Eerie Scene

For Friday the 13th I thought I would post an eerie scene at dusk from my Cabrini collection.  This was taken the night before demolition began on 1230 N Burling the final Cabrini Green high-rise.  You can see a couple of the lights shining from the LED Art Installation on the right half of the building.

Seagull Distractions

Burling High-Rise and SoNo

It's going to be interesting to see what this area will look like 5, 10, and 20 years from now.  15 years ago eight Cabrini Green high-rises were located on this site bounded by Evergreen, Halsted, Division Streets and Clybourn Avenue.  Now 1230 N Burling, referred to by residents as "Scamplife," is all that remains with the exception of the Francis Cabrini Rowhomes to the south.  The political and social issues involved with this land are so complex that it would require a book hundreds of pages in length to fully elaborate in detail (maybe this is in the works).  It is my hope that the Chicago Housing Authority will live up to their promises by offering affordable housing to those who have been displaced so they are able to return.  

Lately the word has been that Target is interested in the site at Division and Halsted where the Burling building stands.  The last thing I would want to see is for this area to become cluttered with retail stores, parking lots, and strip malls.  Those who live in Chicago know that there is already abundance of this on North Avenue and up and down Clybourn.  

To the right of this image (north) is the SoNo residential high-rise.  SoNo refers to the area SOuth of NOrth Avenue a name derived from New York's SoHo in lower manhattan (South of Houston Street, which was derived from London's SoHo neighborhood).  The SoNo as a neighborhood title hasn't quite taken off and probably won't become a household name anytime soon, but it's definitely a sign of things to come.

1230 N Burling Via Zoom Lens

Hanging Shoes with City Views

A few weeks ago demolition was completed on two Cabrini Green buildings commonly referred to as "the reds" at 364 and 365 W Oak Street.  I strolled by the empty sites and noticed 2 pairs of shoes hanging from the power lines.  There are several reasons to explain the act of shoe tossing.  It can be viewed as a sign that drugs can be found there, it can represent a murder victim, or gang turf, etc.  I would like to believe that they the former residents and community that existed at 364 and 365 W Oak Street.  Or, quite possibility, the shoes could have been placed there by former residents as symbols of the structures that use to be. 

Cabrini Green: Mixing It Up

Filmmaker Ronit Bezalel has been working on the completion of part 2 of the Cabrini Green story, titled "Mixing It Up."  I look forward to see how it all comes together.  Pictured above is 1120 N Larrabee which was demolished last fall.

Project Cabrini Green

The last remaining high-rise at Cabrini Green is scheduled to be demolished today.  Two days ago, 134 LED lights were placed in each of the vacant apartments at 1230 N Burling.  This art installation is a community based project headed by Jan Tichy, artist and professor of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  At night the flickering lights can be seen within the Burling building at the corner of Division and Haldsted Streets.  The lights will fall along with the building throughout the month-long demolition.  I will be returning to photograph the site throughout the month of April.  To learn more check out Project Cabrini Green.

Cabrini-Green - 364 and 365 W Oak Street

With all of the attention on the last remaining high-rise at 1230 N Burling, many wouldn't even realize there are actually 3 Cabrini-Green housing units set for demolition this year.  Pictured above are the lingering Cabrini-Green Extension buildings known simply as "the reds."  With the exception of passing traffic, this area between Chicago Avenue and Division Street just west of Orleans is fairly quiet now.  For updates on the transformation of Cabrini-Green please check out The Cabrini-Green Projects by photographer Ryan Flynn.  You will even find images of the demolition by yours truly. 

View Northwest

A night view looking northwest from high above on LaSalle.  Centered is what remains of the white high-rises of Cabrini Green near the intersection of Division and Clybourn.

Cabrini Green

In May of this year residents of of this Cabrini Green building at 1230 N Larrabee were given their 30 day eviction notices by the Chicago Housing Authority.  31 Families have been placed into one of the 4 remaining Cabrini Green buildings until more suitable housing is found. The CHA has been given the green light to begin further development for mixed-income housing under Chicago's Plan for Transformation.  It has been referred to as the most extensive and controversial public housing redevelopment plans in the United States.

Pictured are the Cabrini Green row houses built in 1942.  In the early 20th century this corner of Cleveland St. (formerly Milton St) and Oak St. was known as "Death Corner."  The neighborhood was referred to as Little Hell and was comprised mostly of Italian immigrants.  Assassins designated this intersection as a dumping ground for their murder victims.  In 1910 between the months of January and March, 15 bodies were found here.

The last remaining Cabrini high-rise at 1230 N Burling will be scheduled for demolition in early 2011.  Last July the remaining residents received their 180 day notices to vacate the premise.  In September the building had a vacancy rate of around 80 percent.  Residents were given options to move to the row houses pictured in the first photo, the Parkside of Old Town development at 1100 N Cleveland, or various other public housing developments in the south and west sides.  To read more about Cabrini Green visit Documenting the Transformation by photographer Ryan Flynn.