The New Kennedy King College

Currently located on the corner of 69th Street and Wentworth, they are going to move to a new campus at 63rd and Halsted. This is the heart of the Englewood neighborhood which at one point in time was a very busy commercial district until maybe the 1960s and 1970s. Years ago this part of Englewood was known for its hustle and bustle these days it's known for it's crime and murder rate.

So for say the past five or six years there was talk about Kennedy-King College moving to 63rd and Halsted and I immediately had this vision of this corner turning into another loop. See Harold Washington College is right near some L tracks in the loop at Lake and Wabash and 63rd and Halsted would be a perfect location because of the Halsted Green Line L stop and I'm assuming that there will still be some businesses on the corner. Businesses that will employ some of the students attending Kennedy-King.

Today I just so happened to find a website about the plans. Well over the past couple of days I've found two of them with drawings and plans and such. It's not going to look as I imagined however there are some positive points to look at.

For instance the new Kennedy-King is going to have something of a clock tower...

There will also be a clock tower that is reminiscent of the architectural structure of other well-known college campuses.

With the L line roaring by the campus I'm disappointed by the parking lot they're going to have across the street and behind the school. That's space that could be taken up by a business, although, if Englewood does turn around in the future that parking lot is history in favor of commercial space.

Also having driven by there over the summer it's going to take up a lot more space than I imagined too. Looking at the plans and description it will be more like a regular college campus with several buildings instead of just one big building as most of the City Colleges of Chicago are.

So will the future of the New Englewood see some new hustle and bustle as they used to in the past. Time will tell. The new Kennedy King College should be completed this Spring.

LINKS
New Kennedy-King site
Kennedy-King College Campus
Mayor Daley, Community Leaders Break Ground For New Kennedy-King College Campus
Kennedy-King College Architects
Jazz Age Chicago - Englewood
Chicago-L.org: stations - Halsted/63rd
Englewood, Chicago