Only as the target of third world coup would you expect your home to be bombed seven times in four years. And yet, that's the kind of awfulness that greeted successful African-American residents of mostly-white South Side neighborhoods in the 1910s and 20s. An example can be found in the former home of pioneering real estate businessman Jesse Binga, who moved to an inhospitable Washington Park in 1917. The house survived the bombs and Binga's family stayed put for decades. It then entered a long period of decline, a microcosm of the neighborhood. Renovations arrived piecemeal until developer Gerese Tadros did it justice. The home has new owners, who tell Chicago Mag they're thrilled about inheriting a landmark of African-American empowerment. [Chicago Mag, photo via Chicago Crime Scenes Project]
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