“Standing in a vacant lot that sits between the two housing projects he grew up in, Marques ‘Merk’ Elliston pointed down an alley toward Burling Street and was reminded of a childhood memory. Elliston and his lifelong friend, Cher’Don Reynolds, grew up in the Cabrini-Green public housing complex and have seen their neighborhood essentially vanish over the course of 25 years.
“One structure that still stands is the Strangers Home Missionary Baptist Church at the corner of Clybourn Avenue and Larrabee Street. A religious center for Black families once surrounded by the towers of Cabrini-Green, the church has sat vacant for over a decade.
“Today, Elliston and Reynolds are spearheading a project to revitalize and preserve the building and convert it into a creative and business hub called the Cabrini Art House: a place for storytelling, creative projects, celebration and education.
“‘Our vision for this project is to not only reclaim land in the area in which we were raised, but to make it a safe haven for former and current residents,’ Reynolds said. ‘And to use art to connect people, to bring back the culture of the community and to use this land as a way to learn about the old and the new.’
“Elliston and Reynolds are raising money to buy the building and have partnered with a handful of organizations, including the All Mankind Coalition, and the National Public Housing Museum, to help with preservation and fundraising efforts.
“With an estimated total cost for the project at $5 million, Elliston and Reynolds are splitting their fundraising campaign into phases. They’ve raised $15,000 so far of their initial $150,000 goal, they said.
“Today, much of the area looks unrecognizable to the people who grew up there. The housing projects were replaced with a well-groomed, freshly landscaped neighborhood that includes an Apple store and more than 3,500 mixed-income apartments — most of which the original Cabrini-Green tenants could never afford.
“One building that did survive was the Strangers Home Missionary Baptist Church at 617 W. Evergreen Ave. The church was a religious center for Italian immigrants post-World War II and later for Black families on the Near North Side.
“In 1972, Chicago muralist William Walker painted ‘All of Mankind,’ a mural on the church’s wall that depicted people of all races holding hands in unity and was an ode to the Black family and Black leaders. The mural, like many of Walker’s pieces across the city, explored ‘the beauty and struggle of Black America and envisioned a world united,’ according to Preservation Chicago.
“Known as one of Walker’s masterpieces, the mural was painted over and whitewashed in 2015, years after the city’s razing of Cabrini-Green, in light of news that a new owner at the time was considering converting the church into a home.
“Elliston, a marketing strategist, music executive and the founder of Dsgnrz Creative Agency, said there’s hope the mural can be restored. It’ll take significant work to do so, but he’s hoping the attention around the Cabrini Art House will help get things moving in the right direction.
“‘The church, and even the mural itself, was such a safe haven for people who weren’t even aware of what was going on around here,’ Elliston said. ‘If you needed answers, this was the place to go to. In a way, we envision our project being the same thing.'” (Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 8/13/24)
“To try and help with the process, Elliston and Reynolds have assembled what they described as a “dream team” of preservers. Organizations like the All Mankind Coalition, National Public Housing Museum, Art on Sedgwick and Bustling Spaces have all joined the cause, lending their support. “It’s gonna take even more than that to pull this off,” Elliston added.
“The project has gained traction, with the church recently being added to Preservation Chicago’s 2024 list of Chicago’s most endangered sites. In 2021, Preservation Chicago helped secure landmark status for the home of Emmett Till, a route which might prove to be useful for the Cabrini Art Project.” (Johnson, TheTRiiBE, 4/3/24)
Read the full story at Block Club Chicago
- Former Cabrini-Green Residents Are Working To Preserve Landmark Church As Community Hub; Marques “Merk” Elliston and Cher’Don Reynolds hope to buy the former Strangers Home Missionary Baptist Church and convert it into the Cabrini Art House, an arts and community center, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 8/13/24
- Former Cabrini-Green residents fight to obtain and restore landmark on the North Side, Jerome “Rome J.” Johnson, TheTRiiBE, 4/3/24
- All of Mankind Mural/Stranger’s Home Missionary Baptist Church, a Preservation Chicago 2024 Chicago 7 Most Endangered Chapter