Hal's Chicago

Curated by The Hal Baron Project Team

Hal Baron's works are fundamentally rooted in the Chicago of the 20th century. While monuments such as the high-rise housing projects swiftly vanish from the skyline, the policies and prejudices that motivated them continue to have a profound effect on the city. This hub allows you to travel to the near-past and digitally experience Hal's Chicago.

Dunbar Vocational High School

Founded in 1942, Dunbar vocational school was established to serve as the center for vocational training to African Americans in Chicago, as a result of racial segregation in vocational education in the early 20th century. Not only where African…

Cabrini Green Homes

Located on Chicago’s North Side, Cabrini-Green complex began as the Frances Cabrini Homes, a public housing project led by the Chicago Housing Authority in 1942. The homes targeted veterans of WWII and included fifty-five structures. The American…

Stateway Gardens

“Our mothers take credit, but in Stateway we raised ourselves.” – Jasmon Drain On May 17, 1954 the U.S Supreme Court handed down its decision banning segregated schools, and on the same day, the Chicago Housing Authority announced plans to build…

Washburne Trade School

Named after Illinois congressman Elihu Benjamin Washburne, the Washburne Trade and Continuance School served as an elementary school prior to its switch to vocational training in 1919. While in operation, Washburne offered training to high school…

Ida B. Wells

Ida B. Wells Homes was a public housing project of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) located in the Bronzeville neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago. They were constructed between 1939–41 as part of the Public Works Administration and…

Robert Taylor Homes

Described by Aaron Modica as "national symbols of the failure of urban policy," Robert Taylor Homes were once the largest and most infamous public housing project in America. Part of a post-war slum-clearing initiative, Robert Taylor Homes were…

Trumbull Park Homes

The Trumbull Park located in the South Deering neighborhood on the far-south side of Chicago, Illinois is predominantly known for the series of race riot that erupted in the neighborhood in 1953. Trumbull Park was a white public housing…

Altgeld Gardens

Altgeld Gardens, a 1,498 units consisting of low-income two-story row houses on 190 acres of land was built adjacent to the Calumet River water system by the Federal government between 1943-45 purposely for black war industry workers, southern…
This project was made possible by the Communitas Charitable Foundation and the University of Illinois.