Grand Boulevard walks like it owns the street—'cause once, it did. Mansions, music, and movements started here, and some say the heartbeat never stopped. You just gotta know how to hear it.
Stretching from 39th to 55th and west of Washington Park, Grand Boulevard once held the crown of Black Chicago—home to doctors, artists, and politicians. The jazz age bloomed here. The fight for civil rights took root here. But by 1953, cracks show beneath the shine. Block clubs and boarding houses replace family estates. Clubs turn secret. Spirits outnumber landlords. Some neighborhoods still shine; others quietly fade beneath peeling paint and heavy eyes.
The Veil flows like melody here—equal parts grief, celebration, and longing. Spirits linger, but not out of malice. They’re attached to verses, causes, broken promises, and brass riffs no one finished playing. Grand Boulevard doesn’t just remember. It mourns. And it sings.
Spiritualists operate openly—mediums, readers, and song-based summoners
CPD Arcane Division lists three resonance spikes tied to Veil-infused music halls
Political power brokers monitor Grand Boulevard carefully—it births movements and martyrs
The South Parkway Trust Office’s fire wasn’t natural—witnesses saw blue flame in the air
The Outfit doesn’t fully control anything here—but it touches everything
Crown Sons use the neighborhood as cultural cover and recruitment ground
A children’s choir disbanded in 1948 when all eight members began singing in tongues
Cece Fields and others consider the area a future power base—if it doesn’t swallow them first
Neighborhoods
Bronzeville
The historic pulse of Black Chicago. Bronzeville’s churches, bars, and rowhomes thrum with cultural memory. It’s a place of elegance under pressure—where revolutionary speeches shared space with swing bands and Sunday dinners. Music and memory fuel the Veil here. Some ghosts cry. Others applaud.Oakwood Ridge
South of 47th, Oakwood Ridge once held the city’s finest Black-owned mansions. Now, it’s a mixture of rooming houses, parlors, and fading wealth. There’s mystery here—Veil stories pass between barbershops and boarding houses, whispered like family history.Notes
A hymn of legacy and unrest. Grand Boulevard sings its history in brass, blood, and shadows.
| Wealth | |
| Security & Safety | |
| Criminal Influence | |
| Occult Influence |
| Black American | 85% |
| Irish/Polish American | 10% |
| Other | 5% |
| South Side |
| Southwest Side |
Grand Boulevard
St. Augustine’s Baptist Church – Sanctuary and supernatural fortress beneath the hymnals
The Dorsey House – Political haunt where time folds on itself
The Violet Room – Music never stops, even when the band’s long gone
South Parkway Trust Office – Burned clean of records—but not of truth
Elijah Row Apartments – Doors that stick between worlds and windows that watch back
Bronzeville
Crime & Underworld Locations: Jack’s Press & Cleaners – Outfit-owned laundering front for political favors The Cherry Red Room – Upstairs bar and numbers parlor, Crown Sons-affiliated Mister Lacy’s Clubhouse – Front for policy rackets and youth recruiting Veil Locations: The Violet Room – Club steeped in spectral jazz and Veil echoes Regal Theater’s Basement – Ghosts of performers practice routines no one hears Maple & 42nd Lamppost – Veil mark carved in stone that weeps resin each dusk
Oakwood Ridge
Crime & Underworld Locations: The Golden Mirror Salon – Speakeasy and Veil broker’s front in back Percey’s Garage – Chop shop with silent guards and Veil-dampened oil The Oak Lounge – Moonshine, gambling, and memories for sale Veil Locations: St. Augustine’s Church Crypt – Spirits gather in pews below ground The Dorsey House – Time bends inside; music plays when no one’s home Elijah Row Apartments – Hallways reset between floors; no mirror shows your reflection twice
Comments