A church at the corner of 41st and King creates a memorable landmark. Each August, the streets of Bronzeville become abuzz with the approach of the annual Bud Billiken Parade.
Since the 1930s, the parade route has cut through the heart of Bronzeville, commencing at 31st Street and ending at Harold Washington Park. Each year, locals and tourists flock to Martin Luther King Boulevard, the main thoroughfare of the parade, filling the sidewalks with beach chairs, umbrellas, and revelry, making Bud Billiken the second largest parade in the country.
Bronzeville renaissance
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Celebrities, from sports stars to politicians, are parade float staples, and one is chosen to be Grand Marshal. For the past two years, Barack Obama has received this honor.
But neither its size nor its celebrity-factor best explains the appeal of the Bud Billiken Parade. Rather it is the spirit of community togetherness and support of local youth that invigorate this event.
And, albeit on a less festive scale, it is this same spirit of community that explains the day-to-day benefits of living in Bronzeville.
The neighborhood, whose population is approximately 35,000, may no longer possess the cultural cache it held in its heyday, when it wasn’t rare to spot Billie Holliday, Nat King Cole or Duke Ellington at one of the area’s many music clubs, or Langston Hughes lingering at a local café.
But in recent years, the neighborhood has begun to reclaim its former glory. The opening of the Harold Washington Cultural Center, as well as numerous music clubs and new restaurants, herald this re-emergence. Real estate development in the area has also spiked. Yet, compared to similar homes in the nearby Loop, Bronzeville housing options still remain quite affordable.
The median price for single-family homes was $404,000 in 2007, with many condos and townhouses selling for even less. Approximately 79 percent of households are rentals. According to Bronzeville real estate agent Frances Lake-Black, “When you buy in Bronzeville, you’re getting real value – you know your money is going to grow as the neighborhood does.”
