CHICAGO DEFENDER
2400 South Michigan Avenue
Revel Motor Row, 2019
Revel Motor Row, 2019
LOCATIONS
3159 South State Street
3435 South Indiana Avenue
2400 South Michigan Avenue
200 South Michigan Avenue
4445 South King Drive
3435 South Indiana Avenue
2400 South Michigan Avenue
200 South Michigan Avenue
4445 South King Drive
The Chicago Defender was founded in 1905 by Robert Sengstacke Abbott, an African American lawyer and entrepreneur. It would go on to become one of the most widely distributed and influential Black publications in modern history, helping to reshape Black life in Chicago, across the United States, and internationally.
|
Abbott was born in 1870 in Georgia, and became interested in printmaking at a young age. He studied printing at the Hampton Institute in Virginia between 1892 and 1896. Following his graduation Abbott moved North to attend the Kent College of Law in Chicago, and received a law degree from that institution in 1898. Abbott spent a number of years attempting to establish himself in the legal profession, working in Gary, Indiana, and then Topeka, Kansas, before returning to Georgia. However, opportunities to develop his career as a lawyer remained fleeting, with his dark complexion and strong Southern accent proving significant barriers to his advancement in the profession.
|
Robert Abbott, circa 1927. Associated Publishers, Inc.
|
Frustrated, Abbott returned to the Windy City, where he switched his attentions to his earliest passion - the field of publishing. 1905 brought with it the first issue of the Chicago Defender: a four-page, six-column folded sheet which Abbott had cobbled together at a card table set up in the room he rented from Henrietta Lee at 3159 South State Street. Lee's home was situated in the "Black Belt", a term used to identify the predominantly African American community which developed on the South Side of Chicago from the late nineteenth century until the period following World War II. Initially restricted to a narrow corridor of State Street, the "Black Belt" expanded to encompass the majority of the South Side - the "Black Metropolis" envisioned by Horace Cayton and St. Clair Drake in their landmark 1945 study of the same name.
Abbott attempted to separate his personal and professional life by renting a small office space, but a lack of funds meant that he was quickly forced to give this up. Facing the possibility of losing his paper before it had even established an audience, Lee allowed the budding publisher to use her home as the Defender's de facto headquarters. It would remain the newspaper's base of operations for more than 15 years. During later years the Defender's humble origins would become mythologized, with impressionist drawings of Abbott working at the kitchen table of 3159 South State Street appearing in anniversary issues.
Abbott attempted to separate his personal and professional life by renting a small office space, but a lack of funds meant that he was quickly forced to give this up. Facing the possibility of losing his paper before it had even established an audience, Lee allowed the budding publisher to use her home as the Defender's de facto headquarters. It would remain the newspaper's base of operations for more than 15 years. During later years the Defender's humble origins would become mythologized, with impressionist drawings of Abbott working at the kitchen table of 3159 South State Street appearing in anniversary issues.
Abbott and Staff at the Kitchen Table of 3159 South State Street. Defender Publications
During the newspaper's early years Abbott was a jack-of-all-trades, working as its reporter, editor and newsboy. Lee's South State Street residence may have made for an unconventional newsroom, but it was conveniently located in the heart of the South Side's developing Black Metropolis, where Abbott sold his papers door-to-door in churches, clubs, pool halls and barbershops.
As the Defender grew in stature Abbott hired additional staff, and over time the newspaper's operations would expand to encompass most of Lee's residence. Abbott would later repay Lee through purchasing his former landlord a new home in the area. By the end of World War I, 3159 South State Street had been transformed from a residential property into the professional home of the nation's leading Black newspaper.
As the Defender grew in stature Abbott hired additional staff, and over time the newspaper's operations would expand to encompass most of Lee's residence. Abbott would later repay Lee through purchasing his former landlord a new home in the area. By the end of World War I, 3159 South State Street had been transformed from a residential property into the professional home of the nation's leading Black newspaper.
After the Defender left 3159 State Street the building was rented out to a number of different tenants, before being demolished as part of the Illinois Institute of Technology's expansion project during the 1940s.
Today the location of Lee's former house is taken up by the McCormick Tribune Campus Center and its eye-catching 'L' train station.
Today the location of Lee's former house is taken up by the McCormick Tribune Campus Center and its eye-catching 'L' train station.
McCormick Tribune Campus Center, IIT Magazine
As the founding home of the Defender, and a location that played a key role in establishing its early reputation as a "community" paper, 3159 South State Street held strong nostalgic appeal for Abbott and his editors. Into his later years, the publisher would continue to refer to the location as the newspaper's "true home."
However, as both Chicago's Black population and the Defender's circulation rapidly expanded during the second decade of the twentieth century, it became increasingly clear that the space was unsuited to the efficient running of a major publishing enterprise. The need for a new home was also accentuated by the outbreak of the 1919 Chicago race riots, which led to dozens of deaths and saw the South Side come under sustained attack from roaming white mobs
While 3159 South State Street escaped damage from the rioting, Abbott's white printers refused to print the paper in fear of a backlash. The incident left Abbott determined to secure a new headquarters large enough to install his owning printing press.
However, as both Chicago's Black population and the Defender's circulation rapidly expanded during the second decade of the twentieth century, it became increasingly clear that the space was unsuited to the efficient running of a major publishing enterprise. The need for a new home was also accentuated by the outbreak of the 1919 Chicago race riots, which led to dozens of deaths and saw the South Side come under sustained attack from roaming white mobs
While 3159 South State Street escaped damage from the rioting, Abbott's white printers refused to print the paper in fear of a backlash. The incident left Abbott determined to secure a new headquarters large enough to install his owning printing press.
State militia faces off with an African-American veteran during the 1919 Chicago race riots. Chicago Tribune
After a lengthy search, the publisher finally decided upon a building located at 3435 South Indiana, around three blocks south of his first business address. 3435 South Indiana Avenue had been built at the end of the 19th century under the auspices of prolific Chicagoan architect Henry Newhouse. The building had originally been owned by the South Side Hebrew Congregation, which had been formed in 1888 and had constructed its temple at 3435 South Indiana 11 years later.
The building's congregation had left in 1915 for a new site on the intersection of South Michigan Avenue and East 59th Street, and it had been partially altered for warehouse use in the years prior to 1920. However, its exterior and interior design retained many features of its former life, including Hebrew markings and lettering in its sandstone facade.
The building's congregation had left in 1915 for a new site on the intersection of South Michigan Avenue and East 59th Street, and it had been partially altered for warehouse use in the years prior to 1920. However, its exterior and interior design retained many features of its former life, including Hebrew markings and lettering in its sandstone facade.
3435 South Indiana Avenue. Simm's Blue Book, 1923
Irrespective of the building's previous function, Abbott soon set about remaking 3435 South Indiana into a physical embodiment of his newspaper's bombastic editorializing. The building's understated exterior was radically transformed with bold new signs and garish banners. The Defender's motto - "the World's Greatest Newspaper" - was emblazoned on the side of the building and visible for several blocks North. As for Abbott, the paper's humble origins story was both replaced and enhanced with a lavish personal office that provided elegant evidence of the Defender's transformation and Abbott's own rise to the top of the Black publishing profession.
By moving further South, Abbott was also able to better locate the newspaper within the Black business and entertainment district that flourished around 35th Street and State Street during the 1920s. In turn, 3435 South Indiana would become the key geographical marker in "Defenderland", the term popularized by Abbott to describe the newspaper's geographical reach within and beyond Chicago.
By moving further South, Abbott was also able to better locate the newspaper within the Black business and entertainment district that flourished around 35th Street and State Street during the 1920s. In turn, 3435 South Indiana would become the key geographical marker in "Defenderland", the term popularized by Abbott to describe the newspaper's geographical reach within and beyond Chicago.
3435 South Indiana would remain the Defender's home for close to four decades, a period that overlapped with the Black Press' "golden age" during the mid-decades of the twentieth century. While many Black businesses were forced to close following the Wall Street Crash and the onset of the Great Depression, the Defender was able to weather the storm. After Abbott's death in 1940, control of the publication was taken up by nephew John Sengstacke, who had been groomed for the role over the previous decade.
In the years following the Defender's relocation to a new headquarters several miles northwards at the end of the 1950s, 3435 South Indiana was left vacant for increasingly longer periods as opportunities dried up around the formerly vibrant Black business hub of 35th Street and State Street. Like other cultural landmarks such as the Overton Hygienic Building and the Chicago Bee Building on State Street, the decline of 3435 South Indiana became a symbol of neighborhood dysfunction and the impact of the "urban crisis."
However, the building was able to survive demolition efforts and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1998. More recently, the building has been renovated and now houses a number of apartments and mixed-use retail spaces.
However, the building was able to survive demolition efforts and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1998. More recently, the building has been renovated and now houses a number of apartments and mixed-use retail spaces.
3435 South Indiana. IIT Magazine
The Defender's next home, located at 2400 South Michigan, had originally been designed for the Illinois Automobile Club by Phillip Brooks Maher, a notable figure in the Prairie School of architecture. Born in Kenilworth, Illinois in 1894, Maher would go on to study architecture at the University of Michigan's famed architectural school, before joining the practise of his father George Washington Maher.
Together, the Maher's helped to design the Gary Gateway Improvement Plan, an ambitious urban redevelopment project designed to transform the landscape of Gary, Indiana. Following George's suicide in 1926, Phillip continued the project alone, redesigning his father's Prairie School plans for the city's governmental building's in favor of a neoclassical approach.
Together, the Maher's helped to design the Gary Gateway Improvement Plan, an ambitious urban redevelopment project designed to transform the landscape of Gary, Indiana. Following George's suicide in 1926, Phillip continued the project alone, redesigning his father's Prairie School plans for the city's governmental building's in favor of a neoclassical approach.
The new Chicago Defender building. Chicago History Museum
Constructors broke ground on the Illinois Automobile Club at 2400 South Michigan Avenue in 1936. A three-story building which was an architectural mix of art deco and Spanish mission styles, the building originally served as the headquarters of the Illinois Automobile Association, joining a large number of other automobile outlets as part of the near South Side's Motor Row district which flourished during the first half of the twentieth century.
Taking up around 30,000 square feet, including a huge basement which took up two sub-floors and included a swimming pool, the Club was intended as an "urban respite for the owners and executives who worked in the surrounding Motor Row district." Plenty of intricate features were used to embellish the exterior and interior, including wrought-iron features and a number of stained-glass windows.
Taking up around 30,000 square feet, including a huge basement which took up two sub-floors and included a swimming pool, the Club was intended as an "urban respite for the owners and executives who worked in the surrounding Motor Row district." Plenty of intricate features were used to embellish the exterior and interior, including wrought-iron features and a number of stained-glass windows.
In the years following World War II the building became vacant, as car dealers began to follow their predominantly white clientele into the suburbs. Concurrently, the expansion of Chicago's African American community out of the South Side meant that Motor Row became home to an important number of black and ethnic business enterprises such as the Defender and Chess Records whose address at 2120 South Michigan Avenue was immortalized in a Rolling Stones instrumental of the same name.
The building was acquired by the Defender in the late 1950s, and after months of fundraising its publisher John Sengstacke had acquired enough funds to push ahead with an ambitious redevelopment project. The newspaper's staff officially moved into the new building in March 1959, although its production and editorial teams remained at 3435 South Indiana Avenue until the basement level swimming pool could be removed to accommodate the Defender's Goss printing presses.
The building was acquired by the Defender in the late 1950s, and after months of fundraising its publisher John Sengstacke had acquired enough funds to push ahead with an ambitious redevelopment project. The newspaper's staff officially moved into the new building in March 1959, although its production and editorial teams remained at 3435 South Indiana Avenue until the basement level swimming pool could be removed to accommodate the Defender's Goss printing presses.
Other changes included the removal of a first-floor smoking lounge, which was retrofitted into a proper newsroom. Among many stylistic flourishes incorporated into the building's refurbishment was the decision to etch into the lobby floor one of founder Robert Abbott's fondest declarations:
No greater glory, no greater honor, is the lot of man departing than a feeling possessed deep in his heart that the world is a better place for his having lived.
Sengstacke's rationale for the move to a larger building - and, indeed, the Defender's shift to a daily format - was the need to be better equipped to document the coalescing civil rights movement and the struggle against racial discrimination in both Chicago and nationally.
In a curious twist, the Defender's new plant also became the headquarters for one of the city's leading civil rights and human welfare organization's; the Chicago branch of the National Urban League. The Urban League's occupation of the building had actually slightly preceded the Defender's purchase of the property, and Sengstacke was wary of bad press if news got out that he had "evicted" a leading civil rights organization. The Urban League renegotiated its lease with Sengstacke and would remain in the building into the mid-1960s.
In a curious twist, the Defender's new plant also became the headquarters for one of the city's leading civil rights and human welfare organization's; the Chicago branch of the National Urban League. The Urban League's occupation of the building had actually slightly preceded the Defender's purchase of the property, and Sengstacke was wary of bad press if news got out that he had "evicted" a leading civil rights organization. The Urban League renegotiated its lease with Sengstacke and would remain in the building into the mid-1960s.
While the Defender's circulation and influence as a voice for the black community would wane during the 1960s and throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century, its headquarters on Michigan Avenue remained a prominent landmark and popular tourist destination for African American visitors to Chicago. Alongside the offices of Johnson Publishing Company at 1820 South Michigan and 820 South Michigan, the Defender plant was celebrated as a visible reminder of Chicago's rich black press history.
In the mid-2000s the Defender's leadership team made the difficult decision to move on from 2400 South Michigan Avenue, opting to rent space in the Borg-Warner building at 200 South Michigan Avenue. The Chicago Tribune reported that while the move northwards brought impressive views across Lake Michigan and a closer proximity to other major news organizations, it was not greeted favorably by many of the Defender's audience.
In the mid-2000s the Defender's leadership team made the difficult decision to move on from 2400 South Michigan Avenue, opting to rent space in the Borg-Warner building at 200 South Michigan Avenue. The Chicago Tribune reported that while the move northwards brought impressive views across Lake Michigan and a closer proximity to other major news organizations, it was not greeted favorably by many of the Defender's audience.
200 South Michigan Avenue. Chicago Architecture
Readers who were used to the accessibility and direct access to reporters and columnists provided by its former headquarters were intimidated by the corporate atmosphere of its new location, and less willing to deal with parking and transportation issues downtown. Editors described the move downtown as "traumatic", complaining that "people didn't see us and they didn't know where we were. They saw the old building boarded up and thought maybe we were out of business."
Community backlash to the move quickly made it clear that the situation was untenable, and after several restless years of operation at 200 South Michigan, the Defender relocated to 4445 South Parkway, now renamed as South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. In a former life the building had been operated by the black-owned funeral company Metropolitan Funeral System Association, a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Assurance Company.
4445 South King Drive. Defender Publications
If the decision to relocate from Motor Row to the South Loop was seen by many of readers as a betrayal, the Defender's return to the South Side was welcomed as a return "to its African-American roots in location and mission." The newspaper's long-term trajectory remains unclear, but it seems that, at least spatially, the Defender has returned to its South Side roots for good.
SOURCES
- "Back Home to Bronzeville," Chicago Tribune, May 26, 2009.
- "The Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District," Commission on Chicago Landmarks, 1997.
- Michaeli, Ethan. The Defender (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016).
- West, E. James. A House for the Struggle: The Black Press and the Built Environment in Chicago (Illinois, 2022).
