Part of the Arts Block project, the 6,600-square-foot facility represents the latest step by the University of Chicago’s Arts + Public Life initiative to help reinvigorate this stretch of Garfield Boulevard. Less than 300 feet away stands the Arts Incubator, which in the past five years has hosted more than two dozen resident artists, in addition to events and exhibitions.
The Green Line Performing Arts Center is also the latest tenant on a historic block—one that over the past century has been home to a movie theater, restaurants and various nightclubs, including one owned by boxer Joe Louis.
“When you see it come to fruition, that’s a beautiful thing,” said actor and director Ron OJ Parson, a resident artist at UChicago’s Court Theatre. “In that sense, it is very emotional. A new space on the South Side, it’s special.”
By Jack Wang