Thursday, October 9, 2008

Englewood drug house turned into cultural center

Good news in Englewood from the Defender:
Take a walk down the 7000 block of South Perry Avenue, then stop in front of 7042.

It’s not the same building it was four years ago. It was once a haven for drug dealers, and its customers before it were engulfed by fire in 2004.

Now the “undiscovered gem” is the four-story Perry Mansion Cultural Center.

The center’s founder and CEO Samuel Smith, a former resident of a public housing development on the West Side, owns property in Englewood and saw the vast potential the mini-mansion had, if it wasn’t overrun by drugs.

Smith, a media and real estate professional, just couldn’t “let it go to waste.”

He thought about rehabbing the property and renting it, but instead chose to restore the building and use it for community purposes. He used his own resources and contracting experience to restore the “eyesore” in the community, Smith said.

The 110-year-old building will house all genres of art, and feature local, national and international artists, as well as entertainers. It will also have educational programs about the arts that will engage youth during after-school hours.

While Smith used his own resources to renovate the property, he will rely on individual contributions and donations from private foundations to keep the center up and running, and to sponsor special exhibits that are scheduled to premiere next year.

The main floor is open. However, the upper floors are currently under construction.
Now if we can do that in a few other poor neighborhoods around the city. In some of these neighborhoods there are similar treasures just waiting for the right person to restore them to their original grandeur.

Oh here's more from the Tribune. They ran this story a little earlier than the Defender:
Where everyone saw a burned-out drug house in a crime-ridden part of Englewood, Samuel Smith saw something more.

On Saturday, Smith's vision became reality when the Victorian Queen Anne-style home he saved from foreclosure on Perry Avenue officially opened as the Perry Mansion Cultural Center.

"Everybody said I was crazy, but they couldn't see what I see," Smith said as visitors sipped punch during a reopening celebration. "We're trying to create something special on the South Side."

Smith, 39, a real estate agent, bought the 19-room mansion in 2003 for $165,000 before it teetered into foreclosure.

The history of the 117-year-old house is unclear, but Smith said the neighborhood—near Vincennes Avenue and 71st Street—was built by affluent Jewish families a century ago.

He said he invested $350,000 of his own money into the house at 7042 S. Perry Ave., which he envisions will soon be host to open mic nights, jazz brunches and a re-creation of the hull of a slave ship.
Oh at the end of this article is some contact info for the Perry Mansion Cultural Center @ 773.494.9526 and you can e-mail them at perrymansion (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

Oh and BTW this almost brings to mind this place in West Chesterfield!

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