Mural dedicated to the late Gerri Oliver- Remembering ‘Mama Gerri’ Oliver & Chicago’s legendary Palm Tavern, by artist Alpha Bruton.
Join us on Friday, September 20, 2024, as we celebrate the season's last Bronzeville Art District Trolley Tour. The film screenings will begin at dusk and conclude at 9 p.m. at 436 E. 47th Street. The film screening is a pop-up temporary installation curated by the Phantom Gallery Chicago and film project manager Suzetta Withtaker. WTTW is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
CHICAGO — There’s an empty lot near the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and 47th Street in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood. It’s been vacant for nearly two decades since the culturally significant Palm Tavern was torn down in the name of progress and urban renewal.
Longtime owner Gerri Oliver, a Bronzeville icon, died last December at 101.
Feb 12, 2021 / 05:04 AM CST
“I felt it was just such a travesty the way the Palm Tavern was closed, and she left without any commemoration, without any celebration — the Palm Tavern should have had monumental status,” said Grammy-nominated blues musician Billy Branch, who wrote a song to commemorate the longtime owner and legendary nightspot, “Going to see Miss Gerri one more time.”
The Palm Tavern opened in 1933. Prohibition had just ended.
“It was the first tavern on the street, first place on the street that could legitimately sell liquor,” said Timuel Black, a prominent Chicago historian.
“Genial” Jim Knight — the honorary mayor of Bronzeville — was the first owner. He named the spot after the palm trees of an African desert oasis. Oliver took over for Knight and ran the Palm Tavern for nearly 50 years.
Have you seen the new mural in Bronzeville?
Check out the impressive new mural on the container behind 'The Great Migration Sculpture Garden'! It boasts 3 works by Marlene Campbell, Alpha Bruton, and Andre Guichard, honoring the African Diaspora and the movements of Black People in Africa and to places like Bronzeville. The mural also pays homage to the historic Palm Tavern and jazz improvisation. Joe Cujo expertly created the graphic fusion and vinyl wrap installation.
The mural was completed with a grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
Andre Guichard, artist
Joe Cujo expertly created the graphic fusion and vinyl wrap installation.
Marlene Campbell, artist
