Illinois' Negro World War I Regiment; The Forgotten Story.

---

In historical writing and analysis, PRESENTISM introduces present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Presentism is a form of cultural bias that creates a distorted understanding of the subject matter. Reading modern notions of morality into the past is committing the error of presentism. Historical accounts are written by people and can be slanted, so I try my hardest to present fact-based and well-researched articles.

Facts don't require one's approval or acceptance.

I present [PG-13] articles without regard to race, color, political party, or religious beliefs, including Atheism, national origin, citizenship status, gender, LGBTQ+ status, disability, military status, or educational level. What I present are facts — NOT Alternative Facts — about the subject. You won't find articles or readers' comments that spread rumors, lies, hateful statements, and people instigating arguments or fights.

FOR HISTORICAL CLARITY

When I write about the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, I follow this historical terminology:

• The use of old commonly used terms, disrespectful today, i.e., REDMAN or REDMEN, SAVAGES, and HALF-BREED are explained in this article.

Writing about AFRICAN-AMERICAN history, I follow these race terms:

• "NEGRO" was the term used until the mid-1960s.
• "BLACK" started being used in the mid-1960s.
• "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" [Afro-American] began usage in the late 1980s.

— PLEASE PRACTICE HISTORICISM —

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PAST IN ITS OWN CONTEXT.

 

---

It’s a history that has been largely forgotten, even though some monumental physical traces remain. The 8th Illinois National Guard Regiment, which during the great war (WWI 1914-1918) came to be known as the 370th U.S. Infantry, was the only regiment in the entire United States Army that was called into service with almost a complete complement of Negro officers from the highest rank of Colonel to the lowest rank of Corporal. Yet few people know about this unit of young Negro men from Illinois who fought for a country that beat, lynched, and discriminated against them and people who looked like them.

The regiment reported at the various Illinois rendezvous on July 25, 1917, as follows:

1. At Chicago, Illinois-Headquarters, Headquarters Company, Machine Gun Company, Supply Company, Detachment Medical Department, and Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.
2. At Springfield, Illinois---Company I.
3. At Peoria, Illinois---Company K.
4. At Danville, Illinois---Company L.
5. At Metropolis, Illinois---Company M.

The United States Army so disrespected the men of the 370th and other Negro regiments such as the 369th New York National Guard Regiment, which was popularly known as “The Harlem Hellfighters,” that it would not allow them into combat alongside their white American comrades. Instead, the Negro regiments joined French forces, using French weapons and rations. The only equipment that distinguished them as part of the American force was their uniform.

“The American army didn’t want to have anything to do with them,” says Mario Tharpe, the director, writer, and producer of Fighting on Both Fronts: The Story of the 370th. Many Negro soldiers never saw combat, instead of being assigned positions as laborers. “Anthony Powell, a historian from San Jose, puts it well,” says Tharpe. “He says that for the Negro soldiers that came from down South, to join the army was leaving one hell to go to another form of hell, but one in which they wouldn’t be beaten or lynched.”

The French Croix de Guerre Medal

In the face of such discrimination, both at home and at war, some of the soldiers in the 370th and other regiments that did fight in combat decided to stay in the more tolerant France after the war ended. During the war, Tharpe says, “The 369th and 370th brought jazz to Europe – they were known for having amazing jazz bands.” Some of the soldiers that made their home in France continued to share that American art form with Europeans, working as jazz musicians in the postwar period. France was not only more accepting but also more thankful than America: it awarded 71 Croix de Guerre medals to Negro soldiers before the United States offered any recognition of the honor.

Negro soldiers that returned to America found a country just as racist as before. In fact, the situation was in many ways worse. Many soldiers in the 370th were from the cultural hotbed Bronzeville neighborhood in the Douglas community of Chicago, which had swelled in population from the Great Migration. More people meant less economic opportunities for the returning soldiers, and also helped bring simmering racial tension in the city to a boil.

Soon after the 370th came home, the 1919 Chicago Race Riots broke out, resulting in the deaths of 38 people and the injury of hundreds more. Having fought to defend their country in Europe, Chicago Negro soldiers now fought to defend their community from hatred in their country. “These soldiers went off to war, where they knew they wouldn’t be respected, and represented Bronzeville,” Tharpe says. “They fought for rights and democracy by going to war, and then didn’t get justice or their due when they came home.”

Tharpe says that they therefore became the first wave of the Civil Rights movement, albeit a forgotten one. They advocated for recognition of their service in the war and eventually achieved it with the construction of the Victory Monument at 35th Street and King Drive. 

sidebar

The 370th also fought in World War II (1939-1945).

But even that symbol has lost much of its significance. “Even though I lived in Bronzeville and drove past the Victory Monument nearly every day, I was absolutely not familiar with the 370th,” Tharpe says.

Victory Monument at 35th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Chicago.

He did know that the nearby Eighth Regiment Armory, at 3533 S. Giles Avenue, had housed a Negro regiment, but that was about it. Before the war, the 370th had been the 8th Infantry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, and the Armory was built for them in 1914. It now houses the Chicago Military Academy, a high school, and is listed both as a Chicago Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. 

sidebar

The General  Richard L. Jones Armory at 52nd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue is named for an officer of the 370th, General Jones, who managed both the Chicago Defender and the Chicago Bee Newspapers, and later was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Liberia.

The General Richard L. Jones Armory at 52nd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago

The Victory Monument and the Armory are the main physical remnants of the 370th. Few oral histories or photos survive. “People didn’t hold on to the memories of it because they didn’t realize the value,” says Tharpe. “Many people knew only that their father fought in the war, and that was it.” But the 370th’s significance and legacy live on.

VIDEO

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Anthony Overton (1865-1946), a banker and manufacturer, was the first Negro to lead a major American business conglomerate.

---

In historical writing and analysis, PRESENTISM introduces present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Presentism is a form of cultural bias that creates a distorted understanding of the subject matter. Reading modern notions of morality into the past is committing the error of presentism. Historical accounts are written by people and can be slanted, so I try my hardest to present fact-based and well-researched articles.

Facts don't require one's approval or acceptance.

I present [PG-13] articles without regard to race, color, political party, or religious beliefs, including Atheism, national origin, citizenship status, gender, LGBTQ+ status, disability, military status, or educational level. What I present are facts — NOT Alternative Facts — about the subject. You won't find articles or readers' comments that spread rumors, lies, hateful statements, and people instigating arguments or fights.

FOR HISTORICAL CLARITY

When I write about the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, I follow this historical terminology:

• The use of old commonly used terms, disrespectful today, i.e., REDMAN or REDMEN, SAVAGES, and HALF-BREED are explained in this article.

Writing about AFRICAN-AMERICAN history, I follow these race terms:

• "NEGRO" was the term used until the mid-1960s.
• "BLACK" started being used in the mid-1960s.
• "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" [Afro-American] began usage in the late 1980s.

— PLEASE PRACTICE HISTORICISM —

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PAST IN ITS OWN CONTEXT.

 

---

Anthony Overton

Anthony Overton, the son of Anthony and Martha Overton, was born in Monroe, Louisiana. At some point, after the Civil War ended, his family moved from Louisiana to Topeka, Kansas. His father had been born into slavery and was among the slaves emancipated by Abraham Lincoln. His father ultimately became a small business owner and made sure young Anthony had greater opportunities. Anthony attended Washburn College in Topeka, and after graduating with a degree in Chemistry, he studied law, earning his law degree from the University of Kansas in 1888. He briefly worked as a lawyer and became a judge in Shawnee, Kansas.

By the late 1890s, he had entered business, opening his own grocery (not liquor) store in Kansas City, Kansas. Anthony established the Hygienic Manufacturing Company in 1898, which produced several goods for drug stores and groceries. The products included the nationally known "High Brown Face Powder," which was "the first market success in selling cosmetics for black women."

In 1911, he moved his Business from Kansas to Chicago, where he established the Douglass National Bank in 1929, the second nationally chartered black-owned bank in the United States.

This is a surviving national $5 currency note from the Douglass National Bank of Chicago. Note the handwritten signatures on the bill. The Bank (Charter #12227) issued the following types of bills: 1902 $5 Five Dollar Bill; 1929 $10 Ten Dollar Bill; 1929 $20 Twenty Dollar Bill; 1929 $5 Five Dollar Bill.

He went on to develop a highly diverse conglomerate, including the Great Northern Realty Company and the Victory Life Insurance Company. 

The Spingarn Medal

In 1927 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) awarded him its Spingarn Medal for outstanding achievement by a Negro. That same year, he was also given the prestigious Harmon award's first award and Gold medal in Business. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. In addition, an elementary school in Chicago is named after him.

Anthony Overton's Business Conglomerate History.
Overton began with the Overton Hygienic Building at 3619-3627 South State Street in the heart of the Bronzeville neighborhood in the Douglas community of Chicago's Southside.

Overton Hygienic Building at 3619-3627 South State Street, Chicago, Illinois.

In 1922, Overton commissioned architect Z. Erol Smith to design and build the Overton Hygienic Building, which became the community's prime business address for many years. Supported by a reinforced concrete frame, the Overton Building has street facades of dark red brick with extensive trim in white-glazed terra cotta. An impressive terra-cotta plaque in the center of the fourth-floor façade proudly carries the name "Overton Hygienic Company." In addition to his successful cosmetics enterprise, Overton would later operate the Chicago Bee newspaper franchise, Victory Life Insurance Company, Douglass National Bank, and Northern Realty Company from this business facility and his second building, The Chicago Bee Building.

The Chicago Bee Newspaper and Chicago Sunday Bee are weekly newspapers operated by predominantly female staff. (1926–1946)

Overton founded the Bee in 1926. The Chicago Bee was a weekly newspaper for Blackscompeted with the "Chicago Defender," then the largest black-owned newspaper in the United States. The newspaper was unusual because one of its managing editors was a woman, Olive M. Diggs.

Anthony Overton wanted a publication that would replace his then-defunct "Half-Century Magazine," a home and homemaker publication targeting Black women who consumed his products. Overton had used Half-Century Magazine to promote his line of black-oriented cosmetics for men and women, and he envisioned a similar role for the Bee. 

Overton also felt the Defender promoted sensationalism, gimmickry, and exploitation of the fears and prejudices of its readers. Overton promised a more sedate newspaper in tone and content that would adhere to professional journalistic standards and appeal to middle-class, conservative black Chicagoans. Overton pledged to readers of the Bee, a newspaper that would dedicate itself to "higher education for Negroes, cordial relations between the races, civic and racial improvement, the promotion of Negro business, and good, wholesome and authentic news fit for any member of the family." 

In 1929, Overton hired Southside architect Z. Erol Smith to design a new building for the newspaper's operations and, eventually, his manufacturing business. The three-story, nearly block-long Art-Deco edifice was completed in 1929 for $200,000 and named the Chicago Bee Building at 3647 South State Street.

The Chicago Bee Newspaper building is an Art Deco structure that stands as a beautiful icon of the Bronzeville neighborhood in the Douglas community of Chicago.

Overton meant the building to be a symbol of a successful Black enterprise. In fact, one Chicago Bee editor, James Gentry, coined the term "Bronzeville" to describe the skin color of the newly arriving Blacks from the South and the then vibrant Southside neighborhood that was the center of black Business and culture in the city. 

To accomplish this aim, Overton hired Chandler Owen, cofounder of the socialist publication "The Messenger," as the newspaper's managing editor. Owen and Overton clashed over politics, but Bee's owner recognized his managing editors' remarkable newspaper skills and instincts. It should also be noted that for most of its existence, during the Great Depression and World War II, the paper was staffed mainly by women. 

Despite his grand desires, Overton's Chicago Bee never took off as he had hoped. It achieved a readership of only about 50,000 at its peak in the mid-1930s, far less than its rival, the Chicago Defender. Moreover, the Great Depression took a toll on many of Overton's other businesses, which closed because of the economic downturn. Their failure indirectly starved the newspaper of vital capital it needed to expand. Although not directly related to the decline of the Bee, the black business center of Chicago moved to 47th and South Parkway by World War II, and the Bee and its building were no longer viewed as symbols of the possibility of black capitalism. Overton managed to keep the Chicago Bee running until he died in 1946.

The three-story Chicago Bee building was one of the most picturesque in the neighborhood, designed in the Art Deco style of the 1920s. Overton's enterprises shared this building until the early 1940s when the newspaper went out of Business. The cosmetics firm continued to occupy the building until the early 1980s. The building initially had upper-floor apartments. It also housed the offices of the Douglass National Bank and the Overton Hygienic Company during the 1930s. The Overton Hygienic Company was nationally well-known as a cosmetics firm for Negroes.

Overton Hygienic went out of Business in the early 1980s. In the mid-1990s, the City of Chicago purchased the building, now the Chicago Bee Branch of the Chicago Public Library system. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 9, 1998.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The Daniel Dove Collins House in Collinsville, Illinois on Route 66 (built 1845).

The Collins House, now located at 703 West Main Street (both the Historic National Road {aka Cumberland Road} and Route 66 travel down Main Street), was the home to Daniel Dove Collins, the first President of the City of Collinsville. 

Built by D.D. Collins in 1845, the house is in Greek Revival style, a popular style between 1820 and 1850. The home was originally located at Main and Center Streets and moved to its second location a distance of six blocks to 621 West Main Street in the 1880s or early 1890s.

The house appears to be of post and beam construction. The porch spans the front of the house and has six Doric columns supporting the porch roof. The house has five openings on its front, 4 windows and a center entry door, each symmetrically between the columns. It's sided with a clapboard which is thought to be original. This home is one of the oldest in Collinsville and the only example of this architectural style in the area.

As the story goes, the main floor joist for the first floor may have been salvaged from a steamboat stranded on one of the Cahokia Mounds during the flood of 1844.

The original owner and builder of the house, Daniel Dove Collins, was a cousin of the Collins brothers who had founded the town. He came to Collinsville from Bangor, Maine, via Chicago. He served as the first village board president. He also served as an Associate Judge in Madison County and, for the rest of his life, was referred to as "Judge." He also served as the President of the Collinsville School Board and later as County Highway Commissioner. 

In 1998, the late Irving Dilliard purchased the D.D. Collins House, and donated it to the City of Collinsville. Mr. Dilliard's grandparents lived in the house at once, and he was interested in preserving the house. The City's Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) was tasked with restoring the Collins House. The HPC serves as the City's mechanism to identify and preserve distinctive architectural characteristics that represent the City's cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history.

Additionally, numerous individuals have generously contributed to the project. With Federal, State and local grants and private donations, the HPC has completed internal demolition, hazardous material abatement, required structural repairs, roof replacement, siding repair and replacement, exterior painting, and has opened original fireplaces. Exterior work has also included new guttering and door, window and shutter replacement.

The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 2002.

At the September 12, 2011, City Council meeting, the Council approved the expenditure of TIF funds for $150,000 to complete Phases I, II, and III of the renovations to the Collins House. With $58,000 remaining from a grant, these funds will be used to upgrade the HVAC system, install security and fire alarm systems, upgrade plumbing, remove and replace plaster walls and ceilings, paint the interior, and repair and refinish flooring. Additionally, the original fireplaces will be renovated, millwork completed, and an ADA-accessible restroom and ramp will be installed.

Plans also include the creation of an educational garden area. This will be the first historic home attraction for the City, and plans are to furnish it to the period of 1840-1860 and eventually have it open for public visitation and educational programs.

The Collins House was moved about 200 feet to the corner of Main and Combs Streets, now at 701 West Main Street.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COLLINS HOUSE AND ITS OWNERS

In 1837, the first plat of the Town of Collinsville was executed and recorded by Elizabeth W. Collins (the widow of Willam B. Collins), Joseph Darrow, and Horace Look, all of the property owners.

On October 2, 1845, Elizabeth W. Collins, as guardian of the children/heirs of William B. Collins, sold and conveyed Lot 6, Block 1 of the Town of Collinsville, to Daniel D. Collins. This property was located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Center Street, 66 feet on Main Street and 148½ feet along Center Street, bordered on the rear by Wood Alley.

Upon this property, Daniel D. Collins built a house for himself and his new wife, Elizabeth Anderson Collins. The house was built on the rear portion of the property.

On March 17, 1849, Daniel D. Collins and his wife conveyed the property to Lewis Lancaster.

On April 1, 1856, Lewis Lancaster and his wife conveyed the property to Joseph Lemen Jr.

On July 22, 1856, Joseph Lemen Jr. and his wife conveyed the property to Andrew Edwards. In this transaction, he apparently financed this purchase by giving a mortgage to the seller, Joseph Lemen.

In October 1858, the property was purchased by the Chancery Court.

On May 8, 1860, the interest of Andrew Edwards and his wife was conveyed by a Master's Deed back to Joseph Lemen.

On December 2, 1861, Joseph Lemen and his wife conveyed the property to Oliver C. Look. During this time, Look may have built the building on the east 22 feet of Lot 6. An old photo exists of “D. W. Jones Candy and Confectionery Store” with the house on the west and set back from Main Street towards the rear of the building (as seen in the old photograph). Oliver lived on the property from 1861 to 1885.

On April 22, 1887, Oliver C. Look and his wife conveyed the property to James I. Dilliard (his son-in-law, married to their daughter Mary Look; Mary lived in the house as a child. James and Mary were the parents of Irving Dilliard, who purchased the house in 1998 and donated it to the City).

On April 29, 1887, James I. Dilliard conveyed the east 1/3 of Lot 6 Block One to David W. Jones.

On April 23, 1887, James I. Dilliard conveyed the west 2/3 of Lot 6 Block One to Charles Gindler.

On March 30, 1892, Charles Gindler conveyed to the State Bank of Collinsville the west 2/3 of Lot 6 Block One.

At that time, the west 2/3 of Lot 6 was vacant, except for the house, which had been constructed by Daniel D. Collins in 1845.

The Bank desired to build a larger commercial building to house the Bank on the first floor and other businesses on the second floor. This was when the house was moved seven blocks west to the 621 West Main Street location.

William and Agnes Bonn purchased the house about 1915, and the widow Agnes passed away in 1996, and in 1998 the house was to go to auction. Still, just before that happened, Irving Dilliard purchased the home and donated it to the City of Collinsville. It is the oldest surviving house in the City.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of the "Father Time" Clock, the Jewelers Building, and the Stratosphere Club in Chicago.

ABOUT THE JEWELERS BUILDING CLOCK
The "Father Time" Clock at 35 East Wacker Drive, in Chicago, is located at the Jeweler's Building which faces the Chicago River.

Weighing an estimated six tons, the clock was donated to the building by one of its first major tenants, the Elgin National Watch Company.

If you visit the northeast corner of the building, the clock at first glance looks like the Marshall Field's clocks. That is until you notice the creepy guy who looks like death. He is really supposed to be Father Time.

At night the clock is outlined in dark red lights, which makes it look even creepier. The clock was a gift from the Elgin Watch Company. Father Time was their logo. They had an office in the building.

ABOUT THE JEWELERS BUILDING
Aside from its beautiful building with a fancy dome on top of it, it has a very cool history. Construction started in 1924 and was completed in 1927. The Jewelers' Building was renamed the Pure Oil Building on October 1, 1926.

The Jewelers' Building, seen here under construction in 1926.

The lower floors were opened to their first tenants in May 1927, the upper stories opened in the summer, and the tower in October 1926.

Since this was originally a jeweler's building, it had many innovative security features. One of them was a really extreme version of a parking garage. Since jewelers would carry their merchandise around, they were often in danger of being robbed. So, to make sure no one was attacked on the walk between the car and the office, jewelers just drove their car straight into the building! For its first 14 years, the building had a car lift that served the first 23 floors and facilitated safe transfers for jewelry merchants. The car elevator would bring you to the floor you worked on and then drop your car off on one of the parking levels. From the security office, a lockdown would commence upon any tenant's trigger of the alarm system. All outside doors would lock, and elevators would stop at the next floor; the doors remained closed and would not move.

The best part of this 40-story building is the dome at the top.

Formerly the Pure Oil Building, then the North American Life Insurance Building, 35 East Wacker was listed in 1978 as a contributing property to the Michigan–Wacker Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 9, 1994.

Instead of sticking four ungainly water tanks on steel legs (there are four of these towers on the building), Yiaver & Dinkleberg, architects and engineers of this enormous structure designed these attractive and ornamental tank screens, which beautify the building instead of disfiguring it.

THE STRATOSPHERE CLUB FOLKLORE

When the 40-story Jeweler's Building was completed in 1927, the dome sat empty for some time. In 1930, the Chicago Tribune reported that a hawk had taken up residence in the dome and was preying on migratory birds in the loop. References seem to indicate that it was used for storage.

The Stratosphere Club in the dome was not, nor ever was, a speakeasy and Al Capone never stepped foot in the Stratosphere Club, which opened in March of 1937. Al Capone was in Alcatraz Federal Prison since August 22, 1934, and prohibition ended on December 5, 1933.

The creation of the Stratosphere Club was announced in the Tribune. On January 10, 1937, a Tribune article entitled "City's Highest Restaurant Being Built." Owner Paul Streeter named the club after a closed club in the Rockefeller Center in New York City.

The Stratosphere was scheduled to open in March and was the top four floors – a kitchen on the 37th, a regular restaurant on the 38th and 39th, and a cocktail lounge on the 40th. An ornate birdcage elevator took guests to the 40th floor. The lounge was decorated as a hot air balloon, accentuating the outstanding views of the Chicago River and the Loop. 

The club was a big hit, but by 1954, the cupola was converted into a showroom for a commercial artist who kept and used the old circular bar of the Stratosphere Club. It was the private conference room and gallery for architect Helmut Jahn (1940-2021), with his offices in Suite 300 of the North American Life Insurance Building. 

Jahn designed that marvelous United Airlines Terminal 1 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in the late 1980s with the moving walkways, ceiling light sculpture, and heavenly music.

Jahn was killed on his bicycle in suburban Campton Hills on May 8, 2021. The collision happened near his home and horse farm in St. Charles, Illinois.

Movies love this building. It's the Gotham City Courthouse in "Batman Begins," Batman sits on one of the turrets in one scene. In the movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" a giant robot battle is on top of the building.

sidebar

"I used to give [Chicago] tours on double-decker buses, river & lake tours. We  used to tell customers the story of Al Capone and the Stratosphere Club [as a speakeasy], and we always believed it to be true. All those people that I lied to through the years."                                                                                                                                       Mr. C. R. (via Facebook)

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of the Lakeside Club at 3138-3140 South Indiana Avenue, Chicago.

THE LAKESIDE CLUB
The Lakeside Club was organized in 1884 as a Jewish social club for young men living south of Twenty-Second Street. The club initially occupied a pair of houses at the corner of Wabash Avenue and Thirtieth Street, but as membership grew, the necessity of a larger facility became apparent.

Architect L. B. Dixon was commissioned to design a building to cost $40,000 and a double lot was secured on the 3100 block of South Indiana Avenue.

The club officially opened on December 31, 1887 with an elaborate New Year’s Eve banquet and ball. The Chicago Tribune covered the festivities:

“The Lakeside Club opened its new club-building last night with much pomp and festivity. There was a grand banquet, a little speech-making, a full dress ball, a splendid orchestra, an abundance of pretty girls, plenty of wine, plenty of flowers, and everything else that man or woman could desire for a New-Year’s Eve jollification.”

The journalist covering the event apparently felt compelled to explain why a Jewish club would choose to hold their opening activities on a Saturday. He went on to note:

“A Hebrew club that has a ball and banquet Saturday evening may be presumed to not be particularly observant of the Jewish Sabbath. The fact is, 99 percent of the members of the Hebrew clubs do not belong to the orthodox Jewish synagogues. The great bulk of them belong to independent Hebrew congregations – congregations that worship Sunday and observe Sunday in a general way as the Sabbath, and that have thrown aside all the old trammels of Jewish ceremonialism and identified themselves with methods and forms in keeping with modern times and customs.”

The building was constructed of pressed brick with brownstone and terra cotta trim, set above a basement faced in rusticated stone. The Tribune article described the interior:

“The finish, furnishings, and decorations are exceedingly pretentious. The interior work is mostly in antique oak. The large front room to the left is the ladies’ parlor, furnished with modern French art furniture and a grand piano. The front room on the right is the library and reading-room. Between these rooms and the dancing-hall in the rear are the reception and cloak rooms. The portiere at the end opens into the assembly-hall, with a dancing floor 47’ x 94’. The hall has a series of high arched trestles of antique oak pattern.

The general design is Gothic; and, with the clusters of gasoliers and hundreds of lights, the place is strikingly brilliant. The basement comprises the billiard-room, with three tables, a bowling alley, a small dining-room, barroom, kitchen, carving room, and the main dining-room. The second floor has half a dozen or so card and recreation rooms. The third floor is used for storerooms and servants’ quarters.”

The clubhouse was the scene of many prominent social events in the Jewish community, including the 50th anniversary of the Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv (KAM) congregation in 1897. Their iconic synagogue building, designed by Adler and Sullivan, stood just 1-1/2 blocks to the south.

UNITY HALL

The building is best known for its second owner/occupant, the Peoples Movement Club, founded in 1917 by Oscar Stanton De Priest.

De Priest was the first African-American to be elected to the Chicago City Council, serving as alderman of the 2nd Ward from 1915 to 1917. The Peoples Movement Club was organized to give voice to the African-American community politically, and it became one of the best organized political groups in Chicago’s Black Metropolis neighborhood.

In 1928, when Republican congressman Martin B. Madden died, Mayor Thompson chose De Priest to replace him on the ballot, and he went on to serve three consecutive terms in the U.S. Congress representing the 1st Congressional District covering the Loop and part of the South Side. De Priest was the first African-American elected to Congress from a northern state, and the first in the 20th century.

After the Peoples Movement Club left the building, it became the political headquarters for William L. Dawson. Dawson, like De Priest, served as alderman of the 2nd Ward, and then served in the U.S. House for 27 years until his death in 1970. From the mid-1950s onward, the building was occupied by various churches, and it slowly deteriorated from deferred maintenance.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and was designated a Chicago landmark on September 9, 1998, one of nine buildings included in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District.

RECENT HISTORY
By 2012, the building was sitting vacant and for sale, the upper windows boarded up, and scaffolding erected across the façade.

Although protected from demolition as a city landmark, there was widespread concern that the deferred maintenance and exposure to the elements could cause its demolition by neglect.

The small congregation that owned the building had moved out due to building code violations and could not afford the repairs needed. That year, Preservation Chicago listed the building as one of their “7 Most Threatened Buildings” in the city.

Recently, an extensive restoration has returned the exterior of the building to its original 1880s appearance. The interior has been dramatically transformed into modern student housing, a successful example of historic preservation and adaptive reuse.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of Chicago Historical Society and Buildings.

The Chicago Historical Society (now named the Chicago History Museum) was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. Much of the early collection of the Chicago Historical Society was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, but like the city, the society rose from the ashes. Among the many documents that were lost in the fire was Abraham Lincoln's final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

After the fire, the Society began collecting new materials, which were stored in a building owned by J. Young Scammon, a prominent lawyer and member of the society. However, the building and new collection were again destroyed by the Chicago fire of 1874.

The Chicago Historical Society built a fireproof building on the site of its pre-1871 building at 632 North Dearborn Street (700N, 100W) at the NW corner of Ontario Street built-in 1892 by Henry Ives Cobb. 

The replacement building opened in 1896 and housed the Society for thirty-six years. The building was later added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Old Chicago Historical Society Building.

The Third Chicago Historical Society Building.

Charles F. Gunther, a prominent Chicago collector, donated some items to the Society. In 1920, the Society purchased the remainder of the large history collection from his estate, with the intention of changing its focus from only a research institution into a public museum. Many of the items in Gunther's collection, in addition to Chicago, were related to Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War. These include Lincoln's deathbed, several other pieces of furniture from the room where he died in the Petersen House, and clothing that he and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln allegedly wore the evening of his assassination. The collection also contains the table on which General Robert E. Lee signed his 1865 surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant, an official act which ended the American Civil War, at the McLean House in Appomattox, Virginia.

After 36 years on Dearborn Street, the Society moved to the current structure in Lincoln Park. The current home of the museum was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and constructed in 1932 by the WPA, with the aim of creating an expanded public museum.

The Forth Chicago Historical Society Building.

The 1932 Federal-style structure has been expanded twice. The first addition clad in limestone opened in 1972 and was designed by Alfred Shaw and Associates. The second addition was designed by Holabird and Root, which was built in 1988 and included refacing the earlier expansion in red brick to give a unified look to all three portions of the building. Both expansions occurred on the west side of the 1932 structure, leaving intact its original porticoed entrance facing Lincoln Park.

The Current Look of the Third Chicago Historical Society Building.

The main entrance and reception hall, however, was moved to the new western addition facing Clark street. The 1988 extension, in addition to expanded exhibition galleries, also contains the museum's store and a public cafe.

The Chicago Historical Society changed its name to the Chicago History Museum in 2006.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of the Tinker Family and the Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens in Rockford, Illinois.

The Tinker Swiss Cottage is an historic house museum and gardens in Rockford, Illinois.

The Tinker Swiss Cottage in 1915. Note the sundial on the side of the driveway.

This house was built by Robert Hall Tinker between 1865-1870. The Tinker house was the first in Rockford to have electricity before the turn of the 20th century.

Most striking is the interior for its dimensions including the high ceilings, angled roof, and unique designs in many of the first floor rooms. Many elements of the house were created or inspired by the ideas of Tinker, including the walnut spiral staircase made by Robert out of a single piece of wood and the rooms with rounded corners. The museum contains all the original objects from the family from furniture, and artwork, to clothing and diaries.

The Victorian Living Room of Tinker Swiss Cottage. In 1855, Abraham Lincoln sat in the rocking chair during a visit to the nearby South Main Street mansion of Rockford industrialist John H. Manny.

   

The museum house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on December 27, 1972.

Robert Hall Tinker (1836-1924) was born to the Rev. Reuben and Mary Throop Wood Tinker on December 31, 1836 in the Sandwich Islands (modern day Hawaii). The family settled in Westfield, New York, when Robert was 13. At the age of 15, Robert left school and began working as a bank clerk. In 1856, William Knowlton was visiting his brother in Westfield, New York, met Robert Tinker, and was impressed with him. Arriving back in Rockford, Knowlton decided to write Robert and offer him a position as clerk in the Manny Reaper Co., where he was business manager for the wealthy widow, Mrs. John H. Manny. Robert accepted the offer and arrived in Rockford on August 12th, 1856.

Knowlton and Mrs. Manny were out of the city when he arrived, so he was given a room on the second story of a small dwelling standing opposite the St. Paul freight house. When Knowlton returned he gave Robert a position as a clerk, which he held before going to work as a bookkeeper for the Emerson-Talcott Company. Later, the eastern young man, who even then was familiarly known as Bob Tinker, returned to his first employer. Knowlton and Tinker formed a partnership to sell Manny Reapers. Tinker was later placed n charge of the Manny factory.

In 1862, Robert spent 9 months traveling extensively throughout Europe. As soon as his trip was over, he began to purchase land near Mrs. Manny’s mansion and started building his cottage. On April 24, 1870, Robert Tinker and Mary Manny married and began living in his cottage in the winter and in her mansion on the north side of Kent Creek in the summer.

When he was 39 years old he served as Mayor of Rockford in 1875. Robert was instrumental in helping Rockford to acquire a Public Library and an Opera House and was prominently identified with Rockford’s business and industrial growth for 68 years.

He became President of the Rockford Oatmeal Co., Rockford Steel and Bolt Co., and of C&R and Northern R.R. until it was absorbed by the C.B.&Q line. He was head of the Water Power for many years until he resigned in 1915. Robert also served on the Rockford Park Board until he retired on February 16th, 1924.

In 1901, Mary, Robert’s wife of 31 years, passed away. He then married her niece, Jessie Dorr Hurd, in 1904. It is thought of as a marriage of convenience. In 1908, Robert became a father, at the age of 71, when Jessie adopted a son, Theodore Tinker. Robert died in the Cottage on December 31, 1924, his eighty-eighth birthday. Upon Robert Tinker's death in 1924, Jessie created a partnership with the Rockford Park District, allowing her to remain in the house until her death. After her death in 1942 the Rockford Park District acquired the property and opened the house as a museum in 1943.

Mary Dorr Manny Tinker (1829-1901) was born August 29, 1829 in Hoosick Falls, New York, the youngest of three. She was reared in her grandparents’ stately mansion and received her education at the Academy in her native city. She became interested in the manufacturing of farm implements, and it was this lively interest in and attention to her family’s occupations, public and private, that attracted her future husband’s regard to her.  She maintained this interest in business through her life, and the great force of her character was intensified highly by just the culture and training she received in her early youth.

In 1852, she was married in her grandparents’ mansion to the young Reaper inventor, John H. Manny. They came to Rockford in 1853 and made their home in a small, white frame house on South Main Street. In January of 1856, John H. Manny died of tuberculosis and left Mary a widow at the age of 28. Mary was a businesswoman, staying involved with the Manny Reaper Company after John Manny’s death. She owned several parcels of land in Rockford, including the Holland House located on the north side of the creek. By 1857, Robert Tinker became her personal secretary, and on April 24, 1870 they were wed. Mary died September 4, 1901 at the age of 72.

Mary was a member of the Second Congregational Church and Women’s Missionary Society, Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Rockford’s Seminary Visiting Committee, and was a founding member of the Ladies Union Aid Society that has evolved into today’s Family Counseling Services of Northern Illinois.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.