Q. What holdings do members have on restrictive covenants?

Member institutions are often asked for their archival holdings on restrictive covenants.

Chicago History Museum Research Center

• Archibald J. Motley, Jr. papers and photograph collection, 1894-2004
  • Box 4, folder 13, 1928 document from the Englewood Property Restriction Association
• Woodlawn Property Owners Association records, 1922-1934
  • Letter dated 1929
• Auburn Park Property Restriction Association collection, 1929 Aug.
• Near North Side Property Owners Association letter

Lake Forest College's Digital Chicago

• Restrictive Covenants in Cook County Subdivisions

Newberry Library

• The Walter & Beckwith Reality Company Records  Records retained by Waller & Beckwith Realty Co., including general business files and legal documents. bulk of the material dates from the 1920s-1940s, and documents financial difficulties and living conditions in Chicago during this time, as well as various changes and improvements to the city, including street widenings and the shift from trolleys to busses. Also unique to the era are the restrictive covenants enacted by neighborhood associations, and documents detailing prohibition violations by tenants.
• Miscellaneous Property Agreements - Negro Restriction Agreements, 1936-1938. Part of the Newberry Library Archives. See this article by former Newberry Library President and Librarian Daniel Greene for the context.

University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

• Hyde Park Kenwood Community Conference Records, 1985-2011 in Box 107, folder 5, 5200 Greenwood Avenue Block Group, 1952-1955

Illinois Institute of Technology

• The Bronzeville Collection records include some secondary materials about the neighborhood, but has no specific background documentation on restrictive covenants.

Chicago Public Library

• The Vivian Harsh Research Collection at Woodson Regional recommends these secondary sources:
  • People Vs. Property: Race Restrictive Covenants in Housing by Herman H. Long (1947)

  • Deeds of Mistrust: Race, Housing, and Restrictive Covenants in Chicago, 1900-1953 by Wendy Plotkin (1999)