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Explore > Homan Square Power House > Story Archives
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Homan Square Power House
Submitted by Helen, North Chicagoland
I first visited the Power House in 1994. A maintenance man showed us around. He shared the story of his first visit to the site, as a new immigrant from Ireland. His first job at the Power House was to scrub the gleaming white tile that lined the walls. Now, he was in charge of the site. Let's hope that the new use of the Power House will stimulate the hopes and dreams of the young people who go to school there.
--Helen Gagel, Evanston
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sad to see time like this go by
Submitted by wgrayeski, pennsylvania
hello i love history and i hate to see these places go. places like this should be saved for future generations so they can see what the world we live in was like in the past. not too many people give credit to the machinery of the past.
love, william
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It's Very Personal
Submitted by Cheryl, Chicago West Side
In 1968 I graduated from Hess Upper Grade Center. Everyone felt it was best that I leave my community to attend High School because the North Lawndale community did not have a public High School which would help me develop sufficient academic skills to be successful in college. I remember sitting on my front porch one night in April, about midnight, watching an orange sky, like a rising sun on the horizon, with a midnight sky as its background. There was so much anger in the air.
It took two days to restore order ... There were over 125 fires. ... Almost three thousand persons were arrested. Many buildings were burned to the ground; others were damaged so badly they had to be taken down before they collapsed. There were over 22,000 police, state and federal guards sent into the area. The Chicago Police were told to shoot to kill.
Information from http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/Kingfuneral.html
I returned to school the following Monday and the entire landscape of Roosevelt Road had changed! The Sears complex, including the Sears Tower and the Power Plant smoke stack, were among the few buildings that survived the 1968 riots in Chicago.
The opportunity to look at the Power House smoke stack and see both my historically rich past and the fulfillment of my dream for future North Lawndale youth is very personal. I did not have a choice regarding leaving my community to attend a public high school with which one could associate my having a reasonable opportunity to obtain a quality education which would prepare me for college or a career. Forty years later (August, 2008) North Lawndale Youth will finally have that choice.
When I see the Power House Smoke Stack I see two decades of community living when streets were lined with houses, families, places of business and employment, teen age employment opportunities and things that are all good once the memories get clouded. I see four decades of devastation and plight that makes it hard for most people to believe North Lawndale was once a good neighborhood in which to live. And now, due to the vision of Charles H. Shaw and his successor, I can see a vision of hope for the revitalization of my community.
The Power House Smoke Stack is very personal to me. It represents destitute memories and the promise of empowerment, growth and prosperity for the people of the North Lawndale community.
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Powering the Minds of Tomorrow
Submitted by Todd, Chicago
Absolutely awesome! Breathtaking! Must be seen with one's own eyes. Stepping foot inside this magnificent space, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer size of the building and its contents. Everything about this historic building was big and impressive -- floor space, ceiling, windows, chimney, pipes, machinery. It all stood as a lasting testament to the big dreams and plans of the North Lawndale community of the early 1900's. Now as we move into the start of a new century, once again the building, reincarnated as the Henry Ford Power House Charter High School, will symbolize and carry forward the enormous hopes, dreams, aspirations, and expectations of the North Lawndale community and its young people. I am thrilled to be a part of such an exciting endeavor and look forward to welcoming our founding class of ninth graders in August 2008.
- Todd Langager, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Henry Ford Power House Charter High School
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It was a chilling experience
Submitted by Shannon, Chicago
Thinking of the first time I saw the Power House gives me chills. It was freezing inside the building -- we could see our breath -- my coat got coal dust all over it and I ruined my shoes. But it was love at first sight for me. It is truly a place of power: the energy resonating from the subway tiles, the union campaign buttons shouting the names of by-gone winners and losers, and the machine manuals that guided the honest and hard work of strong, dedicated men and women. This beautiful building made possible the American retail revolution and gave employment to 18,000 people who stoked coal and placed orders for Sears bungalows. Now it will lend its renewed strength to power the education of the North Lawndale community, to give kids and adults a place to teach and learn and earn, and to envision their futures with strength, confidence and the energy that shines from knowledge gained. This is truly a Power House. I am both humbled and honored to be part of it.
- Shannon A. Clements, Director of Site & Fund Development, Henry Ford Learning Institute
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A piece of Hollywood history, in Chicago
Submitted by Laura, Chicago
Once the power house was decommissioned, much thought was given to its possible new uses. Being a spectacular space, it became a point of interest to the arts and culture community. A high point was in 2005 when Warner Bros. filmed part of Oceans Twelve in the building. The entire cast including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Bernie Mac, to name just a few, came to Homan Square for two jam-packed days of filming. The building is totally different now, but having the memories—and some pictures of the filming taking place in that dusty old space—is priceless!
- Laura Lode, Operations Manager, Homan Square
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A stunning silence
Submitted by Kristin, Chicago
When I first came to the Sears site, years before we named it Homan Square, and entered the Power House, I was struck by the overwhelming noise of the machinery. It was so loud that you literally could not carry on a conversation. One day I noticed a large metal box-like structure, opened at the front and elevated to waist-height. Inside was a telephone. Curious, I stuck my head inside the box, and, to my surprise, it was almost totally quiet. It was a sound-proof space to talk on the phone! Then I realized what the name at the front of the compartment meant: it said, "Hear Here". Needless to say, we saved the box for later display.
- Kristin Dean, President, Homan Square
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Like the engine rooms of the Titanic
Submitted by Darris, Chicago
My impression upon seeing the former Sears, Roebuck & Company power plant for the first time was one of overwhelming disbelief: The Powerhouse is an artist's dream. The light, pouring in from the skylight above, reveals in equal parts beauty and decay. At every scale, the power of the Powerhouse can be seen and felt - enormous bolts, giant valves, and precise gauges. I loved the Powerhouse instantly.
- Darris Lee Harris, architectural photographer, who spent hundreds of hours photographing the beauty of the building and its artifacts
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