Painted yellow and covered in names the Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall stands as a testament to history. It is a place of remembrance. The Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall holds deep significance for this community.
This wall is located 130 blocks south of the Chicago Loop. Look closely. You will see hundreds of hand-lettered names. Some bricks are chipped. Some paint is faded. But each name represents a life. For those who live or lived in Altgeld Gardens, this is a sacred space. It is a family record for lost loved ones.
A young man once stopped here. He scanned the names. He found his grandmother’s name, Leola Lockett. He said she was a beautiful lady. He was glad the Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall existed.
However the wall’s history has some uncertainty. Its future is unclear. The Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall sits in a breezeway. It is part of a dilapidated commercial building. The building is privately owned. It has been in demolition court. The Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall’s future is tied to this building.
Altgeld Gardens is the most isolated of Chicago’s public housing communities. The complex was completed in the mid-1940s. It was a racially segregated development for African-Americans. These residents included war workers and returning veterans.
At the heart of Altgeld Gardens was a commercial building. It housed Black-owned businesses for decades. There was a drug store. There was also a shoe repair shop and a lounge called the Funky London. The Garden of Eden beauty shop was there. Most importantly a grocery store served the community.
Brothers George and William Keck designed this unusual building. They also designed the House of Tomorrow for Chicago’s 1933 World’s Fair. The building was modernist in style. It had a swooping canopy and a curving glass front wall. It was a town center. People shopped and socialized there.
Residents called the building Up-Top. It was a gathering place. So the Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall took root here. It is in a covered breezeway. The breezeway runs north to south. The Altgeld community wants to keep the Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall intact. That means saving the building.
Ward Miller is the Executive Director of Preservation Chicago. He says the only way to protect a building in Chicago is to make it a landmark. That protects the building by ordinance.
Typically the city does not landmark buildings in demolition court. It could be a tough road for the Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall. In the end Miller says they rely on the Altgeld community to tell them if this is important. The Altgeld Gardens Memorial Wall is more than just a wall. It is a symbol of remembrance. It is a testament to the community’s enduring spirit.