Does Cabrini Green Still Exist to ANY Extent?

[JVS60612]

This is a copy of a posting which I had written about a month ago, to an OP from Milwaukee. He visits Chi frequently and had asked about the Cabrini-Green area, when he as also inquiring about Armour Square. My post:


The area where Cabrini-Green is/was located was heavily Italian, mostly Sicilians, until the 1940s. A branch of my mother's family (Sicilians) lived there. The area was referred to as "Little Hell." Cabrini-Green was built in 2 phases. The low rise portion, along Chicago Ave., were the Francis Cabrini Houses. They opened in 1942, as a racially mixed housing complex. The William Green Apts. (high rises), along Clybourn Ave., opened in 1958. By that time, the original white population had left the Cabrini Houses and the residents of the Greens were totally African American.


When the area was mostly white, the Italians had 3 Catholic parishes that served their religious needs. St. Joseph and St. Philip Benizi were the Sicilian parishes, while Assumption Church (still standing on Illinois St. near the Merchandise Mart) was founded by Northern Italian immigrants, mostly from Tuscany.


There was also a small Irish population who remained in the area, and predated the Italians. They shared the area with the Swedes, who moved north along Clark St. to Andersonville, before the Italians came in large numbers.

[Master Jay]

I remember as a child in the 1980's, driving down from Milwaukee, and seeing all the burned out sections of walls on the highrises. In the 1990's there marked a change. I remember getting the feel that something was up, when I saw a coffee house on Division, and the condos going up across the street from the highrises. Little by little, over the years, I would see gradual removal of the buildings. A couple of years ago, I actually drove a bicycle on the previous spot, thinking NO WAY would I have done that a few years prior!

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by beaniemac

I believe some of the low rise buildings are still there just east of orleans and north of chicago. but they are quickly clearing those out as well. there were very few residents over there the last time I was out there.

Correct a few of those low rise apartments still stand, but that there are a lot of vacancies nowadays. I would not be surprised if someday those are demolished, a la the Cabrini high rises. Which I recall very well, from years ago. It definitely feels different more and more in that area, especially when I noticed last year that a residential highrise was finally being constructed across the street from Big and Little's!