South Martin Luther King Boulevard and 35th Street
Check out the bas-relief sculpture set in the pavement on the north side of 35th Street. It maps out all of the key buildings, institutions and culture of the Bronzeville that Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansberry and Richard Wright made canonical Chicago in “A Street in Bronzeville,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” and “Native Son.” Take a seat on the bench. Look south toward the Victory Monument, the first American public sculpture to honor African-American soldiers. Crack a book and observe the passing surroundings, shaped by urban renewal (IIT, Michael Reese Hospital, and Bronzeville) and still defined by race and racism.
