Mildred Mead, born in 1910, was a professional photographer, both freelance and by contract. During the 1950s, she captured the everyday life of the people throughout Chicago, such as recorded activities associated with the Hyde Park Kenwood Community Conference, Michael Reese Hospital, the University of Chicago Planning Unit, the Maxwell Street Market, city parks, the lakefront, the Hyde Park 57th St. Fair, and public housing and urban redevelopment projects.
Below are 37 beautiful vintage photographs of the city taken by Mead, courtesy of the University of Chicago Library:
Alley in back of the row houses on Outhouse Alley, 35th Street and Honore, Chicago, June 1950.
In a doorway of a home a little girl plays with her dolls, Chicago, July 1950.
Boys cooling off in the summer heat, Chicago, 1950s.
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