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Parkway Garden Homes, locally known as O-Block or WIIIC City, is a low-income apartment complex located in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. The complex was built from 1950 to 1955; architect Henry K. Holsman, who planned several of Chicago's affordable housing developments, designed the Modernist buildings. The apartment complex was the first to be cooperatively owned by Chicago's African-American residents, who experienced a housing shortage during the Second Great Migration due to segregation; early residents included former First Lady Michelle Obama, and recent residents include rappers Chief Keef and King Von. Many other notable artists and music producers have come from Parkway Gardens as well. In recent years, however, the complex has become the center of one of Chicago's most violent blocks. The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The complex was the first cooperatively owned African-American housing development in the United States. While Holsman had worked on cooperative housing in the past, its adoption by African-Americans was considered a major success for the community. Mary McLeod Bethune gave an address at the development's cornerstone-laying ceremony, which was attended by Governor Adlai Stevenson II, Chicago Mayor Martin H. Kennelly, and both of the state's U.S. Senators. Advocates for affordable housing and civil rights praised the development when it was completed, citing its modern heating and appliances and its expansive units. The complex attracted African-American residents from lower-income backgrounds, including future First Lady Michelle Obama's family, who lived there at the time of her birth.[2]
As gang activity increased in the neighborhood in the 21st century, Parkway Garden Homes became the center of one of Chicago's most violent blocks. The 6400 block of South King Drive, known locally as O Block after murder victim Odee Perry, had the most shootings of any block in Chicago between June 2011 and June 2014. Many of these shootings occurred in 2011-12, and city police report that violence at the complex has steadily declined since. The violence mainly stems from gang rivalries between the Gangster Disciples and Black Disciples, who both control territory near the block.[3] Rappers Chief Keef and King Von, whose music often references O Block and its violence, spent time in the Parkway Garden Homes before becoming successful.[4]
The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 22, 2011, for its architectural significance and its role in African-American community development.[1][2]
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