BRONZEVILLE HISTORY

BRONZEVILLE COFFEE HOUSE INC. opened to the public December 10, 2005.  BCH is owned and operated by Richard Chalmers, Trez Pugh III and Gerald Richardson.  The gentleman came together with a love for good coffee, the gift of personality and a passion for revitalizing the Bronzeville community. 

Bronzeville Coffee House captures the positive energy and excitement of the Bronzeville neighborhood of days past. The 1940's sparked the "Great Migration" of African Americans into the Chicago area. Looking for jobs, these entrepreneurial people moved north and settled into an area south of the downtown area. While it is debated how the name, Bronzeville originated, it is documented that in 1930 the newspaper, The Chicago Bee, Sponsored a contest to elect a "mayor of Bronzeville". In the mid-1940's the name seems to have finally attached itself to the area ranging from 26th street south to 67th street, and west to the Dan Ryan Expressway and to the east, the border was the Illinois Central railroad tracks.

Bronzeville was an area where African American businesses were established and thrived. Bronzeville has been home to many famous residents.  Gwendolyn Brooks, The founder of Negro National Baseball league Andrew "Rube" Foster, Civil rights activist Ida B. Wells, The first African American female pilot Bessie Coleman, and legendary bandleader Louis Armstrong all lived, at one point of their lives, in the Bronzeville area.  As one of the last undeveloped lakefront neighborhoods, Bronzeville, in recent years, has welcomed a burgeoning revitalization due to the restoration of new buildings, development of new businesses and an influx of urban professionals making the community home.