Contents
Collection Access
Parkway Community House records
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Parkway Community House records
- Identifier
- BMRC.CHM.PKWY_HOUSE
- Repository
- Chicago History Museum
- Language
- English
- Size
- 1.0 Linear feet
- Dates
- 1937-1957
- Creator
- Parkway Community House.
Historical note
The Parkway Community House (formerly the Good Shepherd Community Center) was organized in 1937 by the Church of the Good Shepherd (Congregational). It was located at 51st and South Parkway and sought to meet the social, educational and recreational needs of the surrounding community. Its facilities were available to community residents without regard to race or religion though it was situated in a predominately African American neighborhood and has an almost exclusively African American clientele. The staff and board of directors were interracial in composition. Mr. Horace Cayton served as Executive Director of the Parkway Community Center for over 15 years.
Scope and Contents note
The Parkway Community House Papers are almost entirely financial records of the organization 1937-1949 and 1955-1957 (the years 1950-1954 are not covered in these two boxes) and minutes of the meetings of the board of directors (also 1937-1949 and 1955-1957). Also included are lists of contributors, reports of fund raising campaigns, general correspondence of the executive director, financial records of the Skyloft Players, an amateur theatrical group (1946-1947) and a few reports (1944-1948) concerning the running of the nursery school program.
Processing Information note
This collection was surveyed as part of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium's Survey Initiative on 2010 October 21 by Andrew Steadham.