Shooting in Englewood: Beauty and danger, off the beaten path.

60th & Damen.

Englewood is widely regarded as the most dangerous neighborhood in Chicago. Urban decay has left the shell of a once successful railroad community, infamous for its extreme crime and murder rate. Common wisdom is that if you don't live in neighborhood, you have no business being there.



Flickr user M3gustafson recently posted a stand-out set of photos shot during the inspection of an old railroad viaduct. She agreed to answer a few questions about her experience.

How many times have you been to Englewood?

Let's see, I've been through it a bunch of times on my way South, or when I want to explore Chicago if I happen to have a rental car. But this was the first time I walked around for an extended period of time.

How did you end up walking around the most dangerous neighborhood in Chicago?

I work for the Department of Planning, and was with four co-workers in a City vehicle. We looked official. We were inspecting viaducts on the Englewood Embankment which hasn't carried a train in over 20 years. No one bothered us, but I'm sure people were wondering what we were doing. Our CDOT counterpart had a City vest on which I think is a good idea, but my boss prefers doing field work incognito. I'd rather be associated with City government than look like real estate speculators. Someone stopped us to say that the street lights were broken.



Transit police, from a graffiti artist's point of view.

Did it look the way you expected?

I'd been looking at aerial maps of the area all week, so I knew about the abundance of vacant land and dilapidated buildings. I was unprepared for the natural beauty of the Englewood Embankment and how the prairie has taken it back. I did not expect to see a place called "Blackface Records" on 59th & Wolcott. Oh, and encountering a pack of stray dogs.... was a little unexpected.

I noticed a lot of train pictures. Why are they a focal point?

We were looking at the condition of the viaducts and the line itself. It's in great shape. It's like an enchanted fairy tale forest up there! If you notice in my photos the rails have been disrupted, taken off the ties and moved over a few inches. It's bizarre, I don't know who did it or why they would go to the trouble.


Brad with lettuce.

Who is Brad, and where did he get the lettuce?

Brad is my coworker in the Planning Department. He works on the City's Green Urban Design Plan(bottom of page) which will be Chicago's new policy for sustainable building practices.

The lettuce is from the Growing Home farm on Wood Street, adjacent to the Englewood Embankment. Growing home sells its produce wholesale to many restaurants and stores and also participates in the Farmer's Markets. Their mission includes job training for homeless and low-income people, as well as an arrangement with Kennedy King College to offer free GED classes for participants. I took some of that lettuce home, and it was delicious! Check out their website!


Packs of wild dogs roam this area.

Packs of wild dogs are commonly found on the fringes of civilization. You mentioned seeing them in Engelwood.

Over by Bontemps Elementary School on 58th & Throop there's an old two story concrete railroad spur above an adjacent vacant lot, at the same elevation as the embankment. We all climbed up there. I was last because I'd be taking so many photos when 50 feet away, we see a mangy German Shepard/Akita type mutt come dashing towards us. Then five others appear from their den in the concrete caves. My boss yells, "Oh shit, a pack of stray dogs." And I BOLT. Ok, ok, ok, I KNOW that's the worst thing to do, but my body would not let me stand there and get mauled. Well, then I tripped on a big rusty metal RR tie and everyone screaming- DONT RUN! I looked back over there and the alpha dog gave us a good stare, looked around and lifted his leg to pee. The others contemplated us for a moment and then trotted down the north side of the embankment towards the playground. Hopefully the kids in school at Bontemps are learning about how to avoid a stray dog attacks.

Do you think you'll go back?

I'd love to go back. What are you up to next weekend!?


The prairie is reclaiming this set of derelict tracks.

Thanks Meg!