Record Row

CTL-E-0238 · Address · corridor · 1950s–1970s

Provisional evidence grade of this record

South Michigan Avenue corridor once lined with Black-owned record labels, distributors, and studios

The record

Also known as: South Michigan Avenue record district

Notes

Nickname and exact extent vary across sources; corridor concept is well attested.

Sources

Chicago music histories (Record Row, South Michigan Ave.)

Record CTL-E-0238 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: Provisional · CTL research: BMI-002, BVM-005, MUSIC-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Record Row (CTL-E-0238),” October 4, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0238/

From the Archive

The archive in pictures

Black Chicago’s musical record, kept frame by frame. Photographs from the CultureTechLens research record — rights-cleared, credited, and cited like everything else here.

The movies are popular in the Negro section of Chicago, Illinois, ChicagoPhoto: Russell Lee, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

Negro swinging his girl on roller skates. Savoy Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois, ChicagoPhoto: Russell Lee, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

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