South Oakwood-Brookhaven Neighborhood Organization

South Oakwood-Brookhaven Neighborhood Organization

The Organization and the Grand Crossing Community

The beginnings of the South Oakwood-Brookhaven Neighborhood Organization actually came out of a very different kind of organization than the one that exists today.

Mrs. Eileen Gerst who, with her husband, Dr. Isidore Gerst (both are now deceased), was a resident at 7133 block of South Greenwood Avenue, related in a 1996 letter:

"When we first came to Chicago in 1946 and bought the house, there were no Blacks for several blocks and there was a white neighborhood organization which we were asked to join. When we found out that its purpose was to keep the neighborhood segregated, we of course refused to join. Before you all moved in there was a period when a lot of these people were moving out and renting their property to white transients -- a very rough lot. What an improvement it was to have our new Black community!"

A Community Weathers Change

Regular meetings of the South Oakwood-Brookhaven Neighborhood Organization began in 1960, but the groundwork for the organization actually was laid during 1959 in a meeting attended by Dr. Gerst, and residents Mrs. Elizabeth Moore, Mrs. Morton and Mrs. Munson. At that time, the need was for the new neighbors and the old to come together for the benefit of all who lived there and sought to make the Grand Crossing neighborhood home. The need then was to build a sense of community, a basis for consensus, for neighborhood stability and improvement.

A middle- and working-class community, the area in and around South Oakwood-Brookhaven was home to a number of businesses and neighborhood institutions: Hunding Dairy Company, Joal Coal Company, the fire station at 73rd and Dobson, Hansen's and Brogan's stores, E.F. Casey Real Estate, are gone.

A Neighborhood Beating the Odds

The name Greater Grand Crossing traces to 1853, when a right-of-way feud between the Lake Shore and Michigan Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad led to a collision that killed 18. Consequent regulation commanded all trains to come to a full stop at the intersection where tracks between the two railroads overlapped, 75th and South Chicago Avenue. The neighborhood, once called "Cornell", came to be known for this urgent crossing. The community of Grand Crossing was developed by Paul Cornell, who was also credited with the development of Hyde Park. The similarities between the two communities would seem to end there.

Grand Crossing has no libraries, no hospitals, and until recently, no nursing home facilities. Population over 54,000 in 1970, was once predicted to decline to below 30,000 residents by 2003.

In recent years, the outlook has brightened considerably for the community. Businesses that have stayed and thrived: Rob's Spot-Lite Foods, Grier Manufacturing, Lee's Unleaded Blues Lounge, and Food and Supply Products, Walker's Tire Shop. Several churches are located within the boundaries of the South Oakwood-Brookhaven community: Bray Temple C.M.E. Church, Carey Temple A.M.E. Church, and the Church of the Nazarene.

Cultural offerings in the area attract a slow-growing number of tourists, along with African American artisans and art patrons from across the city. Nearby ETA Creative Arts Foundation, founded in 1971 as the city's only African American owned and managed cultural arts institution, plans to expand its 18,000-square-foot facility at 7558 South Chicago Avenue by at least another 33,000 square feet.

The Community Rebounds

Development has returned to South Oakwood-Brookhaven and the surrounding area. Following on the heels of Dorchester Place, a development of single family homes located just two blocks beyond our eastern boundary (the Illinois Central Railroad), developers continue the construction of Revere Run: 90 new single family homes in the community. These developments add to the stability of the entire area and improve the quality of life for all. And their success should convince any doubters that such development in this area is, indeed, a worthwhile venture.

The creation of the South Shore/Greater Grand Crossing TIF district in 1998  inspires investors to return to thoroughfares of 71st Street and Stony Island and South Chicago Avenues, once thriving corridors of commerce and industry.  Today, our neighborhood is poised for a full comeback with the approval of the 73rd & University TIF redevelopment project, which promises to bring continued investment right into the heart of our community.

The completion of the Gary Comer Youth Center at 72nd and South Chicago Avenue in Spring 2006, the opening of new  Noble Street Charter School/Gary Comer College Prep, and the coming Grand Crossing Library at 73rd and South Chicago Avenue are some of the many cultural, educational and economic milestones we hope to see more of in South Oakwood-Brookhaven.

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SOBNOnews@comcast.net

Links

Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative

About Our Association

Who We Are... What We Do

The South Oakwood-Brookhaven Neighborhood Organization is a not-for-profit organization registered with the State of Illinois. The current membership of the Organization dates back to November, 1960.

We support and promote community development through the introduction of new businesses and institutions that contribute to the stability of the neighborhood. We support the clearing, purchase and development of vacant lots as well as the construction and maintenance of quality affordable housing.

We seek to ensure the reliable delivery of city services throughout the community through regular dialogue with our elected officials.

We meet on the 1st Friday in each month (except in January and July) at Carey Temple AME, 7157 S. Greenwood Av., Lower Level, at 7:00 PM.

Organization History

The South Oakwood-Brookhaven Neighborhood Organization received a grant in the 1960s from the Field Foundation under a grant proposal from Dr. Isidore Gerst, a professor at the University of Chicago. The purpose of this grant was to improve the area by educating its residents to become leaders in the community. This grant provided funds for office space and salaries for a director and a secretary. The organization maintained an office with a director (the late Edison Hoard) and a secretary at the Carey Temple Church, 7157 South Greenwood and at Bray Temple Church at 73rd Street and Greenwood. After the term of the Field Foundation grant expired, the organization lacked the funds for office space.

Out of the Organization came the 73rd and Dobson Housing Corporation, which sponsors the Leigh-Johnson Court Development, 78-unit mixed income housing development located at 73rd Street between Dobson and Greenwood Avenues. The Leigh-Johnson complex was erected in 1973.

A Growing Organization... A Growing Tradition

The Organization's Scholarship Fund for college students distributes funds to community residents enrolled in an accredited college or university each year. In 1994, we awarded 8 scholarships in the amount of $100.00 each to eight (8) area residents for educational assistance.

In 2006, we awarded nine (9) $500.00 scholarships to college-enrolled students from the South Oakwood-Brookhaven community.

This year, 2009, we begin the celebration of 50 years of service in the community. 

Email us
SOBNOnews@comcast.net

Our Elected Officials

Ald. Leslie Hairston - 5th Ward
State Rep. William D. Burns, 26th District
State Rep. Constance Howard, 34th District
State Sen. Kwame Raoul, 13th District