During that uncertain, combustable period where Blacks and Whites coexisted side-by-side in Bronzeville, Oakland, and Douglas (with white flight in motion and disinvestment to come), there was a bit of a commercial center at Drexel and Oakwood/39th. The Drexel Arms Hotel was one anchor, a handsome crenellated red brick structure with a popular lounge and retail space. Demolished decades ago, the Drexel Arms sat a block away from the storied DuSable Hotel at Cottage Grove which played host to many African-American entertainers and jazz legends. Neither was decidedly ritzy, but both were activity centers and economic engines for the neighborhood. Visit the intersection today, and there's little-to-no-commerce within blocks despite the strong residential integrity of Drexel Boulevard and a gradual rebuilding of vacant lands to the north. Ah well, all in good time. Thanks for playing!
·Hint: A Major Draw Anchoring the North End of a Boulevard [Curbed Chicago]
·The DuSable Hotel and the Drexel Square Area [Jazz Institute of Chicago]
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