2008-09-10 - 10:10 a.m.
Our neighborhood of Uptown has long been a marginal space. Nya & I can afford a home here because prices are less expensive as Uptown has a reputation as where “those people” live. (Apparently, the equal number of Vietnamese and the populations of gays/lesbians in our sub-neighborhood, the West African immigrants north of us, the Indian and Ethiopian immigrants further north, etc. are overlooked but whatever…)
In the 1960s and 1970s, Uptown was known as “where the Hillbillies live”. Appalachians were white, but not quite acceptable socially. Didn’t they keep goats in the house or something? On a side note, I should say how amusing it was to read one Appalachian’s reaction to questions asked by journalist Studs Terkel. He didn’t want to answer them and his avoidance was amusingly recorded:
Studs – Ever think about race?
Appalachian: Nope.
Studs: Ever think about the Bomb?
Appalachian: Nope.
Before that Uptown was “where the WOPs live”. Al Capone in fact owned several businesses in the area. He owned the building Nya used to live in when it was a hotel, before the rooms got converted to apartments. He also owned the Green Mill jazz club. He also owned a Popeye’s Chicken franchise (okay the chain didn’t exist yet, but there are several near us and he probably would have owned one if he could have…).
Before that I don’t really know. Poles? Was the area even incorporated into Chicago? Whatever. What the neighborhood really needs is a top school and its influx of kids and parents. I’m writing up a business plan for this.
© Geoff Gladstone
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