Part I of II

A History of Roscoe Village and RVN
by Chuck Hadley

You could probably trace the history of Roscoe Village to a time billions of years ago when we were all atoms swirling around in space looking for a home. But, at a more practical level...

The first we know anything worth knowing about this little patch of earth dates back to the closing days of the 18th Century when this area was the home of the Fox Indians, a place of prairies and wooded groves. There is a story that Pottawotamie Indians, forced north from Indiana by famine, met the Fox near here in the late 18th Century in a ferocious battle. The P's won and took over.

By the mid-19th Century, this area, now an outlying suburb of the small city of Chicago, was home to a scattered few immigrant farmers who grew "truck farm" crops on its rich soil. A railroad, the Illinois and Michigan, was built through the eastern end of what is now Roscoe Village, primarily for the purpose of transporting farm products to more settled areas nearby.

By the late 19th Century, much of Roscoe Village was covered by greenhouses. The aftermath of the 1871 Chicago Fire brought some new construction to the area, since Chicago had outlawed frame construction after the fire.

In 1906, developers acquired the former Sharpshooters Park, just west of Western (now the site of Riverview Plaza, Jewel and Lane Tech) and built Riverview Park, billed as the World's Largest Amusement Park. The park attracted hundreds of thousands of people from all over Chicago every summer and led to considerable commercial development along Roscoe Street, including a dozen taverns, fed by a trolley that ran along the street.

By this time the population was dominated by second generation German-Americans, who carried on many of their ethnic traditions, but insisted on conducting their affairs in English, even founding churches specifically devoted to conducting services in English. Greenhouses slowly were replaced by single and two-family homes.

The Roaring 20s, with its almost fantasy economy, brought a building boom to the Village, with hundreds of brick buildings being built, many in rows of virtually identical copies. Results can be seen in such places as the 3500 Block of North Oakley.

The Great Depression of the 1930s hit the Village hard. Since most workers here were either factory employees or tradesmen, unemployment rates rose to over 30%. Many of these people relied on local politicians for food, jobs, housing and clothing. This gave enormous power to some, most notably "Burgermeister" Charles (Charlie) Weber, alderman and Democratic committeeman of the 45th or "German" Ward, centered around Lincoln/Belmont and including Roscoe Village.

World War II brought a new prosperity to the Village. Hundreds went off to war and there was plenty of work in local factories for those who remained. When the "war generation" returned, though, the Village faced another turning point. These young people were dissatisfied with urban life, especially the quality of the local schools. As their children reached school age, new home buying opportunities connected with the GI Bill and access through a new system of interstate highways caused them to flee for the suburbs. Although called by many "white flight," this phenomenon in the Village would better be called "urban flight." By 1970, the Village had declined dramatically. Buildings were not properly maintained, street crime was rampant, and this just wasn't a desirable place to live.

In 1977, in response to a series of garage fires, the Melrose-Oakley Block Club was formed. This would ultimately become today's Roscoe Village Neighbors and face many challenges over the 25 years to come.

The rebirth of the Village started about 1980, as "urban pioneers" began to discover it as a desirable place to live. The earliest, most dramatic sign of this trend was the residential conversion of the Eversharp pencil factory at Roscoe and Ravenswood into apartments, the largest such conversion in Chicago at that time. At first this project had rough going, and the original developer sold out to new people. But, by the late 1980s it was a roaring success and led to a firestorm of development in the Village. Throughout the 1990s, the rehab of old housing stock and the construction of new buildings became realities on virtually every block. Most importantly, real estate values (and taxes) soared. Houses that sold for $20,000 in 1970 now sell for $500,000.

This has changed the character of the Village. Older people and people of ethnic origins are much less prevalent. There is a kind of segregation, economic rather than racial, and it will be a major task for RVN to tackle.

In the meantime, there is much to be proud of in the Village. We've managed to curb the worst of wildfire development and greed-at-any-cost building. We have a virtually crime-free neighborhood with an attractive business district, and we're surrounded by trees, flowers and children. But, we ain't done yet folks!


Part II of II
From the December, 2002 issue of What's News in Roscoe Village:

[Editor's Note: The following article was written by Chuck Hadley, who died on October 30, 2002. It is his last contribution to the neighborhood he loved so deeply and served so long.]

Roscoe Village — Then and Now
by Chuck Hadley

The year 2002 marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the organization that became Roscoe Village Neighbors (RVN). The following is a brief history of the neighborhood that we call Roscoe Village.

The history of Roscoe Village as a defined community dates to the end of the 19th Century when developers bought the land just west of Western Avenue to construct the "world's largest amusement park," dubbed Riverview Park, which opened its gates in 1903.

Dozens of businesses sprang up along Belmont, Roscoe and Western to serve the needs of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who came to the park every year. About half of these businesses were bars and taverns. In addition, a few dozen park workers moved into the area and built homes, primarily on land previously occupied by greenhouses.

Growth continued at a slow pace until about 1920, when the Village experienced its first boom in economic development, with virtually every old greenhouse being torn down, and frame houses and brick and greystone two-flats taking their place. For the first time, Roscoe Village had become "the place to be."

A majority of the people who moved here were second-generation German-Americans who were primarily tradesmen and factory workers. Factories grew up along the eastern end of the Village to accommodate some of them. Prosperity seemed never-ending.

Then in the late 1920s and early 1930s, it all came crashing down with the Great Depression. The unemployment rate in the Village exceeded 40 percent. Lacking such safety nets as Unemployment Compensation and Social Security, residents could not buy food, and many were evicted or foreclosed upon.

Ironically, this economic disaster brought to prominence one of the most colorful figures ever to hold power in the Village, Charles Weber. "Charlie" was Democratic Committeeman and Alderman of the 45th Ward, "the German Ward," which included the Lincoln-Belmont area, and which he ran from his insurance office at Southport and School. Weber operated virtually an independent city by itself. He called himself the burgomeister. He rode atop street cleaning equipment, which he owned, dressed in lederhosen. On the more serious side, it was Charlie one went to for food, a job, and even cash to get by in hard times.

Charlie provided the safety net that government did not, all funded by contributions from business people — whether voluntary or not. Charlie's reign lasted until his death in 1959, when those who examined his estate commented that for all the millions that had gone through his hands, he had relatively little left. He may not have been a clean politician, but he wasn't a crooked one either.

The 1920s brought to prominence a new family that would strongly affect the Village in years to come. Although John Hoellen, Sr. was a shoe store owner in Northcenter, some of the ward he represented as alderman included part of the Village. Hoellen allied himself with the Charles Dineen, or reform, faction of the Republican Party, in opposition to Bill Thompson's group which then dominated the City Council, and which worked closely with organized crime. When Commonwealth Edison sought approval from the Council for a 50-year franchise with the City, leading members of the Council took rather large payoffs in return for approving it. Hoellen publicly exposed the scheme and incurred the extreme hatred of the Thompson faction, which concentrated its efforts on denying him re-election.

Back in private life, Hoellen was heartbroken and died just a few short years later. Hoellen's son, John, Jr., graduated from Northwestern Law School at about this time and vowed to even the scales. After a brief career as a private divorce attorney, and service as a Naval Intelligence officer, he ran for alderman in 1947, opposed by both his own party and the Democrats. He won, and was re-elected six times until defeated for re-election in 1975 by a young man who lived in the Village, Eugene Schulter.

The end of World War II did not bring the booming prosperity to the Village that it did to many towns and neighborhoods across America. Although, because of high wartime wages and a lack of readily available consumer products, huge amounts of cash accumulated in bank accounts here, most of it ended up being spent on things like new cars and appliances. Little went into improving the housing stock, the quality of which had been declining since the beginning of the Depression. The Village rapidly became a place where nobody wanted to move, and in which no one wanted to buy.

Other factors contributed to an even further decline in the neighborhood. Sons and daughters of local residents, returning from the war, no longer wanted to live here. The brand new expressway system and the GI Home Loan Program made it possible for these younger people to move to the suburbs where rumor had it schools were much better than those in the City. By 1970, a frame or a brick two-flat sold for $20,000 or less.

Crime became a major concern in the neighborhood, and in 1977 a series of garage fires led to the formation of the Melrose-Oakley Block Club, which set about to improve community safety in its own area. This block club was quite successful; it was blessed with the leadership of a number of prominent people including Stuart Gordon, then at the Organic Theatre, and later producer of "Grease" and a number of movies. The club eventually grew to include all of Roscoe Village, or Riverview, as the area was then commonly called.

Calling itself Riverview Neighbors, the organization was run by a Steering Committee drawn from throughout the Village. The group's main emphasis was on combating crime, and on preventing gang crime through work with teenagers who might otherwise become "gangbangers." Early presidents included Carolyn Roof, Janina Schneider, and Chuck Hadley.

With the help of Lake View Citizens Council, of which the organization had then become a branch, a small Youth Center was opened on Roscoe Street, paid for in part with City funds. The Center offered sports programs, indoor games and homework assistance to all comers.

By the mid-1970s, both suburban and city residents were beginning to rediscover the solid housing stock and convenient transportation of the Village. The area began to attract "urban pioneers" who bought two-flats here specifically to fix them up, restore them to their former glory, and to live in them. In 1990, the purchase and condominium conversion of the Eversharp Building, better known as the "pencil factory" at 1800 West Roscoe Street, caught the attention of the whole City.

At first the project appeared to be a losing proposition, but the original developers sold out to new owners who soon made it a roaring success. This lit a fire under housing and development in the Village, and property values rose dramatically. Buildings that sold for $20,000 in 1971 were now selling for up to $400,000, and by 2000 a few were listing as high as $800,000.

As might be expected, these changes affected the character of the community in many ways, chiefly by changing the economic status of people who could afford to purchase or rent here. New restaurants that opened up were designed to appeal to higher-income customers, and there were radical changes in the retail composition in the Village.

Older residents of the area will remember the Sweet Shop at Roscoe and Seeley that was extremely popular, particular with younger people.

That's where we've come in 100 years. The Village still has one greenhouse and some affordable housing, but not as much as it once did.

In the paragraphs to come, we'll comment on a little nostalgia about places that once were there and aren't now. Also a bit about specific issues in local development, local institutions that have disappeared and what has replaced them, and the Village's growth as an arts community.

In 1986, the community undertook its first Roscoe Street Summer Festival. Produced entirely by volunteers, it made a modest profit but, more importantly, was a means of bringing the Village to the attention of the rest of the City.

In 1988, the organization changed its name to Roscoe Village Neighbors (RVN) to reflect the name by which nearly everyone then referred to the area, for Riverview Park had long ago been replaced by the Riverview Plaza Shopping Center.

Soon after, RVN changed the name of its summer festival to Retro on Roscoe, hired a professional producer, and soon turned the event into a major fundraiser, the proceeds of which finance all of RVN's programs.

These programs include beautification, aid to local schools, the annual Garden Walk, improvement of our parks, the What's News in Roscoe Village newsletter, RVN's web site, Candidate Forums, the annual Easter Brunch, Halloween Parade and Party, and Winter Celebrations, "Come Meet Your Neighbor!" events, and RVN's very active Zoning & Land Use Committee.

On the nostalgia side, older residents will remember the hundreds of parties held at Johnny Weigelt's Catering Hall, 2125 West Roscoe Street. When Weigelt's was relocated to Damen and Byron, the property was purchased by Andy Zerbes, who established Europa House, a German-style restaurant which lasted well into the 1970s. Upon Zerbes' retirement, it was sold to Chris Creswell, who established Keenan O'Malley's, a combination bar and performance venue. Creswell was very community oriented. He secured entertainment for the first Roscoe Street festivals and provided a free annual party for the Village's senior citizens. Eventually, Creswell decided there was too much work involved for the amount of money he was making; he sold to John DiTomaso who started Bedrocks in the space.

The neighborhood, with considerable justification, disliked what DiTomaso was doing. Among other things, loud bikers roamed the streets after hours, business fell off, and the physical premises were poorly maintained. Faced with a deteriorating situation, DiTomaso ultimately tore down the structure and built a new, commercial/residential project which has now been completed.

The block of Damen Avenue just north of Roscoe Street once held Gasthaus Zum Lowen, a meeting place for a dozen North Side German-speaking soccer clubs. As German speakers moved away from the neighborhood, the space was sold to a series of restaurants, but their efforts were mostly defeated by the large size of the space. Nevertheless, several restaurants from the recent past bring fond memories, such as The Damen, Sipario, and Red's. Newly redesigned by a company that has developed several restaurants in Chicago, it is now home to Riverview Tavern and the Robey Pizza Company, a stylishly nostalgic restaurant, bar, and pizzeria.

Hoffing's Department Store, located at the present site of the Village Thrift Shop, was our version of a local department store, complete with two stories of merchandise. It carried everything local residents wanted but were unwilling to walk to the Lincoln and Belmont shopping district to buy. The owner of Hoffing's was acknowledged as the leading retail businessman of Roscoe Street. He was the one to whom local politicians turned when they wanted to know the opinion of local retailers. For several summers, Hoffing's secured sidewalk sale permits and simply invited adjacent retailers to use them.

The arts community in the Village has had a kind of "swimming against the stream" history. When real estate values and rents declined in the 1960s and 1970s, dozens of artists flocked here for its affordable prices. Those who bought property have mostly remained, while those who rented were mostly priced out of the neighborhood as its popularity soared. While we have many artists working from their homes, only one is left with a prominent public space on Roscoe Street – Marya Veeck, who runs August House at 2113 West Roscoe Street, where she offers major exhibitions and regular classes. The Cornelia Arts Building, located at 1800 West Cornelia, serves as the studio for dozens of artists working in a variety of media.

Other kinds of artists can be found in the Village in considerable number. The movies have caught up with us. Several movies and television shows have been at least partially made here, including "Soul Survivor," in which part of Roscoe Street stood in for a Toronto neighborhood. John McDonough, director/producer of "Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer," also lives here.

The involvement in movies seems fitting, since the Village was a major location for filming movies in the early part of the 20th Century. Charles Chaplin is known to have shot films at Damen and Roscoe.

The Village has gained much and it has lost much through the extreme economic changes it has experienced. Once a place to which only a few wanted to move, now it is a place only a few can afford. Changing times have also changed the institutions upon which the community was founded. The fabric of churches, clubs and lodges which once bound all neighborhoods together has changed. Ethnic clubs and fraternal lodges have declined in popularity throughout our society. Organizations like Roscoe Village Neighbors and the Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce now initiate the programs that keep the residents and businesses informed and involved.

Schools, too, have been tested by changes in society and in Board of Education policies. About half the students at Audubon, for example, are bused here for magnet programs, and half of local school-age children attend school outside the neighborhood. Fortunately, many Village entities, including the volunteers of the RVN Education Committee, and DeVry Institute of Technology, are working closely with our public elementary schools to use the talents and skills of Villagers to enrich the local schools, once more making them true community schools.

Like the rides at the park from which the area once took its name, the last 100 years have been filled with twists and turns, surprises and swings. And since the first days of the organization that has become Roscoe Village Neighbors, I've enjoyed a front-row seat.