Pullman played a role in the creation of the two vast symmetric green spaces along 111th Street in Roseland which became Palmer Park and the park-like campus of the magnificent former Pullman Free School of Manual Training, later known as the Gregor Mendel High School and now known as Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy.
George Pullman bequeathed $1.2 million in 1897 for the Pullman Free School of Manual Training designed by architect Frank Jobson in 1915. Palmer Park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers and the Palmer Park Fieldhouse was designed by D.H. Burnham & Company. Pullman donated land for the Pullman Branch Public Library designed by A.F. Hussander at 11001 S. Indiana Avenue. He also donated land for the two churches designed by Pullman’s architect Solon S. Beman, specifically Elim/Reformation Lutheran Church built in 1888 at 11310 S. Forest Avenue and the magnificent Holy Rosary (Irish) Roman Catholic Church/Greater Tabernacle Cathedral built in 1890 at 11300 S. King Drive. In approximately 1985, future president Barak Obama as a young 23-year-old had his first community organizing office in the basement of Holy Rosary Catholic Church and later moved to Elim/Reformation Lutheran Church. In addition, there are several early frame churches linked to Dutch abolitionist settlers that front Palmer Park and Brooks Academy. After being located in the Pullman Arcade Building, the Pullman Trust and Savings Bank moved to its new headquarters by architect Howard van Doren Shaw at 400 E. 111th Street in 1926. This beautiful limestone façade and columned corner entry served as the Pullman Bank’s headquarters until the 1970s and is located only 600 feet from the Pullman National Monument.
on Palmer Park to reconnect the communities Roseland and Pullman. It could extend along 111th Street from the Pullman National Monument to the Michigan Avenue commercial corridor and include the significant churches, schools, buildings, and greenspaces listed above.
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS for Roseland’s South Michigan Avenue Commercial District
1. Award façade improvement grants or low-interest building restoration loans designed to allow greater availability to new and existing building owners.
2. Create funding options for local investors to acquire and revitalize vacant buildings.
3. Assistance of the Cook County Land Bank Authority to make troubled properties available to responsible investors.
4. Increase financial and capacity support for local community organizations and chambers of commerce.
5. Establish a Landmark District, individual Landmarks, or a Neighborhood Character District to honor, restore and protect the historic character of Michigan Avenue. Neighborhood Character Districts are a new tool being created by the City of Chicago to protect the scale, massing, volume, setback and characteristic features of a neighborhood.
6. Encourage responsible building stewardship through greater enforcement of building code violations.
7. Invest in new construction on vacant parcels which contribute to the overall historic character of the commercial corridor.
8. Create grants or low-interest loans for existing building owners to invest in attractive security options for their storefronts and businesses.
9. Invest in affordable housing options on the upper floors of mixed-use commercial buildings.
10. Increase entrepreneurship mentoring, job training, and small business loans to grow and retain more wealth within the Roseland community.
11. Create a new Roseland-Pullman-Palmer Park Landmark District along 111th and 113th Streets to create a heritage bridge from Historic Pullman Monument to Roseland and South Michigan Avenue and protect significant George Pullman-related buildings in Roseland including churches by S.S. Beman, Palmer Park fieldhouse by D.H. Burnham, Palmer Park by Olmsted, Pullman Manual Training School, and Pullman Branch Library.
The City of Chicago, through its Invest South/West and other neighborhood revitalization programs, needs to strategically and comprehensively commit to reversing the disinvestment in Roseland that has occurred over the past 50 years with special focus on its commercial corridors. If the City of Chicago, community organizations, community members and other stakeholders can work together, success is possible.
While South Michigan Avenue is the priority, secondary commercial corridors that would benefit by increased investment include 111th, 95th, 103rd, 115th Streets, and Kensington Avenue. Each of these has a collection of historic buildings and businesses that could serve as a catalyst for change as part of a more holistic plan for the greater Roseland community. Additionally, some of these
secondary commercial corridors could serve as a bridge between Pullman and Roseland.
Restoration and development continues to progress in Pullman with the opening of the visitor center in the restored Pullman Administration Building planned for 2021. The hundreds of thousands of anticipated annual visitors to the Pullman Historic Monument are a powerful economic driver that needs to be harnessed with restaurants, shops and services. This presents an outstanding opportunity to attract more visibility and commerce to the Roseland community and especially South Michigan Avenue.
