SIMPLE+DIRTY: Inner-City Chicago
Ever since I was a kid, I have been fascinated with abandoned buildings. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s the eeriness of theses places, the haunting stories they tell, the smells or even the uncomfortable surroundings. Oddly enough I’ve never truly felt comfortable shooting this stuff, but most of what I shoot is within the quiet charms of rural Wisconsin farmland. Even though the structural hazards are ever present, our local communities are safe to shoot in.
About two months ago I received an email from Matt Martire of REO Shadow Inspection Services in Chicago, who came across my SIMPLE+DIRTY series of work online. REO Shadow deals with the foreclosure side of the real estate industry, performing inspections on vacant properties in highly distressed neighborhoods of inner-city Chicago. Matt cordially invited me to ride along with his company and shoot inside some of these neighborhoods and properties. Given Chicago’s overwhelming crime rate, I was a tad apprehensive at first. But obviously my interest was peeked and I jumped on the opportunity.
After viewing a pile of snapshots he had sent me from these properties, some logistical coordination and a bit of pre-planning, I made the decision to take on the project. Matt initially cautioned me about the hazards of shooting in some of these neighborhoods on Chicago’s west side. Most communities they work in on a day-to-day basis are extremely impoverished, notorious for high levels of gang-violence and are in the “open-air drug market.” So much, that these places are rarely patrolled by the Chicago Police Department as officers literally become targets for gang-bangers. As a result, Matt explained we needed to be in-and-out of these communities before 9:30am to avoid being caught up in what seemed like commonplace gang violence. He described some communities as turning into a proverbial “war zones” by mid-morning. His concerns weren’t so much in fear our personal security, but rather being caught-up in a gang war or incidental cross-fire. It was then I made the decision that this would be the first time I ever shot a series of work wearing a bulletproof vest.
Adam and I made the trip to Chicago to meet up with Matt and his brother Chris for our personally-guided SIMPLE+DIRTY tour. After some much needed coffee at Dunkin Donuts and a little more pre-planning on the fly, we hit the streets to shoot. On our way into the city, you could see the cultural transformation as we entered some of the sketchier parts of town. Chris was adamant that we kept to ourselves at all times, free from pointing at things and making prolonged eye-contact with anyone. He was also insistent we constantly watched our backs and maintained awareness of our surroundings. We stuck out like sore thumbs at most locations. For being in an area consisting of 90% African-Americans, the four of us would be perceived by the general public as either cops or trolling to buy street drugs. This was about sticking to business and our business only.
I found it interesting listening to many of the stories they had to share. These neighborhoods are unlike anything most people are accustomed to, or for that matter will ever see in their lifetime inside American borders. Most residents live at or below the poverty level as unemployment is extremely high, health care desperately lacks and a solid educational foundation is absent. Some homes lack electricity, heat and the creature comforts we come to expect American citizens to inherently possess. Resident’s have more than enough idle time on there hands. Which leads to problems everywhere you can imagine finding it. It was evident, even in the early hours of the morning, that the streets seemed to fill up with drug dealers hoping to sell to kids on their way to school and people wandering around without agendas. It was 7am and people were already lining up at liquor stores and packing street corners.
Most of the homes we toured were essentially crack houses complete with rotting wood, broken windows, damaged walls, floors covered with human feces and occasional fire damage. Long ago these spots were upscale two and three story townhouses. But society and economic pressures have turned them into filthy garbage dumps and have become home to transients. Measures have been taken by real estate companies to prevent entry into most buildings, mainly by the use of padlocks and wood boarding on the lower level entry points. The City of Chicago has enacted a vacant property ordinance, focusing on foreclosed residential properties that have been deemed imminently dangerous and hazardous. Properties which are taken over by real estate firms due to foreclosure or repossession can be cited up to $1000 per day for not following such code. Most vacant properties however, are clearly open to the public, becoming inhabited by squatters, crack addicts and used for gang activity.
It seemed as if only a handful of properties were actually secured, mainly by wood boarding and padlocks. Most homes we were in had extensive damage and were stripped of all copper pipes/wiring by money-hungry criminals. Even some occupied homes in these areas had been stripped of it’s siding to sell for cash. The “nicer” homes in these communities have tougher security measures in place to curb vandalism and theft, such a VPS USA security systems. VPS utilizes adjustable steel window guards and doors, making these homes almost impenetrable. As Matt explained however, these systems have been frequently breached by acetylene cutting tools, mainly by copper thieves.
For the most part we had to shoot these places in a “smash and grab” fashion, in-and-out in under 10 minutes. Needless to say, we didn’t stay in these neighborhoods too long, just long enough to get the shots we needed and to perform a walk-through. It was a general policy with Matt and Chris, that one of them would get out of the car first to survey the property in attempts to determine if the building was secure from all sides. Entry was only made if we were reasonably sure that the house was truly vacant and free of squatters. If it appeared the anyone could get inside, we didn’t consider it as safe. Once inside these places, It was fascinating to see some of the classic old-style Chicago architecture, yet sad to see it in such disrepair. It seemed like all these homes had the classic bump-out three pane front windows and detailed hardwood trim, prevalent with mid-century residential structures. Most personal belongings and anything of remote value had been stripped, stolen or damaged. Depressing would be an understatement, but a truly eye-opening experience.
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Chicago crime rates, broken down by neighborhood (as of 2006).
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“Blue Light District”
In Chicago’s high-crime areas such as the west and south sides, the Chicago Police Department has installed surveillance video cameras on many of the inner-city streets. Each camera system is mounted about 25 feet off the ground and is designated with blue flashing strobe light. The principal behind this is to maintain 24-hour watch in these neighborhoods, without putting officers on the streets and out of immediate harm. These systems are able to detect activity in large groups and are sensitive to sounds of gunfire. In most instances, police take on a responsive role, primarily responding to high-priority or emergency calls for service. It was evident as we were hard-pressed to see a marked squad car the entire time there.
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Chris accessing a property.
Adam hasn’t seen early hours like this in his entire life.
Mirrors on the wall?
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Each of these series of photos have a corresponding address, also broken down by neighborhood. I have provided a link to Google Maps for each address. Be sure to use the Google Streetview feature so you can get a visual feeling for these places. Visits to various neighborhoods included Berkeley, Humboldt Park, Austin, East Garfield Park and North Lawndale.
5429 W. Jackson Blvd – Austin
141 N Lockwood Ave – Austin
1512 S. Harding Ave – North Lawndale
1618 S. Sawyer Ave – North Lawndale
Notice the VPS.
Crack bindle and tobacco pulled out of a Philly Blunt.
CTA Transit card used to light a crack pipe.
Obvious signs of crackheads using this room as a bathroom.
The floor was littered with tinfoil drug packaging and steel wool, which is typically used as a filter in crack pipes.
1727 N Ridgeway Ave – Humboldt Park
Apparently this an effective means to secure your parking spots in Chicago. It’s a baby swing. All across the west side, junk lined the streets marking off parking spots.
5227 W. Warner Ave – Portage Park
Address unknown
5913 Huron Street – Berkeley
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Many thanks go out to Matt and Chris Martire for their incredible hospitality, generous outpouring of coffee and much needed humor along the way. I plan on returning to Chicago during the spring/summer to catch up with these guys again and shoot/film a documentary series highlighting their job and the communities they work in.
Cheers,
~dave
