Sheridan Sunnyside Service Station, 4501-4507 Sheridan, 1926

An advertising postcard from Sheridan Sunnyside Service Station, 4501-4507 Sheridan, 1926. Love their advertising slogan: "So much depends on proper lubrication and greasing." Indeed.

Chicago Lords of Uptown

While surfing the Net one night, I found this site: Chicago Lords of Uptown.

It provides a brief history of the Sunnyside and Magnolia Set of the Almighty Gaylords, a Chicago street gang with roots stretching back to the late forties/early fifties.

Since living in the neighborhood, I've found that people love to talk about and somewhat glamorize the early gang history of Uptown, the "Al Capone was here" kind of stories, or else they will have a lot to say about Uptown's current gang problems. Very few talk about the times in between, and the groups that, for good or ill, made their mark on the neighborhood.

The Chicago Lords of Uptown were prominent from the seventies through the late nineties. From the site:

"Uptown was a battle zone! Today, Chicago's Uptown community is more known for its jazz clubs and coffee houses than its gang wars. This area is one example of how the City of Chicago is eliminating its ghettos—almost overnight. The cleanup effort is good for the city, but the blood lost here battling for these blocks should not be forgotten."

To learn more about the history of Chicago's street gangs, visit the UIC Chicago Gang History Project.

900 Block of Sunnyside

Image courtesy John Chuckman.