North Lawndale
North Lawndale history
Dates in North Lawndale’s history, from 1869 to the 2020 Census. This page lists only facts that two independent sources agree on, or that rest on one authoritative source, such as Census figures, a City of Chicago or Park District record, or university research.
Population by Census
Population at the 2020 Census34,794
| Year | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 112,261 | Encyclopedia of Chicago, “North Lawndale”; Rob Paral, Chicago Community Areas Historical Data |
| 1960 | 124,937 | Encyclopedia of Chicago, “North Lawndale”; Rob Paral, Chicago Community Areas Historical Data |
| 1990 | 47,296 | Encyclopedia of Chicago, “North Lawndale”; Rob Paral, Chicago Community Areas Historical Data |
| 2000 | 41,768 | Encyclopedia of Chicago, “North Lawndale”; Rob Paral, Chicago Community Areas Historical Data; City of Chicago, Census 2010 and 2000 community area populations |
| 2010 | 35,912 | City of Chicago, Census 2010 and 2000 community area populations |
| 2020 | 34,794 | CMAP Community Data Snapshot, North Lawndale (2022) |
Timeline
Annexation and the name “Lawndale”
Chicago annexed the eastern part of Cicero Township, which is today’s eastern North Lawndale. The real-estate firm Millard & Decker then built a residential suburb that it called “Lawndale”.
Douglas Park
The Illinois legislature created the West Park Commission, which named its southernmost park after Senator Stephen A. Douglas. A small part of Douglas Park opened in 1879.
After the Great Chicago Fire
After the Great Chicago Fire, Lawndale’s fireproof brick buildings drew people and businesses that had been burned out.
Sears moves to Homan Avenue
Sears, Roebuck and Co. moved all its operations to a new headquarters and mail-order plant at Homan Avenue and Arthington Street. The site had about 9,290 employees in 1906.
The 1930 Census
The Census counted 112,261 residents. 45% were born in another country, and 99.6% were white.
The federal HOLC map
On the federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) “residential security” map of Chicago, North Lawndale’s neighborhoods were graded C (“declining”) and D (“hazardous”, shaded red). This marked the area as a poor lending risk.
Buying homes “on contract”
Black families began moving in during the early 1950s, some from the South and some displaced by urban renewal on the South Side, as white residents moved out. Banks largely denied Black buyers mortgages, so many bought homes “on contract”, a high-cost arrangement in which the seller kept the deed. Researchers estimate that 75–95% of homes sold to Black buyers in North Lawndale were sold this way.
What contract sales cost
A 2019 university study estimated that predatory contract sales cost Black families in Chicago between $3 billion and $4 billion in wealth. The figure is for the whole city, not North Lawndale alone.
The 1960 Census: the peak
North Lawndale reached its peak population. The Census counted 124,937 residents.
Dr. King on Hamlin Avenue
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his family moved into a third-floor apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave. They used it as a base for the Chicago Freedom Movement’s campaign for open housing, and King stayed for much of 1966.
April 1968
After Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, unrest spread across the West Side, including Roosevelt Road and 16th Street in North Lawndale. The National Guard and federal troops were sent in. Across the city, 11 people died and about 200 buildings were destroyed.
The Contract Buyers League
Black homeowners on Chicago’s West and South Sides, with organizer Jack Macnamara, formed the Contract Buyers League in 1968; it grew to more than 500 members.
The League goes to court
The League filed two federal lawsuits. The suits ultimately failed, but the pressure got more than 400 contracts renegotiated on fairer terms.
National Historic Landmark
The Sears, Roebuck and Co. complex was designated a National Historic Landmark.
The Hawthorne Works closes
Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works closed. The plant was in Cicero, just west of North Lawndale.
Sears leaves
The last Sears operations left the North Lawndale campus. Sears had ended mail-order work at the plant.
Homan Square
Former Sears CEO Edward Brennan recruited developer Charles H. Shaw to redevelop the campus as “Homan Square”.
The 1990 Census
The Census counted 47,296 residents, 96.3% of them Black.
The 2000 Census
The Census counted 41,768 residents, 94.2% of them Black.
A Chicago Landmark
The former Sears Administration Building was designated a Chicago Landmark. In December 2014 the Sears district was recommended for landmark status.
The 2010 Census
The Census counted 35,912 residents, 14.0% fewer than in 2000.
Dr. King Legacy Apartments
The Dr. King Legacy Apartments opened on the site of King’s 1966 home at 1550 S. Hamlin: 45 affordable rental units, built by Lawndale Christian Development Corp. for $17 million.
“North Lawndale: The Next Chapter”
The North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council (NLCCC) and partners presented “North Lawndale: The Next Chapter”, a Quality-of-Life Plan built from two years of community planning, with support from CMAP and LISC Chicago. It covers housing, jobs, safety, health, arts and open space.
INVEST South/West
The City named North Lawndale one of 10 priority communities in its INVEST South/West corridor program, with Ogden Avenue from Kedzie to Pulaski as the focus corridor.
Douglass (Anna and Frederick) Park
At the community’s request, the Chicago Park District renamed Douglas Park as Douglass (Anna and Frederick) Park. The board had voted on September 9, 2020 to remove Stephen Douglas’s name.
The 2020 Census
The Census counted 34,794 residents, 3.1% fewer than in 2010.
Facts on this page come from the sources listed. Spotted a mistake? Write to hello@chicagouhs.org.