Robert S. Abbott House facts for kids
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Robert S. Abbott House
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Robert S. Abbott House
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | 4742 South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Chicago, IL |
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| Built | c. 1900 |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000686 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 8, 1976 |
| Designated NHL | December 08, 1976 |
The Robert S. Abbott House is a special historic home in Chicago, Illinois. It is located in the Grand Boulevard area. This house was built around 1900.
From 1926 until he passed away in 1940, it was the home of Robert Sengstacke Abbott. He was a very important person. Abbott founded and published The Chicago Defender. This newspaper became the biggest African-American newspaper in the entire country.
Abbott started his newspaper in 1905. He encouraged Black people in the southern United States to move north. This was to escape unfair treatment and racism in the South. Robert S. Abbott became one of the few Black millionaires in the early 1900s. His home was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976. This means it is a very important place in American history.
About Robert S. Abbott
Robert S. Abbott was born in Georgia. He was an African-American man who wanted to make a difference. He studied printing at the Hampton Institute. Later, he moved to Chicago.
In Chicago, he earned a law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. However, he found it hard to get work as a lawyer. So, he took a job in the city's printing department. This job gave him an idea.
The Chicago Defender Newspaper
Abbott thought about printing small newspapers. He wanted to give them to the African-American community in Chicago. This idea led to the creation of The Chicago Defender in 1905.
The newspaper was a big success right away. It grew to be the largest African-American newspaper in the nation. It was read by many people, even outside of Chicago.
The Chicago Defender played a huge role in the Great Migration. This was when many African Americans moved from the South to the North. The newspaper showed the good things about living in the North. It also bravely reported on violence against African Americans in the South. This included terrible acts like lynchings.
The Robert S. Abbott House
The Robert S. Abbott House is on the South Side of Chicago. It is north of Washington Park. The house is on the west side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The house is part of a group of row houses. It is the left side of a building called a duplex. A duplex is a house divided into two separate homes. The exact year it was built is not known. But experts believe it was around 1900.
Its style is a mix of Late Victorian and neo-Classical designs. The two homes in the duplex share a hip roof. The left side, which was Abbott's home, has a large section that sticks out. It has a gabled roof and two windows.
The front porch of Abbott's home is on the left side. It has a stone railing. There are also columns that support the roof of the porch. These columns are in the Ionic style. Inside, the house has been divided into more living spaces. But it still shows some of its original grand design.
