The sitcom Good Times (1974-1979) was ostensibly set in Cabrini-Green. Although Cabrini-Green was never mentioned by name as the housing project in which the Evans family of Good Times lived, exterior shots of Cabrini-Green were shown in both the opening and closing scenes.
In the latter half of the 1980's, the backstory of DC Comics character Amanda Waller, leader of the third incarnation of the Suicide Squad was initially tied specifically to Cabrini-Green.

The 1994 film Hoop Dreams chronicles the life of Cabrini-Green youth William Gates (along with Garfield Park resident Arthur Agee) in pursuit of his dreams to someday play in the NBA.

In the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show (2001-2006), Bernie's two nieces and nephew Van...

In the 1999 film Whiteboyz, a group of white hip-hop fans from Iowa come to Cabrini-Green to buy drugs.

The book Cabrini-Green in Words and Pictures (compiled by David T. Whitaker, 2000) tells the story of this community from the perspective of those who lived there. Through interviews with three generations of residents, young and old share thoughts and memories of a place they called home.

In the 2001 Film Hardball, an aimless young man (played by Keanu Reeves) struggles with alcoholism, gambling and ticket scalping. Desperate for cash, he secures a loan from an acquaintance by agreeing to coach the Little League team of the Cabrini Green. His new job gives him purpose and he starts to turn his life around. This is also when Reeves had his famous line, "whooooa," with a blank look on his face.

The 1990 futuristic fictional comic book series Give Me Liberty by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons begins in Cabrini-Green. As of the opening of the story in 1995 the neighborhood has already been enclosed in a gigantic walled and roofed structure, turning it into a prison for its impoverished residents, reflecting the decision to enclose several buildings in steel mesh. The enclosure is demolished years later by direct order of Howard Nissen, the future United States President, who does so after being informed of the horrible living conditions by the story's protagonist, Martha Washington, who grew up there.

The 1999 documentary, Voices of Cabrini: Rebuilding Chicago's Public Housing (by Ronit Bezalel and Antonio Ferrera) is a half-hour look at the redevelopment/demolition of Cabrini through the stories of its residents. The film interviews resident Mark Pratt and his son Trevonte. In addition, Cabrini Green Barber George Robbins is also interviewed and eventually has to move out of the community. The website can be found at http://www.voicesofcabrini.com which I brought over for you.

Redevelopment

As Cabrini Green is being torn down, it is important to photograph the community. So that in ten years, we can have a record of what used to stand in the area. Below are pictures taken after the documentary Voices of Cabrini was completed. They show further changes to the community, which are ongoing.
The new Starbucks with a Cabrini Green building in background
Unfortunately, this says it all

This building was once called "the palace". It was 19 stories tall.
This used to be a little league field at Cabrini

The Neighborhood

Cabrini Green is often divided into three sections based on the type of buildings - the "reds", "whites" and "rowhouses". Each cluster of buildings has its own feel, each place is like a neighborhood unto itself.

One of the "reds". These buildings (15 in all) were completed in 1958.
They are now the first buildings to be demolished

A "white" Cabrini Green building. Dedicated in 1962, there are
8 of these buildings.

The rowhouses were the first Cabrini buildings. They were
constructed in the 1940's for returning war veterans.

Future Homes

What will happen in the future as the Cabrini buildings are torn down? Where will residents live? Many have taken section 8 certificates, some will move to the suburbs, a few will moved back to the area, and many more will be homeless. The question always remains...how many residents will move back, and what happens to everyone else?

Mixed Income Communities being built in the Cabrini Green Area:

North Town Village is a mixed-income development consisting of 261 units, 79 of which are CHA units. This site is located on North Avenue and Halsted. Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation and Kenard Development Corporation are the developers for this site. Source:
thecha.org

Old Town Square is 113-unit development of which 16 units are reserved for CHA residents. Developed by MCL Companies, construction for this site began in 1998 and was completed in 2001. Source:
thecha.org

Renaissance North is a mixed-income community containing 59 units. Public housing residents will occupy 18 of these units. The Renaissance Company is the developer for this site which is located on North Avenue. Source:
thecha.org

Orchard Park Townhomes The CHA purchased 13 units (in the Orchard Park Townhomes) which were formerly owned by the Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation in a 54-unit mixed-income town community built on 2.75 acres of CHA land. CHA residents occupy these 13 units. Source:
thecha.org

The site of the new, mixed income development
at North Town Village, located next to Cabrini Green.
Of the 261 housing units,
30% are public housing, 20% are affordable housing,
50% are market rate.

Two completed buildings at North Town Village.
A handful of Cabrini Families were scheduled
to move into these buildings by Summer 2001

North Town Village Today

In Alex Ross's Kingdom Come miniseries, he created a background character named Kabrini. He is a green monster in chains whose name is basically a joke re... Chronology * 1850 - Shanties first built on low-lying land along Chicago River; population predominantly Swedish, then Irish. Acquires "Little Hell" name due to nearby gas refinery, which produced shooting pillars of flame and various noxious fumes. By 20th century, known as "Little Sicily" due to large numbers of Sicilian immigrants. * 1929 - Harvey Zorbaugh writes "The Gold Coast and the Slum: A Sociological Study of Chicago's Near North Side," contrasting the widely varying social mores of the wealthy Gold Coast, the poor Little Sicily, and the transitional area in between. Marshall Field Garden Apartments, first large-scale (although funded through private charity) low-income housing development in area, completed.
* 1942 - Frances Cabrini Homes (two-story rowhouses), with 586 units in 54 buildings, completed. Initial regulations stipulate 75% white and 25% black residents. Holsman, Burmeister, et al, architects. (Named for Frances Cabrini, an Italian-American nun who served the poor and was the first American to be canonized.)
* 1958 - Cabrini Homes Extension (red brick mid- and high-rises), with 1,925 units in 15 buildings, is completed. A. Epstein & Sons, architects.
* 1962 - Green Homes (1,096 units, north of Division Street) is completed. Pace Associates, architects. (Named for Great Society era congressman William J. Green.)
* 1966 - Gautreaux et al vs. Chicago Housing Authority, a lawsuit alleging that Chicago's public housing program was conceived and executed in a racially discriminatory manner that perpetuated racial segregation within neighborhoods, is filed. CHA was found liable in 1969, and a consent decree was issued in 1981.
* July 17, 1970 - Sergeant James Severin and Officer Tony Rizzato of the Chicago Police Department are fatally shot.
* 1981 - Mayor Jane Byrne moves into Cabrini-Green as part of a publicity stunt.
* October 13, 1992 - Seven-year-old Dantrell Davis is fatally shot while walking to school with his mother. Some of the shots came from 500-502 W. Oak Street.
* 1992 - Candyman is released, the story taking place at the housing project.

The demolition of one of the Cabrini-Green buildings
The demolition of one of the Cabrini-Green buildings
* 1994 - Chicago receives one of the first HOPE VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) grants to redevelop Cabrini-Green as a mixed-income neighborhood. * September 27, 1995 - Demolition begins.[citation needed] * January 9, 1997 - Nine-year-old "Girl X" found in a seventh-floor stairwell at 1121 N. Larrabee Street after being raped, beaten, choked, poisoned with insecticide and scrawled on with gang symbols. Her attacker allegedly stepped on her throat. She was left for dead but survived, though the attack blinded her. [4] * 1997 - Chicago unveils Near North Redevelopment Initiative, a master plan for development in the area. It recommends demolishing Green Homes and most of Cabrini Extension.
* 1999 - Chicago Housing Authority announces Plan for Transformation, which will spend $1.5 billion over ten years to demolish 18,000 apartments and build or rehabilitate 25,000 apartments. Earlier redevelopment plans for Cabrini-Green are included in the Plan for Transformation. New library, rehabilitated Seward Park, and new shopping center open.
* January 19, 2004 - The man who portrays the mascot of the Chicago Bulls, Chester J. Brewer, is arrested on the suspicion of selling marijuana out of his car at Cabrini-Green. [1]
* August 8, 2006 -A 14-year-old boy is still hospitalized Tuesday morning after being shot by Chicago Police, while residents of the Cabrini-Green neighborhood protested that the police shooting was not justified.
* August 14, 2006 - A 17 year-old teen is arrested after spitting on a police officer. Officers alleged the teen hit an officer during a protest and attempted to assault that officer.
* October 18, 2006 -A 21-year-old man was shot to death Saturday night as he crossed the street near the Chicago Housing Authority's Cabrini-Green Homes, police said. Source: www.chicagotribune.com
* April 1, 2007 -A fire breaks out in the garbage chute of 1230 north larabee cabrini green,all of the breeze ways filled with smoke, and three people were injured with minor burns.source:www.cbs2chicago.com

See also

* Robert Taylor Homes, Chicago

Notes

1. ^ "Man behind "Da Bull" in trouble with law". ABC7 Chicago (2004). Retrieved on 2006-12-08.

External links

* Cabrini Green: Gangsta City
* Chicago Housing Authority: Cabrini-Green Homes
* Cabrini Residents Human Rights Page
* Residents' Journal (written, produced & distributed by Chicago Public Housing residents; archives contain many articles on activism at Cabrini-Green, particularly around the plans for redevelopment).
* Chicago Coalition to Protect Public Housing
* Photos, Paintings and Discussions about Cabrini-Green
* Voices of Cabrini (Documentary film)
* Cabrini-Green in Words and Pictures (book, 2000) ISBN 0-942986-80-6
* CBS News: Tearing Down Cabrini-Green
* Chicago Tribune: Cabrini-Green Columns
* North Town Park site plan (redevelopment of Cabrini Extension site)
* Business & Professional People in the Public Interest Information on Gautreaux lawsuit and continuing litigation against CHA on behalf of tenant interests
* Map of Cabrini-Green Area at Google Maps

The Encyclopedia of Chicago has very detailed background information on the history of public housing and the Near North neighborhood:

Views: 127

Introspection

Entr'acte

  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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