Alternative Guide to Chicago
South Shore
Community Highlights
What is now known as South Shore was covered in swampland in the 1850s when German farmer Ferdinand Rohn transported his goods through the area. In 1889, the area was annexed by the city of Chicago and inhabited by British settlers and local steel mill workers. At that time, the neighborhood was divided into townships that were integrated into the Hyde Park community, baring names reflective of the British influence in the area. Both the annexation of 1889 and the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 inspired a great deal of residential and commercial development that resulted in a sudden increase in land sales, building projects, and real estate ventures. The South Shore Country Club broke ground in 1906, standing as a testament to the growth and prosperity of the community.
The neighborhood continued to thrive into the 1940s, as increasing numbers of white ethnic immigrants and American whites fled the influx of African Americans and other non-whites in neighboring communities like Washington Park. In the 1950s, African Americans moved into South Shore. That decade marked the beginning of economic decline in the area due to white disinvestment and real estate redlining. It was not until 1973 that the new African-American residents of South Shore saw prosperity and revitalization in the community, due largely to the efforts of the South Shore Bank. South Shore was solidly middle-class African American by the 1990s. The area is currently jeweled with commercial strips and crowned by the South Shore Cultural Center, formerly the South Shore Country Club.
South Shore has successfully transformed into a vibrant enclave of African-American life on the South Side of Chicago. South Shore has delightful attractions, such as golf courses, the city-famous Rainbow Beach, and Japanese gardens. With its choice location right on Lake Michigan, the area is thriving with activity and life. Bounded by 67th Street to the north, 79th Street to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, and Stony Island Avenue to the west, South Shore is sure to please!
Eateries, Shops, and Other Destinations
A Natural Harvest
7122 South Jeffery Avenue
773-363-3939
Deli and health food store
Vegetarian and vegan friendly
$
As a delicatessen and a grocery store, A Natural Harvest strives to offer products to fit a wide range of needs for a healthy lifestyle. Patrons can find organic oat milk, non-dairy mayonnaise, vitamin supplements, and other such items. In the back of the store, the deli serves freshly made, healthy sandwiches to complement the shopping experience.
Beanie's Coffee & Tea Shoppe
1949 East 71st Street
773-241-7699
Coffee shop and ice cream shop
Vegetarian friendly
$
Beanie's provides what Hyde Park is sorely lacking: a cute, little shop specializing in coffee, ice cream, and a smattering of pastries and small sandwiches-with ambience to boot. Open until mid-afternoon or early evening (depending on the time of year), the spacious seating and gourmet flavors recall an expensive dining experience while the prices-92 for a scoop of ice cream-bring you back to reality, in the good way. Artists, business people, and South Shore residents frequent Beanie's, and customers can buy coffee by the pound.
ETA Creative Arts Foundation
7558 S. South Chicago Avenue
773-752-3955
Admission: $25 for mainstage productions
Discounts for seniors, students, and groups
ETA Creative Arts Foundation specializes in premiering African-American theater works that then go on to more theaters-98 percent of their productions are world premieres. The Playwrights Discovery Development Initiative offers residences and workshops to nurture and develop playwright talent. The foundation also houses an art gallery that showcases established, as well as up-and-coming, local African-American artists. The foundation runs a community center that has, in addition to the theater and gallery, classrooms and recreational space.
Helen's Restaurant
1732 East 79th Street
773-933-9871
Soul food
$
Celebrating southern soul food in every dish, Helen's Restaurant can boast of being visited by the King of Soul, James Brown. Helen's serves breakfast and dinner, but the latest it stays open is 4 p.m. Essentially, you can eat breakfast food in the morning, or you can have things like catfish or chopped steak meatloaf in the afternoon. Helen's also has a coffee club, where patrons who pay an annual fee get a personalized mug and reduced coffee prices. Adding to the personality of the establishment, a yearly birthday-like celebration of the restaurant's incorporation takes place on the first Saturday in September.
Italian Fiesta Pizzeria
1919 East 71st Street
773-684-2222
Italian
Vegetarian friendly
$$
Italian Fiesta Pizzeria has logged more than fifty years of serving up pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and even chicken and catfish dinners in South Shore. They pride themselves on using "only the finest and freshest ingredients," a statement that they put on the menu. It's one thing for a restaurant to advertise organic, local, or otherwise special ingredients. But when a take-out only pizza parlor makes a statement about their ingredients on the menu, I see it as being more of a disclaimer for when the greasiness of the food becomes overwhelming. I have not actually eaten here, but that is my impression.
Jeffery Pub
7041 South Jeffery Boulevard
773-363-8555
Gay bar
An alternative to the fabulous establishments on the North Side, the Jeffery Pub is a mainstay of the South Side gay community. Friday and Saturday nights feature drag queens, and Friday night is also ladies' night (this has been a tradition for over a decade, although there are women patrons throughout the week). Lady V is the deejay of the bar's dance floor.
Leon's Bar B Que, The Original
1640 East 79th Street
773-731-1454
American
$
Leon Finney, Sr., a Mississippi native, opened up a barbecue joint with his aunt in 1940, and the family has been in the business ever since. Leon, Jr., currently runs things, and his brother and sister are also involved; but his 89-year-old father still comes by daily. The restaurant's specialties include rib tips and hickory-smoked spareribs. Leon's sauce can be purchased in bulk, but the recipe has remained a family secret ever since it was invented in 1940.
Marina Café
6401 South Coast Guard Drive
773-947-0400
Creole and Caribbean
Vegetarian friendly
$$$
Located within Jackson Harbor, the Marina Café provides beautiful views of Lake Michigan. The menu offerings include plantain chips, jerk chicken, catfish, and an array of sandwiches rivaling the dinner menu in creativity and taste. Originally a Coast Guard station, the building offers diverse layouts. One dining area has a home-like feel. The other dining area, which was previously a garage, has a more spacious feel. The upstairs lounge is a more intimate setting, with a small bar and cushy furniture. Live music can be heard on the weekends, and hungry boaters can pick up dockside to-go orders.
Soul Vegetarian East
205 East 75th Street
773-224-0104
Soul food
Vegetarian and vegan friendly
$$
As a meat eater I was a bit scared by Soul Vegetarian, which is a vegan (and kosher) soul food restaurant run by African Hebrews. After I sampled a few bites of barbecue protein tidbits, I was glad that I had already eaten dinner. I personally find it difficult to eat completely unfamiliar substances-like the gelatin part of pecan pie or, in this context, straight-up protein. What exactly is protein? Diners should be prepared for lots of protein, soy, tofu, and the like. I didn't try much else, but many of my vegetarian/vegan friends enjoy the menu. I did eat the cornbread, and that much was good. Aside from the food, the restaurant was a bit crowded. But the staff is knowledgeable, and both the staff and other patrons are friendly.
South Chicago Seafood
1536 East 75th Street
773-684-7000
American
$
South Chicago Seafood specializes in serving up fresh, farm-raised fish. You can order fish at various stages in the butchering process: you can get fish frozen or fresh (so fresh that they'll kill and clean them for you on the premises, and for free). Frog legs, shrimp, oysters, and other members of the seafood family are also served. This wildly popular seafood joint also offers pies, cakes, and other home-style desserts to complement the dinner fare.
South Shore Cultural Center
7059 South Shore Drive
773-256-0149
Admission: Varies by event
Hours: Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Park closes at 11 p.m.
In its comprehensive space, the South Shore Cultural Center offers self-defense, dance, and cooking classes; a nine-hole golf course; kids programming; and so much more. MPAACT African Centered Theater produces summer plays at the center, and there are festivals and events taking place year-round. The Parrot Cage is a new fifty-seat restaurant situated within the Cultural Center. It is run by a former chef at Hotel Monaco's South Water Kitchen and the provost of the Washburne Culinary Institute. Located in a former dance studio in the Cultural Center, the Parrot Cage offers great views of Lake Michigan.
Woodshop Art Gallery
441 East 75th Street
773-994-6666
Art gallery
The Woodshop Art Gallery holds a collection of paintings, custom contemporary furniture, custom cabinetry, complete custom framing service, sculptures, photographs, masks, lim ited editions, and reproductions by African-American and Haitian artists. The gallery is open for tours, and local artists are often featured. Students who are ready to begin collecting art can buy small 4"x 6" paintings for $30. Or, for those of you who are really ballers, the larger ones start at $150.
More Attractions
Rainbow Beach
7600 South Shore Drive
312-747-0832
Beach
Rainbow Beach is one of the city's largest beaches, spanning five blocks. Perhaps the North Avenue Beach of the South Side, Rainbow Beach offers a playground, handball courts, baseball diamonds, a pier, and a boat ramp. There are no stretches of volleyball nets with ber-hot people diving into the sand, but there is plenty to do in case the water gets boring or too full of bacteria (as tends to happen in Chicago).
