SUBURBAN CHICAGO: Ugly, Decaying and Dying | Riverdale, IL
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
- Not to be confused with the Chicago suburb of the same name, the Village of Riverdale is about 20 miles south of the Chicago Loop and about 5 miles west of the Indiana State Line. It's within the larger Calumet Region which historically has relied on the manufacturing industry as a staple for it's economy. Over the years, Riverdale and the surrounding communities have seen sharp declines. Riverdale in particular is home to a scary looking, mostly abandoned townhome complex.
0:00 - 7:40 A Background on Riverdale
7:40 - 18:58 Abandoned Townhome Complex
18:58 - 27:15 Corruption? In a Cook County Village? No way!
27:15 - 30:37 Chris's Livability Score
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I think if the migrants saw these videos, they might change their mind before coming here.
Have u been to phoenix, il? it once has shockingly high crime rate...
No Chris Harden, PaceSetter Gardens Is ARE NOT TownHomes
They are Indeed Projects You are incorrect they are connected
We bought our 1st home in Riverdale in the late 1990s. We were the 3rd blk family on the block.
When Chicago shipped out the "displaced" folk from the projects, it went to chit overnight.
Nobody wanted to fight to save the neighborhood so we sold our house in 2003.
I will never live anywhere in the south suburbs ever again.
Exactly the same story in the N. suburbs. You could practically see the changes immediately. Some would cuss me out for saying that or would try to convince me it was other thing that brought our towns downward, but when you noticed a whole change in residents AND see things change at the same time...
I used to do railroad photography back in the 1980s at nearby Dolton Junction (right behind the Dolton Police station). I would drive down from the Northwest Side of Chicago with some buddies. Back then Dolton was nice and Riverdale wasn't too bad. The last time I was there was in the late 1990s and things had changed.
Richie Daley made millions from the development companies who made billions for redevelopment of the CHA properties. Cabrini Green, Robert Taylor homes, etc sat on prime real estate that the city sold off cheap to developers. They donated millions to Daleys campaign fund, which he was able to keep when he retired.
Another eye popping fantastic job Chris! Growing up in Chicagoland the Illinois high tax structure was already well underway in the 1960s. Add in political corruption and fierce headwinds are present. Being in a large metro area and a relatively favorable tax-business climate with fairly clean government can do a lot of good as I see here in Central Indiana. I admire your fortitude and honesty showing not just desolation but areas where there is an attempt to hang onto a decent neighborhood. In addition to the recommendations stated here I recommend on the Indiana playlist Marion Indiana where Chris discusses a mayor with a vastly different philosophy trying to turn around a hurting city.
Send the mayor of dolton over there to straighten it up lol 😂
Goodness NO!
Oh Gosh, low blow, but true.🤣🤣
lol
She is trying to support someone to run in Riverdale
Riverdale is also a part of Thornton Township. She’s taking their coins as well.
What needs to be replaced are the people living there that have no vested interest to keep care of their homes.
They'll just move them to another nice suburb They'll destroy.
Its people who are too old or poor to maintain them
@@jgood005 oh bullshit
@jgood005 maybe some of the poor ones should get a job or 3 like most of us. I'm a senior and don't know another senior who's house was destroyed in only a few years.Stop making excuses for deadbeats.most were probably living there rent free anyway
some places out there i hear barely have storessadlooking
When the community loses working class nuclear families you get what you get.
What a shame. Housing could be rescued, but no jobs, no buyers. My wife, now 75, grew up in and had family in Roseland area. That is 127 th St. and Halsted and this is 144 th and Halsted. They had to leave around 1975. I was back there a few years ago on Halsted street and went past a three story building wth a store on first with a recessed door way. A man was standing there drinking from a paper bag. Never would have seen that before, InterNational Harvester had a forge shop that went for blocks, now gone. No employers, no jobs, all goes to pot.
127th & Halsted is the West Pulman community; not Roseland.
Roseland is northeast of West Pulman starting at 115th st. The International Harvester plant was on 120th st.
My grandma was mad that my grandpa moved them into Mt.Greenwood and not Roseland in the 50s. Every single one of her friends ended up run out giving away their homes and living in Mt.Greenwood by the late 60s.
Worked with a guy that lived in Roseland but had to move because the community “changed”. He moved to Dolton and had to move again….
That apartment building on the right at 7:40 is where my uncle use to live in the early 2000s. One of the apartments on 142nd and Tracy 21:42 is my late grandma (my uncle's mom) use to live at that time. At 28:22 I use to go that UnderCarey daycare.
Thanks for the hard work getting this vid ready!
Wow thank you for an incredible and sad walk down memory lane. It was so awesome seeing my old apartment where I grew up, my old school, the sledding hill, the walks and bike rides I would go on to the library, candy store and my best friends house in the late 80s early 90s. Sad to see it so dilapidated now, but unfortunately expected in that community. It was a once great place to live and grow up
10 years ago on May 5th my daughter's father was unalived here. It has been devastating for her life. RIP Gregory Taylor Jr.
Great job!
Hey Chris, I drive through these towns, after you make a video of them to refresh my memory.
I was born in Chicago in 1957. We moved to Riverdale when I was 4 years old and we left for Mchenry in the mid 60s. The brick house on the corner @21:10 was were we lived. I still has awnings on the front. When we moved there, our house and the one next door were the only ones on the block, the rest was all field. I watched them build all those apartments! The workmen gave me some of the crates the bathtubs came in and scraps of wood to build my first fort. Riding through the park with my bike I was racing my Dad home, he was in the car on School street. I was too busy looking at him and ran in to a tree. Totaled my bike and got banged up. Never made that mistake again! Thanks for this video!
You didn't mention the Ivanhoe area off School street and 144th? Beautiful English Tudor bungalows
Those were generational homes when I lived there. Grandparents moving someplace warm would sell their homes to grandchildren or adult children. A very solid neighborhood.
@@TerryMartinTrEmUp back in the 80's the worst part of Riverdale was the townhouses in Pacesetter? But then it was just a few hillbillies? My grandfather was a volunteer fireman for Riverdale for 50 years. They say he was the longest serving volunteer fireman in Illinois?
@@brianwells4507RD Sucks....
❤ nice video, facts.
The Pacesetter properties are kind of strange.
There's maybe 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 townhomes that look reasonably well cared for just surrounded by endless blight.
But you can't just tear down the blighted properties without screwing over the people who live there, because it's all interconnected and sharing walls. It's no wonder it's so slow to make changes and get it torn down.
Yup. Well said
Born and raised in Chicago and it's suburbs left 40 years ago moved to Arizona, this video reminded me of why.
Yo Chris, nice video man. Have you ever thought about checking out Park Forest, Illinois?
'Model City of the Year' award winner at one point...
I enjoyed this video. This is a sad town.😊❤
Thanks for doing these videos. I'm from 138th and Wentworth by the Riverdale Park. I hope you do Hammond, IN.
Did you ever do a video on Sauk Village? Thanks
Not yet
@@ChrisHardenHad you done Harvey and/or Phoenix yet? I hope you do more Chicago area videos, one day.
Have you done Asslip? Growing up in Mt.Greenwood in the 80s friends from Asslips parents were worried about their kids hanging out in the "city" and "stay away from 111th" was commonly heard. Now Asslip looks like Juarez and Mt.Greenwood is still Mayberry.
Awesome videos!!! Question, what dash cam do you use?? I like how it presents where you are, up coming roads and directions
GoPro hero 12, the graphics at the bottom are created by me in the editing stage
@@ChrisHarden Thank You!
The transition to a poor third world country in proceeding nicely
This one doesn’t even look as bad as others. When I took the South Shore Rail from The Loop to Chesterton (IN), Gary looked the worst.
Yet, another faantastic video Chris. Really enjoying your tours through Illinois, my home state.
Love your video's dude I grew up in Merrillville IN aka "da Region" and spend a lot of time driving to work at the Prudential building in DT Chicago from 77-79 and drove thru the Southside suburbs, and watched the decay which continues to this day. Been hooked on watching video's about super mayor Tahoe Tiffany from Dolton IL man she is setting herself up for a long prison term!!!
One thing you failed to mention is how the current residents are paying for infrastructure that was put in place when the community was as first built.
In addition, they are also struggling to pay for infrastructure that needs updating.
When you put those two factors in play with a lack of business taxes and state funds, no wonder Riverdale is struggling.
Riverdale has some nice areas (somehow you seemed to miss those).
Definitely some bias is happening here.
Always
Of course he missed those its not his intention to show black neighborhoods doing well
Yes there is some nice areas and blocks there!!
Can you do dixmoor Illinois …??right next to riverdale
Stay tuned
I use to hang out over there in the 2000's. A friend of mine got killed on Eggleston Ave. in 2011. It is a hot mess over there.
Damn you really go everywhere
Haha yup
Thank you for the history lesson Chris I don't think they have an Amtrak running through the maybe Homewood
Chris - When you going to visit Joliet. It's my home town and I'd like to see where it ranks on Chris' Livability Score. Keep up the good work. Love the content.
my mom had a friend who lived there back in the 60's, life was different then.
I used to live on 138th and Atlantic in the 90s I'm sure it hasn't gotten any better since then
Which type of GPS do you use for your display on your video?
Do you have a Sauk Village Video??
Despite the high taxes, NO funding is distributed by the county for any new infrastructure projects and little for upkeep. It goes to Chicago and northern burbs. .
Chicago and the Northern suburbs can take care of themselves.
@Imissyoulou They could, but that doesn't change the funding and tax structures in place. If you look up at the tax rates and the municipal levies, they are highest in the Southland. If you look at the allocation of funds and projects, there's none for the Southland for years in the past and protected for years to come. If you look at the property tax, they have the largest increases and not eligible for programs for relief that more affluent communities a few miles away procure.
I drive that way to go Indiana I always thought those were projects wow!
Chris, just thinking here;
Who takes care of the cemeteries when things get boarded up and the money leaves ???
Just go to Calumet Park cemetery at 127th Halsted and you will see how badly it has gone downhill after years of neglect.
@@robertanderson5334 I see it has a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars. I read in the reviews that some use it for a dog park.....
Do you plan on doing a video of Harvey in the future?
Yup
@@ChrisHarden Harvey has some projects that look much worse than this off Dixie Highway. I drove back there and it’s 90% abandoned but you see a few cars at 2 apts it’s crazy
They should pass ordinances to protect all the present property owners now. Protect them from property tax increases. Then, gentrify. The property owners get to stay, the economy comes back to life, construction is done, new people occupy the housing, buildings and business spring up and the city gets more revenue. They are already close to transit. The place doesn't even look too bad. I've seen much worse.
I grew up over there early 90’s when had drive in movies
I remember riverdale had the figure 8 go cart track, and down the road was cal park they had the circle track.
lifelong south suburban resident. i can't wait to move into the city
Even more depressing than Detroit's single family home areas. At least there roof repairs don't involve four properties.
THIS WAS AWESOME....I LIVED THERE IN THE 1980S
I used to live at 141st and LaSalle in Riverdale. This video doesn't go south of 138th street for very long and, stays in the renter's sections. You really didn't show the better part of town.
😂
So what let’s go to dixmoor
True. South of the 140th street railroad tracks you’ll find many older well built maintained brick bungalows, raised ranches & cape cod homes.
I agree. He slowly drove up & down the same blocks in the townhouse area ... but sped through the solid middle class community while talking about the mayor...not showing or talking about the nice homes that are more predominant than what's on 138th St. He misrepresented Riverdale and he should be sued. And no, I do not reside in Riverdale.
Right
You should do one of these in odin il
Great work, as always! I don't comment often, but I enjoy your work, Chris! Keep it coming!
Thanks!
Enjoy watching your south side Chicago village series
I worked at csx railroad in riverdale for 32 years nice place in 1978 when i started at csx. thanks
We use to love going to the Drive in in Riverdale.
I was just in Illinois, and went to a nice place. It’s Starved Rock State Park off of I-80 near Ottawa. There were small canyons and waterfalls. I was also in Chesterton, where I took a train to Chicago. I also stopped in Ukrainian Village for food driving to Ottawa from Indiana.
Wow 😢
Somebody has some spare money, at 14:11 there is a 1967 Mercury Cougar and to the right a 1968 Ford Thunderbird, both collectors cars today, in the Pacesetter neighborhood. Wish I had the Cougar.........
@ 6:20 explains it all.
A new townhome project cannot have one culture of low income low education renters. The same problems would occur.
12:40 4 beds in Colorado would cost me close to $1 million. I rented one room in Greeley for over $500 per month with conditions as bad as this. A slum house in that city costs over $300K. In Denver, it’s $1 million.
Used to own a handful of section 8 in Pacesetter in the 90s. It was "gone" then.
The only give thing they have in Riverdale is the CSX Barr yard. It literally funds the local government
SWEET Cougar at 14:13!
I use to stay over there in those town home right in front of the rec they tore it down
Is Andys gyro restaurant or that Jewels still in Riverdale?
Hey now. You should give riverdale a point or two for amenities because it has Chuck's Gun shop. They've battled Chicago and cooked county for decades to stay open.
Yeah those do look like row homes. I'll bet there were many section 8 people who moved in there in the 90's. I doubt they will build those homes. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually bulldozed the buildings and put in more amazon or some other company warehouses. Thanks for the video!
Yup. Most of them ousted from Chicago’s demolition of the projects in the 90s & 00s moved to the the south suburbs. And as was follows.
They're townhouses, not rowhomes.
Dolton, My home town gone to 💩 Thanks for the ride & memories 🤜
Glitchy video to match the ominous music - nice touch!
Please do CRETE
I noticed you didn’t really feature the Downtown area or the neighborhoods above 141st. You kinda focused on the dilapidated parts of Riverdale. It would be nice if you showed some of the beautiful homes and churches.
You are correct, he mostly showed the downside. Old churches like St Mary's (at the beginning) that had a hole in the roof ? Queen of Apostles & St John's are closed down 144th was much nicer in the 60's, all of the storefronts were busy
The town houses on Lowe Ave I is where I live showing Pernell and in pacesetters was my friends houses I’m glad I took my daughter and left I have not seen it in 12years
I don't understand the math. 99% white in 1960. 86% black in 2000. Is there a correlation, or simply an end result of the times?
While I try to watch all your videos, these Midwestern places are my favorite.
Maybe they need the WEED MAN lawn technicians to make it better?
As you probably already know there is nothing wrong with Illinois that a fist full of dollars in someone’s pocket won’t fix.😂😆😳😅🙀🙈
I agree. IL should just raise taxes even more. Problem solved. That's what they usually do.
@@kennetho5393 I know I live in the state.😩🙀😔😒
Same here. I just wish our tax dollars were spent wisely and we weren't severely underfunding the pension fund. I'll gladly pay a good chunk of taxes for responsible government and great services. Unfortunately, they are anything but responsible and services are average and we pay far more for them.
@@kennetho5393 It takes a lot of money to pay for the ones dumped on us and the ones that just don’t want to work so we pay the bills.
Working for others benefit involuntarily. Sounds like you're a slave. @DavidGlaum
It also reminds me of Kensington section of south Philly poor south side of Chicago folks 😮
I noticed you said Riverdale, IL should not be confused with the Chicago neighborhood of Riverdale. Are you referring to Roseland?
Nope
Who would want to drive from Riverdale to GARY!? That is bad to WORSE
That’s the building fbg duck shot one of his videos in
They showing the Chicago side of Riverdale. There are beautiful areas in Riverdale, Harvey etc.
This is the slum of the 21st century. Forget the rowhouses from 1900. Those places are, or soon will be, all demolished or gentrified with nothing in between. Now it's the early inner-ring suburbs of the '50s and '60s that are the least desirable of all.
Use to stay in Riverdale 103 state right by the tracks sad
A 90%+ Amish population, as expected. Didn't see any horse and buggies, however.
Another great video Chris. I’ll try to segment this response but I felt like saying a lot to this one. I’ve never seen housing projects that included individual driveways with attached garages. EVER. Those clearly were clearly mid century townhouses. That neighborhood is a shame - absolute waste, American consumerism’s afterbirth at its finest hour. In another location …. Anyway alot of the single family homes district remind me of Detroit city - WHY is it minority managed communities have corrupt leaders, lack of stores outside of boost mobile, wigs, and soul food? There are zero diversity in business does this “minority” have any other entrepreneurial retail interest? And for another thing this not the ugliest city you have displayed BY far. I mean no offense to anyone I am a huge enthusiast of Chicago Detroit Buffalo/Niagara etc.
What you said was basically the truth. Not sure why it always seems to run toward that direction- wait, yes I am, because I literally saw the entire downward spiral unfurl over the span of my childhood into early adulthood. An entire suburb just deteriorated until it lost its 3 national-chain grocery stores (one was virtually forced to close because the shoplifting was horrendous) and business district until all that was left were liquor stores, wig shops and dollar stores.
@@5points185 I really don’t understand the mindset.
Dalton and Riverdale have several railroad crossings, that might be dangerous.
Dolton, not Dalton
Unfortunately a lot of us cant watch this video cause its moving too much. Quick static photos would be just as good.
Yes. Always. I try to see what the occasional open business is, but no.
you would think you were driving in Skokie Il
I use to live in the pacesetters it use look better then that back in the day it was always wild been over there
Hmmm…. Wonder who moved in?
We all know who...
The Swedes
I grew up in riverdale till was 25
Good old pacesetter 👍
My homie used to trap out that same house in the thumbnail😂😂😂😂😂
How's the Mayor in this town Chris?😅
or every home gets renovated
I used to live at 140th and court. Yes it has changed. Terrible
You went up a one way into school street!!!! lol
I had to look at google street view to know that was true. My response would be that Riverdale should put up better signage. Where is the “Do Not Enter” sign at the point that it becomes a one-way street? I have no idea where that street becomes a one way street because of the lack of signage. All I could find was 1 “One way” sign at a T intersection. The T intersection a block west of that doesn’t have a “one way” sign. So yeah, pretty bad signage.
Bout time someone telling it like it is a shame you go downtown its so rosey and clean and beautiful but you go to some real chicago neighborhoods look like hell and a shame I hear that place is contaminated and something wrong with the water in that area people been saying for years. but yet you have people take a pic of downtown and go oh so pretty chicago beautiful that is a dam lie not every area beautiful westside bad too
yeah most Chicagoans aren’t living as well as the wealthy that stay downtown or up north
Where i lived for a bit
Uhhhhh,,,,I left in the 90’s…..looks the same
Pacesetters aka Speedyville
The problem is people that just destroy things... There is no good reason to let where you live get ruined. These places are too close together too. Leave space in-between homes. Cars parked, starting engines right under your bedroom windows... Music blasting all hours of the day and night... Who wants to live like that?