Liberty Drug Company photographs, [1884; 1922; ca. 1930-1961]

  • Collection ID X.2138.2004.1-26
  • Creator Names Liberty Drug Company (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Title Liberty Drug Company photographs [graphic].
  • Dates [1884; 1922; ca. 1930-1961]
  • Physical description
    • 23 photographic prints : b&w ; 11 x 14 in. and smaller.
    • 1 photographic print : col. ; 12 x 16 in.
    • 2 non-graphic items.
  • Collection summary Photographs relating to the Liberty Drug store ca. 1884 to ca. 1960 and the Liberty Plaza Shopping Center 1960-1961 in Chicago, including interior and exterior views of the original store and the later shopping plaza. Most images date to the 1950s and 1960s and depict neighborhood customers and employees from diverse backgrounds. Images often include exterior views of the Chicago Housing Authority's ABLA homes, including the Robert Brooks Homes rowhouses (and Robert Brooks Extension high-rise buildings) and Grace Abbott Homes high-rise buildings. Other images show St. Francis of Assisi Church men's Holy Name Society on Easter Sunday, April 16,1922; a 1930s photograph of owner Rose Lotman with shop boys (including a young Nathan Roskin); and Nathan Roskin with a group of young women labeled the "Commission on Youth Welfare, City of Chicago Near West Central Unit." Also includes a copy of a letter written by the Roskins to Mayor Daley in 1961 describing the success of the Liberty Plaza project.
  • Biographical or Historical Note Liberty Drug pharmacy, located at 1356 Racine Ave., was originally owned and operated by Rose Lotman as early as the late 1920s. Her nephew, Sigmund, and Nathan Roskin later became part owners of the store. The site of the newer Liberty Plaza Shopping Center at Blue Island Ave. and 13th Street was developed by Nathan Roskin and his brother, Harry. The shopping center was razed ca. 2000 to make space for Chicago Housing Authority and University of Illinois at Chicago buildings.
  • Acquisition information Gift (X.2138.2004.1-26).
  • Names
    • Roskin, Nathan Portraits.
    • Roskin, Harry
    • Liberty Plaza Shopping Center (Chicago, Ill.)
    • Liberty Drug Company (Chicago, Ill.)
    • St. Francis of Assisi Church (Newberry Street : Chicago, Ill.)
  • Subjects
    • African Americans Illinois Chicago 1930-1959.
    • Drugstores Illinois Chicago 1930-1959. lctgm
    • Easter Illinois Chicago 1920-1929. lctgm
    • Family-owned business enterprises Illinois Chicago
    • Hispanic Americans Illinois Chicago 1920-1929.
    • Shopping centers Illinois Chicago 1960-1969. lctgm
    • Men Illinois Chicago 1920-1959. lctgm
    • Women Illinois Chicago 1930-1959. lctgm
  • Geographic coverage
    • Near West Side (Chicago, Ill.) 1930-1959.
    • Chicago (Ill.) Buildings, structures, etc. 1930-1959.
  • Genre
    • Exterior views. aat
    • Interior views. aat
    • Gelatin silver prints. gmgpc
    • Photographic prints Color. gmgpc
    • Portrait photographs. gmgpc
  • Geographic name United States Illinois Cook County Chicago.