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Remembering Taylor Street: Interactive Listening & Mapping Session

  • “Little Italy” Chicago Public Library Branch 1336 W. Taylor St Chicago, IL 60607

  • Free

UPDATE: We will be holding this event in the “Little Italy” Chicago Public Library Branch (1336 W Taylor Street) instead of the farm due to the weather!

We’ll be set up in the Community Room—when entering from the front of the building on Taylor St., the Community Room is directly to the left. NPHM staff will be there to greet you!

Masks are highly encouraged, and we will have some on site. Please bring your own if you are able.

Because of this change, we are no longer able to provide food during the program. We may order a pizza for a gathering in the farm after 4:30 if the weather clears. That said, we encourage you to grab a bite to eat before the event starts!


What businesses, community hang-outs, and other locations do you remember in this neighborhood? How did they play a role in your experiences of connecting with others? 

Join us for an interactive oral history listening and mapping session, featuring excerpts from a recorded conversation between two former residents of the Jane Addams Homes. Their stories focus on the varied history of the Near West Side neighborhood—known as “The Village,” “ABLA,” and “Little Italy”—over the decades, including demographic, economic, and cultural shifts that have drastically changed the shape of the neighborhood. A part of the Smithsonian’s National Conversation on Race series, this program will prompt participants to reflect on the cycles of displacement, demolition, and (re)development in the Near West Side neighborhood and the impacts on its communities.

In addition to group listening, participants will have a chance to explore and participate in a historical memory & mapping project, co-created with urban designer Paola Aguirre and Borderless Studios.


Refreshments including food from The Patio will be served. Additional vegetarian options will be provided. Please contact Mark Jaeschke ([email protected]) if you are attending and have any dietary restrictions.


To hear the full-length joint conversation, click here.

To listen to the Out of the Archives episode curated from the interview, click here.

Our Partners

This program is presented as part of the Smithsonian Institute’s National Conversation on Race, in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art, Center for Native Futures, and South Side Community Art Center, September 20–28, 2024.

Chicago community partners for this event also include Taylor Street Farms and Borderless Studios.


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