• Cruciform mid-rise towers (Loebl, Schlossman and Bennett, 1950)
• Bronzeville Microgrid solar array
• 2010 Georgian-style renovation (HPZS)
• Resident Local Advisory Council legacy

Dearborn Homes was built in 1950 by the Chicago Housing Authority to house Black families displaced by slum clearance on the Federal Street corridor in Bronzeville, at a time when redlining and restrictive covenants left few other options open to them. Designed by architects Loebl, Schlossman and Bennett, it was the first Chicago public housing development with elevators, its cruciform mid- and high-rise towers set in green, park-like grounds influenced by modernist planning ideals.

Of the original State Street Corridor developments, Dearborn Homes is one of only two still standing today. A 2007-2010 renovation gave the buildings a Georgian-style redesign inside and out, and rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels now feed the Bronzeville Microgrid, supplying roughly 10 percent of the property's electricity. Residents organized their own Local Advisory Council and Resident Corporation to help manage and advocate for the community.

MY-NHD's Dearborn Homes collection honors a community that has weathered decades of change and never stopped organizing for a better home.