VISIT US ON THE ARTS BLOCK
Arts + Public Life operates and manages four venues on the Arts Block, a vibrant collection of cultural and commercial spaces along Garfield Boulevard between Prairie Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side.
Since the opening of the Arts Incubator in 2013, which houses a gallery, wood shop, artist studios, and flexible spaces for youth education and community programs, APL has expanded to encompass the Green Line Performing Arts Center, a performance and rehearsal space featuring an 80-seat black-box theater; the L1 Creative Business Accelerator + Retail Store, a newly renovated retail space for local entrepreneurs located at the historic “L1” station built in 1892; and The Arts Lawn (launched in 2023).
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The Arts Lawn
Opened 2023
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L1 Retail Store
319 E Garfield Boulevard
Opened 2021
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Green Line Performing Arts Center
329 E Garfield Boulevard
Opened 2018
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Arts Incubator
301 E Garfield Boulevard
Opened 2013
The Arts Block
The University of Chicago is collaborating with the City of Chicago, Cook County, neighborhood organizations, and Chicago’s creative and educational community to make the Arts Block vision a reality. The investment on Garfield Boulevard provides much needed venues for art, entertainment, and education. It invites cultural institutions to establish a physical presence on the Arts Block and actively engages local residents and community organizations. By fostering an enhanced relationship between artists and the cultural and civic life of the community, the Arts Block creates a new and vital cultural destination in Chicago and becomes a socioeconomic driver for the greater Washington Park neighborhood.
Contact Arts + Public Life at artsandpublic@uchicago.edu with questions regarding technical capabilities associated with each space.
Our vision for a vibrant cultural destination in the heart of Washington Park
Extending along East Garfield Boulevard from South Prairie Avenue to South Martin Luther King Drive, the Arts Block establishes a new standard for university-community partnerships.
The Arts Block accommodates a wide range of cultural, civic, and commercial spaces, combining University-led initiatives, programming produced by cultural organizations, and private investments from entrepreneurs. The University of Chicago's Arts Incubator, Green Line Performing Arts Center, L1 Creative Business Accelerator + Retail Store, and The Arts Lawn (opening 2023), all led by Arts + Public Life, currently share the block with privately-owned food and event spaces, including Retreat at Currency Exchange, an initiative of Rebuild Foundation.
The vision for the Arts Block was officially unveiled on Saturday, June 4, 2016. Watch to learn more.
Arts Block Tours
We’re bringing back the monthly tours of the Arts Block!
You're invited to take a walking tour of all four venues managed by Arts + Public Life on the Arts Block: Arts Incubator, Green Line Performing Arts Center, L1 Retail Store, and the Arts Lawn. We will discuss the rich cultural history and current context of the Arts Block as it relates to the Washington Park neighborhood and offer details about the purpose and function of the venues along the historic block of East Garfield Boulevard. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about the APL programs and community engagement initiatives. You can check the schedules and sign up for the monthly tours on our event calendar.
How to Prepare:
Please plan to arrive 10 minutes before the tour starts. Visitors arriving after 10 minutes may be asked to reschedule for the best experience. We encourage you to take photos and videos of the experience and to tag @artspubliclife if sharing on social media (Facebook or Instagram).
This tour is for all ages. Visitors under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or school representative. This is a walking tour, so please be prepared to stand for the entire tour.
All of our venues, Arts Incubator, Green Line Performing Arts Center, L1 Retail Store, and Arts Lawn, are wheelchair accessible. If you need accommodation in order to participate in this event, you can include a note when you register for the monthly tours or contact Arts + Public Life for assistance at artsandpubliclife@uchicago.edu.
For groups that require a dedicated space or are interested in booking a private tour, please fill out this form, and our team will contact you for further arrangements.
For field trips for schools and youth groups, please contact Julia Hinojosa.
For people who cannot make the tours, we hope you enjoy this virtual tour:
A Cultural Legacy on the Arts Block and in Washington Park
The Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago takes its name from the historic Frederick Law Olmsted–designed park along its eastern border. Washington Park is home to such significant cultural institutions and celebrated festivals, the DuSable Museum of African American History, the Bud Billiken Parade, and the African Festival of the Arts.
From the 1860s to 1890s, Washington Park was settled by a population of Irish, German, and Eastern European immigrants drawn to Chicago’s railroad and meatpacking industries. The immigrants joined a small number of working-class African Americans and affluent white Americans, making Washington Park one of Chicago’s earliest ethnically and economically diverse neighborhoods.
After the construction boom at the turn of the century coupled with the Great Migration, Washington Park was transformed into a predominantly black neighborhood by the 1930s.
By the middle of the 20th century, Garfield Boulevard—the main thoroughfare in Washington Park—was one of many thriving, black cultural and commercial hubs on Chicago’s South Side, and it remains one of Chicago’s most historic areas. It was once home to the famous Rhumboogie Café, a jazz hotspot owned by boxing great Joe Lewis and regularly graced by talented singers like Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Hartman, and Dinah Washington.
Today, Garfield Boulevard serves as a major entryway into the Washington Park community and the University of Chicago campus. Realizing the potential of Garfield Boulevard as an economically strong and vibrant cultural corridor is a steadfast goal shared by the residents of Washington Park and UChicago.
That is the promise of the Arts Block, a new partnership for culture-driven neighborhood change.
The Rhumboogie Café was an important but short-lived nightclub located at 343 East 55th Street (Garfield Blvd), just east of the Green Line Performing Arts Center on the Arts Block. Opened with great fanfare in April 1942, the Rhumboogie was owned by Charlie Glenn and boxing champion Joe Louis. The club closed as the result of a fire on December 31, 1945. Reopening in June 1946, it never regained its old form, and closed for good in May 1947.
