Rogers Park was first settled in 1836 by Philip McGregor Rogers, hence, how to area was later named after him. The homestead of Rogers was at present day Lunt Avenue and Ridge Avenue. Rogers owned every inch of present-day Rogers Park from the early 1840s until Rogers’ death in 1856. Rogers then sold parcels of land to some German and Luxembourger farmers that mainly settled near present day Devon Avenue and Ridge Boulevard. John Calder Ure, a wealthy Chicago businessman purchased property at the present-day intersection of Howard Street and Clark Street to Paulina Street where he built a large home. Ure was the only resident that I know of in all northern Rogers Park for decades.
The 1,600 acres was inherited by Roger’s daughter and her husband Patrick Touhy. In the year 1872, Patrick Touhy divided up the land for settlement. Irish and German settlers began to buy property here. Rogers mainly sold land to Germans who became the first major ethnic group to dominate Rogers Park. Touhy chose the name “Rogers Park” in honor of Philip McGregor Rogers. This settlement was mostly located at the southern base of Rogers Park from Touhy Avenue to Devon Avenue and from Ridge Boulevard to Clark Street. In the year 1873, the area was further developed when the Chicago & North Western Railway began construction and the present-day Rogers Park station began its long history, at the time it was located at Greenleaf Avenue and Ravenswood Avenue. Once this railroad began carrying passengers, homeless people would ride this train and stop by the Evanston/Rogers Park area border finding refuge in South Evanston just south of the Catholic Cavalry Cemetery.
At the time when the Chicago & North Western Railway laid tracks in 1873, many of the homeless would wonder south of the Cavalry Cemetery and settle the area north of present-day Howard Street creating a homeless encampment. I am not totally positive the encampment started as far back as 1873 but in a February 25, 1988 issue of the Chicago Reader, the writer Jack Clark stated that they interviewed a woman that lived in the area for 50 years made the claim, “But a woman who lived in the area for more than 50 years explains that the name originated with a hobo camp that sprang up when a railroad was pushed through the area in the late 1800s. The hobo jungle moved on. The name lingered.” This article partially addressed why the area was nicknamed “The Jungle,” “Juneway Jungle,” or “Jonquill Jungle” (For reference, this Chicago Reader article can be easily found online). The Howard Street EL station did not exist yet and was not even in operation until the 1900s decade; therefore, this railroad this woman in the article is referring to is the Chicago & North Western Railway that ran just west of this area into South Evanston. This area that consists of present-day Cavalry Cemetery on the north to Howard Street on the south and from Clark Street on the west to Lake Michigan on the east is now known as “North of Howard” or the “Juneway Jungle.” This area was officially part of the town of South Evanston during this 1870s era and the homeless encampment is the beginning of a storied legacy. Locals would call this area “The Jungle” or possibly the “Hobo Jungle.” This is a rough start for the history of this area, and it only gets more interesting as time would pass which eventually turned into a socioeconomic issue.
In the year 1878 the “Village of Rogers Park” was incorporated. The intersection of Clark Street and Estes Avenue became one of the biggest intersections in Rogers Park as this was the site of a funeral home, and the village hall.
Some of the northern part of Rogers Park was owned by John Calder Ure originally and was barren prairie land. In the year 1869, Ure had a son born named John F. Ure and in 1871, after Ure divorced his wife, he gave her and his sons the land at present day 7527 N Clark which is closest to the intersection of Howard Street and Paulina Street. Ure’s property extended from Howard Street to Rogers Avenue and from Clark Street to the lakefront. In the year 1887, John F. Ure, then 18-years old, started his own dairy business at 7527 Clark Street out of the property him and his mother lived on, the name of the business was J.F. Ure Dairy, which was the first business in the Howard Street area of northern Rogers Park. At the time the area was still barren land with unpaved roads and Howard Street was known as “Howard Avenue” at the time. All that was in the northern area of Howard was the part of South Evanston that had the homeless encampment (Hobo Jungle), but that was an unofficial settlement.
It was very hard to find out how the area that was previously the Hobo Jungle became settled by landowners/homeowners, but it appears to have begun in the 1880s. I saw an 1889 Evanston map online and saw writing in that area along the lake front which says to me most of the settlement was on the lake front, but the image was too blurry, and the source wants $25 for a copy of the map, yeah right! $25 for an image of a map! Since I found nothing for free, I can’t say what was said on these old maps online, but it at least appears people lived there by 1889. This part of what is now Chicago used to be part of the town of South Evanston until South Evanston annexed into Evanston in 1892. This part of town used the Rogers Park Water Company for their water supply and the company was not established until 1889; therefore, I wonder how the residents got water before then. The issue with this area receiving services from Evanston was that they were cut off from Evanston by the cemetery and by the railroad on the west, they were only adjoined by Rogers Park; therefore, they looked to Chicago for support, the water supply is an example. Before this area became a part of Chicago there were 900 residents by the time the area was annexed on February 8, 1915, which indicates there were several houses in this small area of Evanston by the turn of the century. The homeless encampment left the area likely when property became purchased, and houses were built by the 1880s or 1890s. This area was settled by mostly German immigrants which gave the area the nickname “Germania” and more officially as “Germania Addition.” Any nickname that included “The Jungle” seemed to leave the area and the new slang term was “No Man’s Land” due to the area being mostly cut off from the city of Evanston’s services. During the proceedings for annexation on March 21, 1914, Alderman Murray stated, “They now have sewer and water and are getting other improvements and should be content with these until the city can give them more.” This statement from Murray seems to state that Evanston was working on providing amenities but either Little Germania couldn’t wait, or they felt so much more attached to Chicago that they were all too eager to split, but some of the reason was alcohol related. During the annexation proceedings Murray expressed more dissatisfaction and it showed in his statement, “There is nothing to indicate the value of the property we give away and no partition of the territory along drainage lines. The nearer Chicago comes to our doors, the less protection we have from the ever-encroaching liquor traffic.” Evanston feared the alcohol loving Chicago population would now be too close to their borders (Source: https://rpwrhs.org/w/index.php?title=Germania#:~:text=That%20changed%20on%20Monday%2C%20February%208%2C%201915%2C,the%20city%20annexed%20the%20area%20known%20as).
Rogers Park was in support of Evanston’s temperance and even remained dry just like Evanston in solidarity; however, Rogers Park did not seem to be as adamant about temperance as much as Evanston, hence, the fear Murray expressed with alcohol getting into Evanston. “No Man’s Land” not only refers to this area that is north of Howard Street, but it also refers to the north shore coastline that included suburbs like Wilmette. Wilmette especially had documented issues with bootleggers moving illegal alcohol along this temperance strip, Al Capone even rented property in Wilmette. In Germania, speakeasies were in operation before prohibition. In the book The Saloon: Public Drinking in Chicago and Boston, 1880-1920, author Perry Duis wrote, “Evanston’s temperance groups had carried on an unsuccessful crusade against blind pigs there for years, and it was thought easier to get rid of what later became known as the “Juneway Jungle” than to continue the fight.” He obtained his information from two old sources, one being The Evanston Index from February 9, 1915, and the other source from An Evanston problem written in 1913. This is proof illegal alcohol flowed in illicit taverns in this small area near the turn of the 19th century and was a large motivator for Evanston and Germania to push for annexation into Chicago. German culture celebrated alcohol and temperance laws interfered with their culture.
In the year 1893, Rogers Park officially annexed into the city of Chicago which was heavily sought after by residents to develop the land more east of Clark Street and more north toward Howard Avenue. By this time, John F. Ure was about 24 years old and now had children, he was one of the main residents that pushed for annexation and was now willing to work with the city for settlement up north. In 1894, Rogers Park experienced an intense fire that set back much further development until the damages could be contained. On January 14, 1895, Ure assisted the city with renaming Howard Avenue as “Howard Street” for practical reasons. It is legend that Howard Street was named after Howard Ure who was not born until January 13, 1896, which is odd to name a street after a child not even conceived yet. This is a mystery on the naming of the street, but I can theorize that either it was named after the son they wanted to have or perhaps they gave birth to a child that may have passed away in infancy, but no one knows about it. Howard Ure was also not given the name “Howard” upon birth, his original name was John, but he got his first name legally changed which is all too puzzling. I compiled all this history from several different sources around the internet which makes it tough for me to cite sources clearly, but you can google any of these names and you will find the sources all over, an example is: (https://www.rpwrhs.org/w/index.php?title=Milk).
On February 8, 1915, Germania was annexed into the city of Chicago making the Cavalry Cemetery as the new southern border with Evanston. As soon as this area was annexed into Chicago, Howard Street began its major boom from Clark Street to the lakefront at first then from Ridge to the lake front by the 1920s. In the beginning the Germania neighborhood was the biggest supporters of local businesses along Howard Street. The Redline EL was opened in 1908 with a stop at Howard Street and Clark Street and was already fully functional once the area began its boom after 1915. From all the sources I gathered, I do not believe there was many businesses and taverns during the first world war years especially since the Jonquil Terrace and Juneway Terrace apartments did not begin construction until closer to the 20s. Many of the old houses appear to have been torn down to make way for these luxury apartments while luxury mansions and large houses were built along Juneway Terrace between the late 1910s and 1920s. Before the annexation, Charles William Ferguson was already trying to develop Germania as of 1910, but it only seems like he built a few houses by 1915. Ferguson was interested in the development of the area and played a pivotal role in Howard Street development. It was during this later 1910s period that construction began on the Juneway Terrace apartments and the Jonquil Terrace apartments that have become so notorious, but it seems like in their early years these were luxury apartments because at the time there were big plans for this area of Rogers Park. Not many of the old homes from the No Man’s Land days still exist, the oldest house I found was built in 1906. It appears that old Germania was heavily torn down by the 1920s. Very few housing structures in this area are from decades later than the 1920s; therefore, this indicates the razing of old Germania was done more than 100 years ago. Perhaps the original residents moved into the newer housing? Strange how 900 people seemed to vanish, and I can’t find any resources about it. The area was now known as the “North of Howard.” My theory is that Germania residents were of a lower income status and perhaps crime and poor housing stock may have been the city’s motivator to tear down all those homes. Germania now became a wealthier, mostly Russian Jewish area. Jonquil Terrace and Juneway Terrace apartments were beautiful apartment buildings built with impressive architecture with winding vines adorning the sides of the buildings that can still be seen today. These were originally built for luxury and were conveniently situated by the lake front. Other apartment buildings in the area were also made for luxury living as luxury living was seen as necessary to accommodate the Howard Street development. The houses built along the eastern part of Juneway Terrace were also luxurious homes for upper classes, clearly, old Germania was mostly removed.
It is possible that the old Germania neighborhood may have had the term “The Jungle” return in the 1920s because of the vines placed alongside the outer walls of Juneway Terrace and Jonquil Terrace but that is only a rumor I heard of. Other rumors say “The Jungle” term returned in the 20s because of prohibition and gangsters doing dirty business in speakeasies on Howard Street. I dug and dug and found no evidence or solid information to support that gangsters did any business on Howard Street besides Fred Capone, the brother of Al Capone testifying that he had a bar accessories business on Howard Street but that was never confirmed. Al Capone tended to an apartment at Sheridan and Morse, but that is much further south in Rogers Park, he mostly used the apartment for his extended family. From my understanding, Howard Street was still heavily under construction in the 1920s and was still part of temperance; therefore, the legends seem to be misunderstandings made by story tellers that have timelines and areas mixed up with Wilmette.
As the 1930s came to be, our nation faced economic depression; however, I found no issues with Rogers Park dealing with the Depression. Howard Street continued to develop in the 30s while many other parts of the city were at a standstill. Alcohol prohibition was repealed in 1933 and by 1934 all types of alcohol flowed freely throughout our nation. The temperance movement In Evanston remained in effect but Rogers Park temperance was now dissolved, and Howard Street area residents and businessmen couldn’t wait to open many bars along this now bustling strip. The north shore was dry as a bone because of north shore temperance and for many far northern suburban residents, Howard Street was the place to go for spirits, this is what triggered the opening of multiple bars along Howard Street. Howard Street now offered an abundant nightlife, not just with alcohol, but with a large theater and scores of restaurants and specialty shops. Residents could now shop along the Howard Street strip. The growing issue that came alongside the rise of nightlife along Howard Street was the abundance of bars attracted seedier elements and increased crime in the area as now criminals could take advantage of a naive and drunken night crowds. There were now issues with drunks riding the redline EL up to Howard Street then offloading at the many bars, further feeding the nightlife, but this nightlife fueled the local economy during these hard times in the Great Depression era. Most of the Howard Street bars were located around the immediate area of Howard Street and Paulina Street. Locals have said that up to 40 bars operated at that corner at its peak that began as soon as prohibition was repealed. Stories of prostitution and various other crimes became rampant along Howard Street, especially east of Clark Street beginning in the mid-30; however, the area was not extremely dangerous. I read on some online forums that one person said they spoke to an old woman that lived in the area a long time that quoted a military serviceman say, “he’d felt safer in the jungles of Guadalcanal than he did in the one along Howard and Paulina.” This of course refers to that the area was still being called “The Jungle” but by the 40s, “The Jungle” mainly referred to the ivy that grew along the apartment buildings in North of Howard area. During those World War II years, the city encouraged apartments to be subdivided into kitchenettes to offset much of the housing shortage. According to Encyclopedia of Chicago website, this was done north of Howard in the Jungle area. Apartment buildings like Jonquil Terrace and Juneway Terrace began this practice (Face source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1086.html). The well-off Jews were beginning to move out of these apartments and lower-income families were taking their place but instead of one family taking their place multiple families were now able to move into an apartment that used to be much larger. This was the beginning of the issues with the North of Howard community area as lower-income residents made for lower rents paid and less revenue for this area of Rogers Park.
Regardless of some of the negative issues along Howard Street, it was still a booming spot for nightlife at the northern edge of the city that attracted tourists, students, servicemen and suburbanites from miles away. East access to trains, buses and EL trains, and highway access made this area a bustling area of Rogers Park as it appears the heyday was in the 1950s. Vagrants could sleep on the EL Redline until they were forced to leave at the Howard Street stop, they would then either sleep in the street of Howard or they would fuel themselves up at local bars. Howard Street also became ideal for pan handling for the homeless after reding the EL to the end.
As far as Rogers Park gangs are concerned, I have no information about gangs in Rogers Park prior to the 1970s. I can almost guarantee there were street gangs in the community prior to the 70s but I have dug and dug all over and found no information at all about gangs, only about mild organized crime presence and private interest drug dealers and pimps along Howard Street at night. This leads me to believe that gang activity in Rogers Park was minimal in these early years, but the dark ages were yet to come.
In the mid-1960s, Howard Street became the first area of Rogers Park to experience rougher change on the streets. From all sources I read and from online forums and Facebook groups it appears the Howard Street area woes began the first stages of intensity in the mid-60s, although the area would not devolve much more until later in the 60s. In the mid-60s some of the older residents, mainly older Russian Jews, began moving out of the Howard Street area seeking new life outside of the city in suburbs like Evanston, Skokie, Willmette, and Lincolnwood. Jews began leaving Chicago during World War II, but that migration seemed to have slowed after the 40s but in the Rogers Park area a new wave of departure seemed to be beginning in the mid-60s. When Jews left, they were often replaced by African Americans mainly in the North of Howard area; however, the area also saw an influx of Asians, Appalachians and even some Hispanics.
In the late 1960s, the Howard Street area experienced more flight from the Jewish population and although the African American population was still very small in the area, it was enough for some visitors and some locals to begin referring to the area as “The Jungle” but more often used than previous decades. This time the term was derogatory and racist referring to the growing African American population. Any sources I have read anywhere out there, or personal stories never pointed to African Americans living along Howard street before 1970 as additions to the area’s crime, it still appeared to be whites committing crimes. The Jungle reference only made fun of blacks just living in the area even though they were seemingly not adding to crime. Howard Street was a much scarier place by the late 60s but was highly livable, especially for college students attending Northwestern University (NU). College students loved Howard Street nightlife since the 1930s. By the late 60s Howard Street was saturated in bars and entertainment and restaurants were heavily blended in. One restaurant I kept seeing former locals and former students rave about was La Choza Mexican restaurant (opened 1965-1985) that used to be at the corner of Howard and Paulina at address 7630 N Paulina amid the heavily saturated bars on that same corner. La Choza was BYOB before it was trendy. I read stories of lines of college students and others lined up to get into La Choza while holding their favorite alcohol drinks, I also heard the food was good. La Choza was an afforable restaurant that carried popular food items like the Kamoosh (Guacamole and cheese) and Garnachas (melted cheese on avacodo with fresh tortilla chips), spicy mole, and garlic soup. La Choza was owned by “Sylvester” who migrated from Oaxaca Mexico, when the business closed, he opened it in Mexico (not related to the current La Choza restaurant on Clark Street). La Choza is just an example of the unique and bustling restaurants along Howard that college students and suburbanites from temperance suburbs enjoyed by the late 60s into the early 70s. More popular restaurants were Talbott’s Ribs and steaks (across the street from La Choza), Villa Girgenti (7625 N Paulina) for oblong, unique pizza, Edwardo’s Pizza (the original location), Huck Finn at Clark and Howard, The “Unique” lounge and restaurant, Le Perroquet, Gold Coin restaurant (breakfast all night at Howard and Clark), Fritz, Ashkenaz, Louis Szathmary’s The Bakery (known for beef wellington). These were some of the many restaurants along Howard Street in Rogers Park that opened around the later 60s and 70s period. Liquor stores adorned Howard Street in these days and one of the most profitable was Foremost Liquors at Clark and Howard which would intercept the EL traffic and bar traffic. Another famous liquor store and bar was the PM Club at 2739 Howard Street that was described as a dingy liquor store with a dingy bar in the back and the two were connected, very cool! Many jazz and blues clubs once saturated Howard Street that opened as far back as the 1940s.
With all these restaurants, liquor stores and entertainment, Howard Street drew in heards of a hippie culture that was an extension or Northwestern University. Howard Street now became the site of head shops and other businesses that catered to a hippie subculture. Along Howard Street one could even find revolutionary newspapers that coincided with hippie culture. Several locals that lived in the area from the late 60s to the mid-70s can attest to the major hippie influence along Howard Street and the many hippies that lived in North of Howard area in complexes like Juneway Terrace and Jonquil Terrace. The darkside of the hippie presence was the increased drug trafficking and prostitution that tends to follow hippie culture, much of this was off-putting for longtime residents that made the decision to leave the area in the late 60s and early 70s.
From the testimonies in online forums and social media sources I perused, I noticed the stories of college kids and hippies living in the Howard Street area seemed to diminish after 1972. The Vietnam War was close to an end and the hippie era was winding down. Evanston’s long standing temperance movement ended in 1972 which allowed NU students to stay closer to campus instead of making the voyage to Howard Street; however, that would take a few more years for Evanston to truly become a “wet” community. All the nostalgic stories of college students I saw online continued through the mid-70s although stories of residing in the community diminished after 1972. This says to me that the area became increasingly rough by 1972 prompting college students and hippies to avoid living in the Howard Street area as the African American presence increased heavily by the mid-70s. Although the nightlife was still buzzing along Howard Street in the mid-70s, the area was slowly dying and falling into decay and well on its way to becoming an urban slum. The once elegant apartments near Howard Street were becoming blighted and ran down. Jonquil Terrace and Juneway Terrace were becoming increasingly scary in appearance, drug dealers and crime on those streets made the area appear unsafe.
As the Vietnam War came to an end in 1973, the hippie era in the U.S. began taking a back seat as former hippies were beginning to cut their hair and start families now that there was no war to protest. The quasi-hippie stoner style remained after the war and now it seemed as if hippies that remained were more just about partying and having a good time. The site of Howard Street changed slightly as now college students seemed to lose interest in living in this area and instead hung out on Howard just for nightlife then returned to their respective suburbs or various Chicago neighborhoods. As I read the comments and stories online about Howard Street area in the mid-70s I saw plenty of former students and former stoners talking much about visiting the bars and shops but not much about living along Howard Street anymore. By 1974, much white flight had run its course in the Howard Street area and many more African Americans were moving in to replace the mostly white population.
I don’t have a lot of gang history of Rogers Park prior to 1974 but by 1974 one of Rogers Park’s most notorious gangs had taken formation by 1974 at the latest. The notorious Howard Street Greasers were once a well-known street gang in the 70s in Rogers Park and many legends surround them. The Howard Street Greasers were mainly a white gang but were not a white power type of group, they consisted of mostly youths from poorer families or from broken families of all backgrounds, Irish, Polish, Italian, German etc…The Howard Street Greasers took over most of northwest Rogers Park from Howard Street on the north to Rogers Avenue on the south and from Ridge Boulevard on the west to Clark Street on the east. Pottawatomie Park was inside their turf and the Howard Street Greasers hung out in that park and claimed it. These Greasers once lived in the many apartments near Howard Street, growing up poor in one- or two-bedroom apartments making for a semi-desperate life, this molded true greaser gangsters.
In 1975, Hispanics began moving into the apartments and houses near Howard Street with many Hispanics moving into the Jonquil Terrace apartments. Soon a Hispanic identity developed in this area especially by Ashland Avenue and Howard Street. Stephen F. Gale School is located at Ashland and Howard and became the site of gang conflicts in Gale Park that is adjoined to the school. The notorious Latin Kings moved into Jonquil Terrace claiming Ashland and Howard as their territory. In the 70s the Latin Kings even tagged alongside the Jonquil Hotel which is located at Ashland and Jonquil Terrace. Photographer Robert Natkin took a picture of two men standing outside the Jonquil Hotel with “Almighty Latin…” showing on the wall, I can certainly attest that the whole tag read “Almighty Latin Kings,” but the photo was cut off, the pic was taken in the 70s. The founder of the Ashland and Howard Latin Kings was Rolando, A.K.A “Taco.” Taco formed the Latin Kings in 1975 at Ashland and Howard and these Latin Kings fought heavy battles against rival groups and gangs. As Hispanics and blacks were moving into the Howard Street area in the mid-70s, law enforcement treated these people far less than favorable and often beat the youths with nightsticks, according to street legends I came across. There was also an African American gang in the North of Howard area called the “Howard Street Kings” or known simply as “The Kings” who were allied with the Latin Kings. There was also the Howard Street Lords, a mostly white gang that started before the mid-70s and were allies with Howard Street Greasers. When Hispanics and African Americans moved east of Clark along Howard in higher volume by 1975, the Howard Street Lords allied with Latin Kings and Howard Street Kings going against the Howard Street Greasers, Howard Street Greasers opposed all three gangs.
In the year 1975, the notorious Simon City Royals came to Rogers Park forming at the intersection of Touhy Avenue and Ridge Boulevard which is on the border of Rogers Park and West Ridge. These Royals were formed by Steve Clark, but I don’t know where he branched from but I’m pretty certain he came from Ashland and Irving Park original chapter from Lake View. Many Royals left that area in 1975 after three of their leaders were killed between 1974-75 especially if they were heavily involved in gang activity for the retaliation against the enemy gangs that killed their leaders. The Royals recruited among youths from Rogers Park that were upset with the changes along Howard Street area. The Royals perhaps didn’t want it to spread south while Howard Street Greasers didn’t want the racial and poverty changes to sweep west of Clark Street. Because of this Clark Street became a war zone with graffiti everywhere by the 70s from Howard Street to Touhy Avenue. Latin Kings, Howard Street Kings and Howard Street Lords had their alliance while Simon City Royals, Howard Street Greaser, Thorndale Jag Offs (from Edgewater), Insane Popes (from West Ridge) had a strong alliance and even had loose alliance with some Gaylords and Taylor Jousters from other neighborhoods. Daily the Simon City Royals and Howard Street Greasers lived among their enemies while the rest of the “R.P.G” (Royals, Popes and Greasers) allies lived outside of Rogers Park.
One of the earlier businesses to suffer in the North of Howard area was the Jonquil Hotel that was originally built in 1921 for bachelors to settle for the night. Over time, the hotel became sleezier and began catering to vice type activities until it burned in 1960 and the owner of the bar portion (The Dude Ranch) at the time was running a prostitution ring in the hotel. When apprehended in 1960 she tried to bribe the police with $200 to look the other way (Fact source: https://capturedandexposed.com/2021/05/07/the-jonquil/). In the year 1976, the abandoned Jonquil Hotel was purchased by Good News Partners who used the hotel to provide subsidized rental housing, and co-operative housing for families with low incomes (Fact source: https://rpwrhs.org/the-faith-traditions-of-rogers-park-and-west-ridge/good-news-partners/). Local legends tell of tales of this hotel becoming a sleezy area with high crime after it re-opened in 1976. This was indeed gang territory, especially Latin King territory, and was the site of prostitution and drug trafficking.
From my understanding, the original Howard Street Greasers had an unofficial disbanding in early 1975 when “Ace” got out of prison then flipped to a Satan Disciple. The Greasers continued on but in 1976 the last of the original members left the gang, but the younger generation was not finished yet and kept the gang very much alive. This was the start of the notorious second generation of Howard Street Greasers. These were the Greasers that fought with Latin Kings, Howard Street Kings and Howard Street Lords, I am not sure what groups the original Howard Street Greasers fought with, but I think it was mainly gangs from outside Rogers Park borders.
By the late 70s years, the Howard Street corridor sunk deeper into decline as one business after another closed their doors. The nightlife of Howard Street was still hoping but had slowed down significantly especially now that our country was preparing for a major economic recession. Legends I encountered stated young people still came to Howard Street but not as much as they once did. All the testimonials I encountered all stopped their stories by 1979 at latest and I found no stories of people hanging on Howard for fun in the 80s or later. Among many articles and several other sources all have pointed to the mid-70s as when the Howard Street area started to change racially and economically then they all agreed that the late 70s was the time when decline really set in and white flight was at its heaviest.
According to Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research in June of 1988, over 1,600 prison inmates were released from Illinois prisons between 1979-1982 due to prison overcrowding. This caused over two thirds of releases made during these years as early releases to ease overcrowding (Fact source: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/115301NCJRS.pdf). This was the main cause of a new gang migration wave to Rogers Park. This program ran parallel to increased white flight from the Howard Street area and all of Rogers Park and ran parallel to new gangs that sprung up in the Howard Street area. The new gangs were exclusively African American gangs as the white and even the new Hispanic population began to leave the Howard Street area. The notorious Black Gangster Disciples (Gangster Disciples) moved into North of Howard area in 1979 and became a large presence in the Juneway Terrace apartments then eventually Jonquil Terrace. Latin Kings were not run out of Howard and Ashland, they voluntarily moved west of Clark Street into old Howard Street Greaser territory; however, many stayed at Howard and Ashland and were still strong, meaning Latin Kings ran Howard Street in the 80s in Rogers Park. A gang related homicide changed Howard Street gang settlement. Howard Street Greaser gang member Fred Coleman used a cane sword to stab Howard Street Lord gang member Berry Stiles who was the leader of the Howard Street Lords. The old 1979 newspapers say that Stiles was a Latin King but that isn’t true, he was a Howard Street Lord, he was found dead at 7605 North Bosworth (Howard and Bosworth) outside of his apartment building. This broke up the Howard Street Lords and their allies the Howard Street Kings. This murder also brought the demise of the Howard Street Greasers and Coleman was sentenced in 1980 for manslaughter that he did some prison time for. The area then was taken over by the Black Gangster Disciples that opened a serious section in the whole North of Howard neighborhood ruling with an iron fist. These Disciples were big time drug dealers and killers and were likely established by recent parolees that moved into the apartment buildings in the area. The BGDs were strong in the 80s in North of Howard but not yet strong enough to run out the Latin Kings.
By 1979, many of the Howard Street Latin Kings had moved west on Howard Street into Howard Street Greaser territory now that it was abandoned by the Greasers. Latin Kings mainly took the area of Pottawatomie Park that all used to be owned by the Howard Street Greasers from Howard Street to Rogers Avenue and from Clark Street to Ridge Boulevard. Hispanics had moved west of Clark and were slowly moving further south from Howard Street as the 80s unfolded. On the Evanston side of Howard Street Conservative Vice Lords took over the apartments in this part of Evanston as parolee Vice Lords moved into those buildings. Vice Lords were also on the Chicago side of Howard, but they may have extended all the way down to Fargo Avenue. I am not totally clear on if Latin Kings and Vice Lords were fighting for Howard but one thing I know for sure is both gangs were fighting with Black Gangster Disciples as, once again, Clark Street became a gang boundary again; however, Latin Kings were on both sides but Vice Lords and BGDs could not cross Howard.
In the year 1979, a Simon City Royal from Touhy and Ridge formed his own branch of Royals in the neighborhood at the intersection of Farwell Avenue and Clark Street. On this corner was the Silver Sue’s arcade that was once very popular with youths from Rogers Park and adjoining neighborhoods. Members of several different gangs hung out at Silver Sues in the 70s but by 1979, “Twat” of the Simon City Royals made Farwell and Clark an official Simon City Royals chapter. Legends of Touhy and Ridge seemed to have stopped by the 80s and all the stories I heard from the 80s on about Rogers Park Royals involved the Farwell and Clark Royals only. Silver Sue arcade opened in 1975, the same year as the Touhy and Ridge Royals formed. Sue England opened the arcade, and it became an instant hit in the neighborhood that no gang fell in love with more than the Royals. This Simon City Royal chapter grew quite large in the 80s and they befriended the Black Gangster Disciples. This chapter started after the Howard Street Greasers went extinct and it seems like the BGDs then became their biggest local ally. Farwell and Clark is adorned with several apartment buildings that likely housed many of these Royals as many of them came from lower-income backgrounds and many were white youths from impoverished backgrounds.
After members of the notorious “Brazers” gang of Uptown went to prison in the 70s and after members “Hot Fly” and “Gypsy were killed on the streets of Uptown, Brazers opened new territory in Rogers Park at the intersection of Morse Avenue and Wayne Avenue in the year 1980. Members likely lived out of an apartment building that was located at the corner. When the Brazers arrived here, they bonded with Simon City Royals and Black Gangster Disciples which would bring them into the Folks alliance a year later. These Brazers were likely among some of the first Hispanic families to reside this far south in Rogers Park.
By the early 80s, Howard Street area had declined severely. There used to be mid-rise towers that once had office professionals that once supported the local businesses, now the office jobs and the businesses that were supported by these workers were gone. Once great restaurants like the Gold Coin and La Choza either fell under new ownership or declined their good service. Even at the once happy La Choza, many said in the earlier 80s the business seemed to no longer care about good service and the restaurant became dirty until it closed in 1985. Gold Coin changed hands then names until it went out of business. These are just two examples: Howard Street Bowl went out of business and the Howard Street movie theater. Abandoned buildings and deteriorating buildings became abundant as many services like bakers, tailors, restaurants, taverns, specialty shops, laundry services, financial services closed as the 80s began leaving the area destitute and high crime. Most of the whites that remained lived very close to the shore in the North of Howard neighborhood along Sheridan Road and East Lake Terrace while the further west of North of Howard became blighted, and poverty stricken. Black Gangster Disciples distributed heroin from their apartments along Paulina Street while directing drug traffic by the Clark and Howard EL and they could serve addicts that got on and off the EL at the Howard Street stop. Evanston youths became terrified by the Howard Street EL stop as this spot was the sight of killings, graffiti, drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes, vagrants and killer type BGDs.
Despite the high crime and heavy gang activity, northern Rogers Park never became an all-black community, a large white population always remained in the area even during the dark ages of the 80s and 90s. I have read countless testimonies on social media, mainly Facebook and chat forums of former residents and article writers, who are white, that lived in the area in the 80s. They described gun shots and crimes galore; however, they mostly felt safe on those streets, and they claimed to be “invincible” or “Invisible” in the area. This is a fascinating phenomenon that shows us that as long as a neighborhood is not completely forgotten and arranged to only accommodate one race, a certain harmony exists that we cannot see anywhere in Chicagoland except North of Howard area. This should be studied heavier as this land is unique and the racial relations are incredible. Upper income African Americans, Asians, middle easterers and whites living among impoverished African Americans and violent African American gangs live in complete harmony and leave each other alone. This study can shed light on what truly causes stereotypes and racial hostility as this is an area devoid of such conflicts. Fear and hate do not seem to have been strong in the North of Howard area besides maybe a short stint in the 70s. North of Howard adopted more of a Caribbean/Jamaican/Haitian influence now that the Russian Jewish influence had left the area by the 80s.
Most of the gang activity remained in northern Rogers Park in the 70s and earlier 80s while south of Rogers Avenue just had some white gangs that died out by the end of the 70s. This southern area remained mostly white until the mid-80s when white flight began in higher volume further south in the neighborhood. The Simon City Royals were the main gang for white youths but when Silver Sue’s gaming arcade closed in 1985, the Royals had to move on to a game room that was at Clark Street and Greenleaf Avenue area. These Royals still claimed Farwell and Clark because many of their members still lived there.
Around when Silver Sue’s closed in 1985, Latin Kings began to hang out at Dennis’ Game Room which was located on Clark Street at Clark Street and North Shore Avenue. Vice Lords were also known to frequent this arcade. This was about the time when another Latin King branch was forming in Rogers Park at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and Ashland Avenue (CAst, Bad Boys). There were several apartments in the area and many newly migrating Hispanic people were moving into these dwellings, many were of lower income. This Latin Kings were founded by Jose A.K.A “Lil Taco” who was related to “Taco,” the founder of the Howard Street Latin Kings. At some point Taco went to prison for a very long time and may still be in prison. With the creation of the CAst Latin Kings by 1985, the division of territory between Royals and Latin Kings was Pratt Boulevard; however, Latin Kings were still active in Pottawatomie Park and all of Howard Street in the later 80s.
The Latin Kings now faced issues with increased African American migration along Howard Street that brought more African American gang activity in the Pottawatomie Park area. The Black P Stones now were moving in along Howard Street and captured the intersection of Howard Street and Damen Avenue around 1985, this was the start of the “Stoneville” Black P Stones. These Stones now moved into the same apartments that once housed Howard Street Greasers then Latin Kings.
The mid-80s was a big period for Hispanic migration to southern Rogers Park, especially between Touhy Avenue to Devon Avenue and from Lakewood Avenue to Clark Street. Latin Kings were beginning to form in the area by the mid-80s and Brazers had been at Morse and Wayne for a few years now. African Americans were also migrating south in Rogers Park which spread the influence of the Black Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords. I don’t know where Vice Lords were in southern Rogers Park, but they were somewhere near the Latin Kings of Columbia and Ashland. Black Gangster Disciples took over the intersection of Farwell Avenue and Ashland Avenue within the many apartments at that intersection. The BGDs were just a block away from the Royals and the Morse and Wayne Brazers were just blocks away. This was to become a Folks stronghold, and more Folks were invited in the mid-80s. Two brothers came to Rogers Park that were members of the Ashland Vikings from West Town and now they set up shop at Paulina Street and Lunt Avenue around 1985. One of the brothers set up another Viking outpost at Clark Street and Estes Avenue. At Paulina and Lunt, several apartment buildings sit at the corner that was likely occupied by these Ashland Vikings. The Vikings would join the other Folks in their battles against Vice Lords and Latin Kings, especially Latin Kings. The Insane Unknowns moved into the intersection of Clark Street and Albion Avenue within the apartments at that corner and these Unknowns were People alliance allies and teamed up with Latin Kings and Vice Lords. I don’t know much about these Unknowns, but I believe they were extinct in the 90s.
In the later 80s gang wars ensued in Rogers Park and the bad reputation of the community was setting in so severely that I even heard of the reputation as a kid in the 90s and I grew up in the southwest suburbs! Belizean immigration came to the Howard Street area or at least some Belizeans and among them were hardened criminal gang members connected to the notorious Bloods street gang. These guys named themselves the Belizean Bloods and were selling drugs and active along Howard Street since the late 80s, but I don’t have much more details especially since this is a group from outside Chicago/Illinois, and I tend not to follow groups from outside Chicago area. While the Belizean Bloods were getting settled in around 1990, the Black Gangster Disciples were growing stronger than ever and their war with Black P Stones was becoming worse, especially since Black P Stones were getting stronger on Howard and were advancing down Damen to Jarvis Avenue. This whole area near Pottawatomie Park is stuffed with apartments and many of these buildings accepted section 8 living. Many times, hardened gang members move in with despite single mothers in these buildings then start up a faction of the gang in the streets nearby, this is likely how the Stones got big on this part of Howard.
As the city began their efforts to push out residents from the Cabrini Green public housing projects in the early 90s, more members of the Gangster Disciples were relocated alongside families to the North of Howard area to join other GDs already there. The issue was this created a conflict of interest among the Gangster Disciples which is the foundation of why different GD factions kill each other around the Howard Street neighborhood. This is when “LOC City” GDs started to make an appearance and became very strong. The Latin Kings of Howard Street now moved out of the Howard and Ashland area as did the Pottawatomie Park section. By the mid-90s Latin Kings vanished from northern Rogers Park but now were operating in the Clark Street and Jarvis Avenue area.
In the mid-90s, the Brazers of Uptown mostly went extinct and now the gang re-enforced themselves at Morse and Wayne and it was said they had up to 80 members at this corner. After the Ashland Vikings withdrew from Clark and Estes the Brazers assisted the La Raza gang to open territory at Clark and Estes creating the “North Pole” La Raza, a La Raza group that would gain major notoriety over the years as many members were so violent they often went to prison.
I don’t know when the Spanish Gangster Disciples started in this neighborhood, but I originally thought they started in 1983, not sure where I got that info, but I have found nothing to back that claim. It appears they may have arrived when La Raza did in the mid-90s. The Latin Eagles may have arrived for a while at the same time, but I don’t know much about that group, but they haven’t been active in the area a long time. Eagles had a deep alliance at one time with Royals, Brazers and other Folks in a connection between Uptown and Rogers Park but I don’t know too much about Eagles directly banging on the Rogers Park streets as residents.
The Simon City Royals of Farwell and Clark broke up in either 1997 or 1998 but left a major legacy behind that cannot be forgotten. The Brazers would eventually close all their territory in Uptown and bring it all to Morse and Wayne around the late 90s. By the later 90s into the earlier 2000s Black Disciples moved onto Howard Street east of Clark Street to join family members that were Gangster Disciples. The Black Disciples along Howard were quieter in the beginning and just supported their family member GDs but eventually they grew strong and recruited then moved west of Clark Street and invaded Potawatomi Park as the Latin Kings were fading from that area until BDs took the park.
In the year 1997, Mayor Richard M. Daley broke ground literally with a shovel in hand to turn over the first scoop of dirt to build a new shopping strip at Clark and Howard, this began massive renovations and urban renewal in the Howard Street area. As the 2000s progressed, Howard Street became increasingly improved which attracted higher income residents. Juneway Terrace and Jonquil Terrace apartments were majorly renovated which restored them to much of their former glory from the 1920s. Even though these apartments still mainly house lower-income Chicagoans, the buildings’ appearance does not reflect that.
Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Vice Lords, Four Corner Hustlers along Howard Street broke up into warring cliques that are very hard for me to track and there are mixtures of some Four Corner Hustlers with GDs against other GDs and 4s…or something like that…very confusing. Ashland Vikings and La Raza banged hard until Vikings were no more, and La Raza faced major incarceration. That area of Rogers Park also became heavily gentrified by the 2000s and later. The Loyola area was mostly unscathed by gangs in the old days and remains that way.
The legacy of the central to southern gangbanging between GDs, Latin Kings, Vice Lords, Simon City Royals, Ashland Vikings, Brazers, SGDs, and La Raza is certainly nothing to forget. So much incarceration bodies shot up and daily gangbanging with hellfied bravado cannot be forgotten and I heard many of these stories. Many of these guys were sawed off gangsters and down motherfuckers. The ones that aren’t dead recall their exploits and once did long stints in prison for it.
By the 2010s decade so much of Rogers Park was gentrified and expensive that gangs had a hard time existing in the more southern part of the community. Gangs like Ashland Vikings, La Raza and the Brazers gangbanged so hard they faced several incarcerations then had a hard time recruiting among a higher income community. Latin Kings and possibly SGDs may still exist in this area but might be hard to come by.
The wars continue along Howard Street between all the different money-making cliques and many rappers have emerged rapping about this violence and rivalries. Even though gang activity continues around Howard Street it has still became heavily gentrified to the point where the area doesn’t even look rough anymore. Rogers Park is mostly a safe community in Chicago and is worth living in, even along Howard. Along Howard you might here gunshots and see fights and heavy police activity at times, but rest assured, those gangsters probably will act like you don’t exist if you leave them alone.
Black P Stones Established 1985-present years
Howard to Birchwood, Ridge to Clark (Stoneville)
Albion to Arthur, Clark to Greenview
Ashland & Pratt (was shared with Outlaw Bloods)
Howard to Jarvis, Damen to Ridge (The Jungle)
Brazers Established 1980-2010s
Morse & Wayne (Murder world) Established 1980-2010s
Latin Eagles 1990s
Sheridan & Pratt
Morse & Wayne
Devon & Paulina
Simon City Royals Established 1975-2010s
Greenleaf to Pratt, Ravenswood to Ashland (Farwell & Clark) Established 1979-1998
Sheridan & Albion
Touhy & Ridge Established 1975-1979
Latin Kings Established 1975-present years
Pratt to Devon, Clark to Glenwood (Columbia & Ashland) (CAst) (Bad Boys) Established 1985-present years
Howard to Toughy, Ridge to Clark (Pottawamie Park) Established 1979-mid-90s
Jonquil Terrace to Howard, Marshfield to Bosworth (Howard & Ashland) Established 1975-mid 90s
Ashland Vikings 1985-2000s
Lunt from Paulina to Clark 1985-2000s
Clark & Estes 1985-mid 90s
La Raza Established mid-90s-present years
Clark & Estes (North Pole) Established mid 90s-present years
Gangster Disciples Established 1979-present years
Ashland & Farwell Established 1985-late 90s?
Clark & Rogers
Howard & Ridge (part of money-making clique blended with Four Corner Hustlers or Black P Stones, not sure)
Howard to Juneway, Paulina to Sheridan (L.O.C City) Established 1979-present years
Morse to Pratt, Ashland to Glenwood (Insane Cutthroat Gangsters, Pooh Bear Gang) Established 1985-present years
Touhy & Clark
Spanish Gangster Disciples Established mid 90s?-present years
Pratt to North Shore Ave, Bosworth to Glenwood (Glenwood City)
Black Disciples Late 90s-present years
Howard & Ashland Late 90s-present years
Pottawatomie Park-2000s-present years
Insane Unknowns Established 1985-mid 90s?
Clark & Albion