Chicago in the 70s

Chicago in the 70s

TGR Staff

In the 1970s the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hired a team of photographers to document American life, the focus was to create a visual record of life, culture, living standards, and the state of the environment. The project called, Documerica, would span several years, this series of photos is from 1973-1974 as were captured by John H. White, Charles O'Rear, and Danny Lyon. Chicago was a vibrant but gritty city in the early 1970s and a city still rebuilding after the 1968 Chicago riots.

Chicago in the 70s

 Residents Of Chicago's West Side Check Out A Motorcycle. 06/1973

Chicago in the 70s

Women with colorful hair during the annual Bud Billiken Day Parade along Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Drive on Chicago's South Side. Up to half a million people would attend the parade. 08/1973

Chicago in the 70s

South Side Chicago on 47th Street, a busy thoroughfare. 06/1973

Chicago in the 70s

Chicago's Union Station in the heart of the city. 06/1974.

Chicago in the 70s

The Rev. Jesse Jackson addressing an audience at the annual Push 'black Expo' in Chicago, 10/1973.

Chicago in the 70s

Monroe Street parking lot in Chicago holds 2,700 cars for commuters at Lake Shore Drive, 10/1973.

Chicago in the 70s

Motorists wait in line at Soldier's Field, one of nine auto pollution test sites paid for by the city of Chicago's Environmental Control Department, 08/1973.

Chicago in the 70s

A crowd of some 10,000 Muslims applauds Elijah Muhammad during the delivery of his annual Savior's Day message in Chicago,  03/1974.

Chicago in the 70s

Once one of Chicago's busy thoroughfares, 63rd Street, 07/1973.

Chicago in the 70s

Inspector testing exhaust of Mazda RX-2 at Soldier's Field auto pollution test site, 08/1973.

Chicago in the 70s

World heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali attending service to hear Elijah Muhammad's annual Savior's Day message in Chicago, 03/1974.

Chicago in the 70s

Two youths in Uptown, Chicago, a neighborhood made up of mostly poor white Southerners, 08/1974.

Chicago in the 70s

Student welders work in a machine shop course taught at the Chicago Opportunities Industrialization Center, in the heart of the Cabrini-green Housing Project, 10/1973.

Chicago in the 70s

Sidewalk merchandise at re-sale store on Chicago's South Side, 06/1973.
 
Chicago in the 70s

Illinois Governor Dan Walker greets constituents during the Bud Billiken Day Parade, 08/1973.

Chicago in the 70s

Singer Isaac Hayes performs at the International Amphitheater in Chicago, 10/1973.