The historic but long-vacant Griffin Funeral Home and its adjacent parking lot are being redeveloped into 14 new row homes, the Chicago Crusader has learned.
In February, the Crusader reported that the Chicago Department of Buildings had issued two permits showing that Klein Yona, a Skokie resident and the site’s new owner, planned to invest $1,003,200 to redevelop the property.
One permit indicated that the north garage of the former funeral home had been demolished. Another listed repairs to the building’s roof, which had collapsed due to storm damage. While the permits lack detailed descriptions of the overall renovation, a large advertisement now stands at the front of the property announcing the development of 14 “urban” row homes.
Construction is already well underway. The skeletal frames of the new units now stand where the funeral home’s parking lot once was—and on ground that was once part of Camp Douglas, the infamous Civil War-era site where thousands of Confederate soldiers were held as prisoners.
The new residences are being marketed as “Fourteen on the Boulevard,” likely a reference to the original name of the street: Grand Boulevard. The thoroughfare was later renamed South Park, and eventually became Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. By invoking its historic name, developers may be aiming to appeal to upscale buyers attracted to the area’s architectural and cultural legacy.
However, the project’s website makes no mention of the property’s Bronzeville location or its historic past. Instead, the site describes the homes as “14 Stunning Urban Row Homes beautifully located near Chicago’s south lakefront with easy access to city center.” Prospective buyers can join a waiting list or submit an inquiry online.
Gentrification continues to be a concern in Bronzeville, particularly in the Douglas neighborhood, where an influx of white and Asian homebuyers has reshaped the community’s demographics. In recent years, many Bronzeville homes have sold for over $500,000, raising concerns about displacement and cultural erasure.
The Griffin Funeral Home, which closed in 2007 after more than 60 years of service, was once a cornerstone of Black Chicago. It originally began in 1933 as Bell Funeral Home and Auto Company, located at 3215 S. Michigan Avenue. Ernest A. Griffin took over the business from his father, Stephen A. Griffin, and, along with his wife Alyce, worked to relocate the funeral home to a larger facility. After being denied business loans 33 times, they persevered and moved the business to 3232 S. King Drive in 1947, renaming it Griffin Funeral Home.
The Griffin family lived above the funeral home. According to a 2007 Chicago Defender article, their daughter Dawn recalled how her father, deeply sensitive to the grief of his clients, took extra care with the remains of babies and children. “In the 1940s, if a baby or child died, Daddy would prepare the body in a crib or a child’s bed with toys around it and the shoes next to it,” she said. “He wanted the mother to remember seeing her baby in a crib sleeping, as opposed to seeing her baby in a casket.” She added that the family would only see the casket again at the cemetery, preserving that gentle last memory.
Griffin Funeral Home provided funeral services for some of the most prominent African Americans of the 20th century, including Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, Olympian Jesse Owens, Congressman William Dawson, and Robert Lawrence Jr., the first Black U.S. astronaut. The funeral home also handled arrangements for jazz pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong, who was once married to jazz legend Louis Armstrong.
A Civil War history enthusiast, Ernest Griffin discovered that his grandfather, Charles Griffin, had served in the Union Army’s 29th Colored Regiment, Company B. The regiment had trained at Camp Douglas, the site of the present redevelopment. Camp Douglas, once a prisoner-of-war camp, became known for its high mortality rates and harsh conditions for Confederate soldiers.
In 1990, Griffin established a Heritage Memorial Wall on the funeral home’s grounds to honor the Civil War history. It included a glass display case featuring original documents, a fountain pool, and a memorial plaque. At one point, Griffin flew a Confederate flag at half-mast to memorialize the soldiers who died there—a controversial act that led to repeated vandalism, as the flag was often torn down.
Ernest Griffin passed away in 1995. His funeral service was held at the same funeral home he operated. His wife Alyce, and daughters Dawn and Pearl, continued to run the business until its closure in 2007. The memorial was also removed. Alyce Griffin passed away in 2017.
Now, as “Fourteen on the Boulevard” takes shape, it does so on sacred ground that once held not only a Black-owned institution serving generations of families but also layers of Chicago’s Civil War history. Whether that history will be remembered—or forgotten—remains to be seen.