Woodlawn

Woodlawn sits across the Midway from the main campus of the University of Chicago. From being the site of the 1893 World's Fair to a battleground in the movement toward racial integration in Chicago, the neighborhood has played an important role in the city's history. Before the '40s, Woodlawn was a nearly all white community. But by the '60s the population was primarily African-American. 

Businesses largely abandoned Woodlawn in the decades after World War II, leaving the neighborhood to face the twin ills of poverty and gangs. Community leaders formed powerful institutions such as the Woodlawn Organization to protest slum landlords and other social problems.

Since the '90s, local leaders have had more success in bringing economic development to the neighborhood. The University of Chicago has opened more campus facilities south of the Midway. And 63rd Street, a major thoroughfare, got a face lift when L tracks were taken out to re-develop the land.

Sources: chicagonsp.org research, Encyclopedia of Chicago 

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Properties that NSP has acquired in Woodlawn for rehabilitation (or has under contract).

Learn more about Woodlawn

NCP Woodlawn is among the organizations involved in revitalizing Woodlawn. Read an in-depth neighborhood profile.