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Entire Quadrant of Englewood Vanishing Amid Rail Expansion

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The Area from The Grid on Vimeo.

A few years ago Northfolk Southern Railroad began buying up properties in a two-block-wide section of Englewood between 55th and 59th streets along Normal Avenue. Their purpose was and still is rail yard expansion to allow for needed freight storage capacity. Gapers Block editor and photographer David Schalliol took it upon himself to create a mini-documentary of this synchronized removal of a downtrodden but living neighborhood. Various scenes from the streets and public meetings show a distrust for the process by which Northfolk Southern acquired properties—more than 65% of lots to date—and toward claims that the new facility will offer jobs to locals. Whatever the sociological implications of relocating a family or losing a community, this thing is happening. Multiple demolitions attest to that. Lee Bey delves further into the matter via a quick Q + A with Schalliol. Check it out.
·New documentary shows in a quest for jobs and commerce, a corner of Englewood is vanishing [WBEZ]

59th and Normal, Chicago, IL