Bethel New Life Records

Bethel New Life, Inc. is a non-profit community development corporation and social service organization founded in 1979 and serving Chicago’s West Side. Originally located in West Garfield Park (367 N. Karlov Avenue), the corporate offices of Bethel New Life relocated to the Austin community in 2001 (4950 W. Thomas Street). Through its holistic approach to community development, Bethel New Life provides a broad array of services and programs, including employment and training, childcare, senior housing and services, education and health care.

Bethel New Life has its origins in Bethel Lutheran Church, which was founded in 1891 to serve the German/Scandinavian populations in the West Side neighborhood of West Garfield Park. The area had been incorporated into Chicago only two years earlier. The community’s focal point, Garfield Park, boasted a lagoon, bandstand, greenhouse, and golf course. A racetrack was built at the corner of Madison and Pulaski (then Crawford Street), and the completion of an elevated train link to the Loop in the 1890s spurred the community’s growth.

There was heavy construction of new homes and apartment buildings in the area in the 1920s, and by 1930 the community reached its population peak of over 50,000 -- principally Irish, but also Russian Jews, Italians who were moving in from neighborhoods to the east, and African Americans who lived along Lake Street, the oldest industrial section of the community.

New housing construction all but ceased after 1930, and additional housing units were acquired generally through the subdivision of larger, single-family homes. In the 1940s and 50s, additional housing conversions were necessitated for residents whose homes were demolished by the construction of the Eisenhower Expressway. By the 1950s, a third of the white population had left West Garfield Park and by the 1960s, more than 40,000 African Americans had moved into the neighborhood. Housing continued to be a problem, and between 1970 and 1980, West Garfield Park lost thousands of residents as housing units fell from 14,500 to 10,000. “Large empty lots, formerly occupied by small and medium-sized apartment buildings, [were] mute evidence of the loss of dwelling space caused by the withdrawal of investment, under-maintenance, and arson.” (Local Community Fact Book, 1980)

In 1979, the median income of West Garfield Park residents was 2/3 the citywide median, and 40% of the population lived below the poverty level. “Several community groups have been formed to do something about deteriorating housing conditions and the erosion of the economic base of West Garfield Park. They faced an uphill struggle against the result of fifty years of neglect.” (Local Community Fact Book, 1980) One of those community groups was Bethel Housing, Inc., formed by the Bethel Lutheran Church in 1979. In 1982, Bethel Housing changed its name to Bethel New Life, Inc., and under this name continued its work in offering housing opportunities--both rehabilitated and new construction—to low and moderate-income community residents. Bethel New Life eventually managed over 100 rental units. In addition, Bethel operated food and sewing cooperatives, daycare and after-school programs for children, a holistic health center and senior citizens programs.

In October 1983, Bethel New Life’s board appointed a historic preservation committee to work with graduate students from the University of Illinois to explore the possibilities for the preservation of West Garfield Park’s history--particularly architectural history. The committee recommended that the board not attempt historic district designation but encouraged grassroots preservation of local tradition and culture. The result was a project titled “Catch the West Garfield Spirit: Look Up, Look Around, and Be Proud.” In 1983, Bethel successfully applied for an Illinois Humanities Council grant to “involve the Black community of Chicago’s West Side in recovering the recent history of the area.” With grant monies supplied by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the project known as Looking Backward to Move Forward was funded.

Looking Backward to Move Forward focused on four themes—migration, ownership patterns, the church, and community leadership--which were seen as essential to West Side African American history. In 1984-1985 there were several programs developed to reclaim and uncover hidden sources of that rich history.