Bronzeville in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Gwendolyn Brooks

1917-

— Bronzeville Walk of Fame —

Gwendolyn Brooks Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025

1. Gwendolyn Brooks Marker

Inscription.
Pulitzer Prize winner, 1950
Illinois Poet Laureate

Erected 1996 by City of Chicago.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Women. In addition, it is included in the Bronzeville Walk of Fame series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 7, 1917.

Location. 41° 49.873′ N, 87° 37.05′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Bronzeville. It is at the intersection of East 35th Street and South Martin Luther King Drive, on the right when traveling west on East 35th Street. The marker is embedded into the sidewalk near the BP station at the northwest corner of 35th Street and MLK Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 342 East 35th Street, Chicago IL 60616, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Earl “Fatha” Hines (a few steps from this marker); Bronzeville (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Bronzeville (within shouting distance of this marker); The Boulevard System (within shouting distance

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of this marker); Col. Franklin A. Denison (within shouting distance of this marker); Lt. George Giles (within shouting distance of this marker); Truman Gibson Sr. / Truman Gibson Jr. (within shouting distance of this marker); Mjr. Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. Roughly 100 Bronzeville Walk of Fame markers are found around the neighborhood. This one is near the BP station at the corner of 35th and MLK.

Regarding Gwendolyn Brooks. Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas — her mother taught at the school involved in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case — and moved at six weeks old to Chicago's South Side, where she was raised. After graduating from Englewood High School and entering the workforce as a typist, she became a prolific author. In 1950, her book Annie Allen was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, making Brooks the first African American to receive the award.

Bronzeville Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025

2. Bronzeville Marker

In this southwesterly facing view from the marker, two landmark buildings are visible in the distance: Sunset Cafe (the white building in the distance behind the gas station) and the 8th Regiment Armory.

Brooks died at age 83 on December 3, 2000.

Brooks is honored around Chicagoland in a number of ways, including as namesake of a college preparatory school in Chicago and a park on the South Side.

Also see . . . Poetry Foundation: Gwendolyn Brooks.

Excerpt: “Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the most influential and widely read 20th-century American poets. The author of more than 20 books, she was highly regarded even during her lifetime and had the distinction of being the first Black poet to win the Pulitzer Prize. She was also the first Black woman to hold the role of Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now referred to as the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, and served as the Illinois poet laureate for 32 years. Her body of work gave her, according to critic George E. Kent, 'a unique position in American letters. Not only has she combined a strong commitment to racial identity and equality with a mastery of poetic techniques, but she has also managed to bridge the gap between the academic poets of her generation in the 1940s and the young Black militant writers of the 1960s.'”

(Submitted on April 21, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) image. Click for more information.

Wayne Miller, photographer; courtesy of Chicago History Museum (ICHi-031733), circa 1955

3. Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 21, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 208 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 21, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2. submitted on April 19, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3. submitted on April 21, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.