Shorefront Legacy Center

Shorefront Legacy Center

2214 Ridge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
www.shorefrontlegacy.org
Laurice@ShorefrontLegacy.org

The Shorefront Legacy Center is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the histories of Black communities along Chicago’s suburban North Shore. As a community-driven archive, we are committed to documenting the experiences of individuals, families, organizations, and businesses that have shaped the region’s cultural and social landscape. Through our archival collections, educational programs, and public initiatives, we strive to ensure that these histories remain accessible and relevant for future generations.

Founded on the three core principles — Collect, Preserve, and Educate — we aim to create a dynamic space for reflection and growth. An archive for the people, by the people; we safeguard narratives that have too frequently been consigned to obscurity. Through our efforts to unearth the stories of previously unrecognized community members, we breathe life into their legacies, ensuring they endure for generations yet to come.

Collections include:
Oral history archives, historical photographs, personal papers, institutional records, digital exhibits, and community-led research projects documenting the contributions of Black residents in the North Shore area.

Evanston property deeds c1980s
Evanston property deeds c1980s
The Evanston Ten-Pinners’s, one of several African American bowling leagues in Evanston
The Evanston Ten-Pinners’s, one of several African American bowling leagues in Evanston
Clipperettes: Pictured Front row, kneeling, from left to right: Jean Guillebeaux, Maurice Morales, Jean Daniels, Wilma Langford. Standing, from left to right: Lorraine Dixon, Edith Harris, Barbara Settles, Dorothy Taylor, Rosalie Alexander.
Clipperettes: Pictured Front row, kneeling, from left to right: Jean Guillebeaux, Maurice Morales, Jean Daniels, Wilma Langford. Standing, from left to right: Lorraine Dixon, Edith Harris, Barbara Settles, Dorothy Taylor, Rosalie Alexander.
The 135 Basketball Team: (l-r) Rudy Frazier, John Harmon, Joe Ingram, Wilbur Carter, Jim Avery, John “Mickey” McGrier, George Walden, Earl Pettigrew, Roy Sutton, and coach Charles Bouyer. Photo donated by Robert Hill.