Harrison-Halsted Neighborhood
Before 1960, the concentration of Greek immigrants living and working along Halsted St. north of Taylor St. led Chicagoans to refer to it as the Greek Delta.
The neighborhood stretching west along Taylor St. was known as Little Italy due to its large Italian immigrant community. In addition to these two large groups, the area was also home to people from Central and South America, Puerto Rico, and the African diaspora. Private residences, businesses, cafés, and factories were all mixed together here. Citizens wanted to improve their neighborhood and formed the Near West Side Planning Board. They succeeded in obtaining federal urban renewal money, however, the money was ultimately used to clear the area for the new university.
Neighborhood Protest
When the University of Illinois announced the selection of the Harrison-Halsted site, resident Florence Scala led much of the neighborhood in protesting the decision. Embodying the civic conscience of Chicago’s Little Italy, Florence Scala had developed her sense of social justice at nearby Hull-House, where she participated in classes and activities throughout her youth. As leader of the Harrison-Halsted Community Group, she fought the city every step of the way. Legal suits were eventually filed in both federal and state courts to prevent the project from moving forward.
In May 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, clearing the way for construction of the new university. Large sections of the Harrison-Halsted neighborhood were demolished to make room for the campus, displacing significant numbers of people and businesses. In a small but important victory, Florence Scala and her followers succeeded in persuading university trustees to preserve the Hull-House and Residents’ Dining Hall, located at 800 South Halsted, as a memorial to Jane Addams. Today, the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and Dining Hall are located on the UIC campus.