East Village history, for the record
Catherine Garypie and Gladys Anselmo review photos destined for the Chicago History Museum.
In its 30-plus years, the East Village Association has generated a substantial paper trail: Countless letters to city officials tell the stories of everything from graffiti paint-outs and crime watches to landmarking and tree plantings. And there were barbecues, holiday parties and protest marches. It's quite a history.
But it was also likely to have disappeared into obscurity. Organizing these files is a formidable task, and the documentation was scattered in the basements, attics and garages of various former officers.
Now, that history will be available in perpetuity to future researchers of urban development, as part of the archives of the Research Center at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.
The Research Center is interested in East Village’s role in citizen action movements and community and neighborhood life, saving the Goldblatt's Building (now the West Town Branch library at 1625 W. Chicago Ave.) and helping start a community land trust (the Frankie Machine garden at 1800 W. Haddon St.).
Records of our work on these and other issues will join the over 22 million Chicago and U.S. history artifacts in the Research Center collection.
Board members spent time organizing these materials for the Research Center to evaluate. Many thanks!