Tour Introduction

This is where your tour begins, at 804 W Belden Avenue, now the DePaul School of Music. Jesse Prez, your tour guide, sets the stage for what you’ll learn on this tour of Lincoln Park.

Before Lincoln Park was the neighborhood we know today, it was land inhabited by the Council of the Three Fires--comprised of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations--as well as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo, and Illinois Nations. These people still live in the area and continue to be stewards of the land.

Today you’ll learn about the vibrant Puerto Rican community that called Lincoln Park home durin the 1960s. Listen and look closely, and bring some collective joy and solidarity to a people's history of a neighborhood with many stories to tell. Hear from those who struggled to stop urban renewal and displacement decades ago, and those who are still fighting today.

Read the audio transcript.