Mecca Apartments (Chicago, Ill.)

Description of the Collection Black and white film footage of Armour Institute circa 1936-1939. Primarily shows outdoor events, such as sports and games, in connection with the fraternities' annual Circus Day and Junior Week activities. Shows trophy and banners being awarded and defeated team members being "pantsed." The film also includes some interior scenes of labs and science activities. Brief views of staff, such as President Willard Hotchkiss, Dean Henry Heald, and John Schommer, trustees, and others. Exterior...

Scope and Contents The Building Reference Files collection consists of a mix of primary and secondary source material relating to the buildings and campuses of the Illinois Institute of Technology and its predecessor institutions. These files formerly served as "drop files" where archives staff collected clippings, ephemera, and photographs related to the buildings and campus, and as a result, many of the files consist wholly of secondary material (including photocopies and clippings from university...

Description of the Collection Collection of articles authored by Charles A. Sengstock, Jr. for the Armour Research Foundation newsletter concerning jazz clubs, theaters, and historic buildings on the south side of Chicago in the 1940s and 1950s. Items included in the collection: ARF News (photocopy), Dec. 1959; article on Mecca Flats ARF News (photocopy), Jan., 1960; article on Arcade building (AKA Jesse Binga Bank building) ARF News (photocopy), March, 1960; article on the Vendome Theater ARF News, April-May, 1960;...

Description of the Collection

December 1950 issue of Harper's Magazine (vol. 201, no. 1207) containing an article (pp.86-97) titled "The Strangest Place in Chicago" by John Bartlow Martin which describes life in the Mecca apartment building at 34th and State streets.

Description of the Collection

Hexagonal terra cotta-colored glazed ceramic (?) floor (?) tile from the Mecca Flats building which was located at 34th Street and Dearborn streets, Chicago, IL. Ca. 6" diameter.

Description of the Collection

Printed label (gray on black) for a 1950 reissue of a 1926 Paramount Records phonograph 78 rpm disc titled "Lovin's Been Here and Gone to Mecca Flats" by Jimmie Blythe. Label appears not to have been used. Marked as follows: Paramount/Electrically Recorded/14019 B/Piano Solo/Lovin's Been Here and/Gone to Mecca Flats/(blithe)/Jimmie/Blythe/335/The New York Laboratories - Port Washington, Wis Trade Mark Registered.

Description of the Collection The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence between Illinois Institute of Technology treasurer Raymond J. Spaeth and Golden B. Darby (administrative director of Southside Community Committee, Inc.) concerning use of space at 3354 S. State St. as a community center (AKA Mecca Community Center), and circumstances concerning termination of the agreement. The collection also includes the original signed agreement and the President's Annual Report of the Southside Community...