MSScal90 Florence Scala collection MSScal90 An inventory of the collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago Finding aid prepared by Inventory prepared by George Stachokas. Special Collections

801 S. Morgan Street Chicago, Illinois, 60607 312.996.2742

2003-11-04

Old Resource ID was FScala

This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2016-07-28T13:12-0500 Finding aid written in English Describing Archives: A Content Standard 2012-07-17 Florence Scala collection MSScal90 Special Collections 5.5 Linear feet 1963-1991 Florence Scala (1918-2007) was the daughter of an Italian tailor and grew up on the Near West Side, in Chicago's nineteenth ward. She was educated at Hull-House and later became a volunteer there. In 1959, when the City of Chicago suggested the site of Hull-House to build a new campus of the University of Illinois, Florence Scala and Jessie Binford led the fight against this scheme. In 1963, the trustees of Hull-House accepted an offer of $875,000 for the settlement building. Binford and Scala took the case to the Supreme Court. The court found in favor of the university and the settlement was closed on March 28, 1963. The collection contains newspaper clippings, interviews and articles about Florence Scala, the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and the Near West Side. Finding aid available. Scala, Florence Biography of Florence Scala

Florence Giovangelo Scala was born on September 17, 1918 to Alex and Teresa (Scardepane) Giovangelo and grew up on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. Scala studied subjects such as urban planning at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. She was a volunteer at Hull-House from 1934 to 1954 and was deeply influenced by her experience. Active in her community, Scala served as secretary and treasurer of the Near West Side Planning Board, 1949-1958, and secretary of the Near West Side Conservation Community Council, 1957-1959.

Florence Scala became known for her impassioned struggle to defend her neighborhood and the Hull-House Settlement from destruction so that a new campus for the University of Illinois could be created. She was co-chair of the Harrison-Halsted Community Group in 1961 and attempted to become Alderman of the 1st Ward of Chicago in 1963. Scala ran as an independent candidate who criticized Chicago's political "machine" and hoped to defend the interests of ordinary voters in her district. Florence Scala endured ridicule, threats, and several bombing attempts, but remained outspoken. When the Trustees of Hull-House accepted an $875,000.00 settlement on March 5, 1963, Florence Scala joined forces with prominent Hull-House resident, Jessie Binford, to sue the Board. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Binford and Scala and the Hull-House Settlement officially closed on March 28, 1963.

Florence Scala's subsequent career included a job as a picture editor for Encylopedia Britannica and service as the volunteer coordinator for the Department of Mental Health. She later opened a restaurant, Florence, with her brother, Mario, in the same Near West side building that her immigrant father had purchased many years before. Scala's most recent endeavor had been a successful attempt to relocate the Roosevelt Library after joining the Friends of the Roosevelt Library group. Scala died in 2007.

Scope and Contents

The Florence Scala collection contains an interview of Scala by Studs Terkel, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and articles about her life and career as a community activist of Chicago's Near West Side.

Bibliography

Who's of Who of American Women. 4th ed. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1966-1967. Eastwood, Carolyn. Near West Side Stories: Struggles for Community in Chicago's Maxwell Street Neighborhood. 1st ed. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press, 2002.

Restrictions on Access

None

Restrictions on Use

None

Preferred Citation

Florence Scala collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago

Binford, Jessie F. (Jessie Florence), 1876-1966 Hull-House (Chicago, Ill.). Scala, Florence -- Archives University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. Planning. Chicago Neighborhoods. Illinois--Chicago--Near West Side. Midwest Women's History. Photographs. Series I: Florence Scala collection Florence Scala Photo Scans SCA_001 Compact Disc, 1 1 Correspondence with Fred Beuttler, 1 2 2004 UIC Office of the Historian Notes, 1 3 Scala Interview, 1 4 1999 Regional Activist Training at University of Illinois at Chicago, 1 5 1993 Friends of the Frog, 1 6 1990 Saint Ignatius Magazine, Winter 1990, 1 7 1990 Near West Side Clippings File, 1 8 "Activist taught City Value of Community." Chicago Sun-Times, editorial, 1 9 29 July 1990 "A Native Ponders Little Italy: Comparing Vibrant Past to the Future." Chicago Sun-Times, 1 10 29 July 1990 "Charles Scala, 78; Managed Bar at Florence Restaurant." Chicago Sun-Times, 1 11 11 June 1985 Nordhaus-Bike, Anne M. "Chicago Historical Society Seeks Scala Sculpture." Near West Gazette 7:6, 1 12 2 November 1989 O'Shea, Bernadette M. "Development Brings Both Hope and Fear."Chicago Illini, 1 13 2 November 1987 Scala, Florence. "Haymarket House Deserves Praise, not Fear."Chicago Sun-Times, 1 14 8 August 1991 Geyer, Georgie Anne. "The Heritage of Jane Addams: Florence Scala Fills the Void." Chicago Scene 1, 1 15 January 1964 Honchar, Cornelia. "Kerner Guilt Shocks Chicagoans." Chicago Tribune, 1 16 20 February 1973 Troester, Susan. "Little Italy: Survivor or Facade, Italian Roots go way back." Chicago Illini, 1 17 21 February 1972 "Miss Scala." Interview by Robert H. Young (use copy), 1 18 ca. 1965 "Miss Scala." Interview by Robert H. Young (original), 1 19 ca. 1965 Macuiba, Janusz. "She Fought to Save the Neighborhood and Lost." Chicago Illini, 1 20 November (ca. 1980) Beandell, Carrie. "U of I Chicago Move Pits Mayor against Residents." Chicago Illini, 1 21 November (ca. 1980) "Vote por Florence Scala para Alderman de El 1st Ward." Editorial.Prensa Libre de Chicago 2:2:110, 1 22 February 1963 Rotenberk, Lori. "West Side Landmark Puts away Pots, Pans." Chicago Sun-Times, 1 23 26 July 1990 Terkel, Studs. "Ya Gotta Fight City Hall." Chicago Guide 22:9, 1 24 September 1973 Correspondence from George W. Overton, 1 25 1967 Correspondence, 1 26 1966 Reproduction of a photo of Florence Scala's father Alex Giovangelo, shown in his tailor shop at 1030 W. Taylor Street in 1924, undated, 1 27 Ca. 1924 Correspondence to Florence Scala from Jessie Binford, 1 28 1962 Memo to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Scala about termination of their residence in Hull-House, 1 29 1963 Correspondence to Florence Scala from Jessie Binford, 1 30 1963 Correspondence to Florence Scala from Mary Gleason, 1 31 1963 Correspondence to Florence Scala from Jessie Binford, 1 32 1964 Correspondence to Florence Scala from Jessie Binford, 1 33 1965 Correspondence to Florence Scala from Jessie Binford, 1 34 1963-1965 "The Journalistic Dimension of a Versatile Woman: Jane Addams", paper by Gene Burd, 1 35 1985 Three menus from the Florence Restaurant, 1 36 1990 Real estate listing for Florence Scala's former residence at 1030 W. Taylor St., 1 37 17 July 2008 Harrison-Halsted Community Group Program, 1 38 Near West Side Planning Board, 1 39 1953-1967 Holy Guardian Angel Church Bulletin, 1 40 1963 United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit, No. 12860, Harrison-Halsted community Group, Inc., et al., V. Housing and Home Finance Agency, et al., 1 41 1962 Supreme Court of the United States, No. 861, Harrison-Halsted Community Group, Inc., et al., vs.Housing and Home Financy Agency, et a;., 1 42 1962 Housing and Planning Committee 1960-1961, 1 43 Bulk, 1960-1961 1960-1961 Collage of Images of Florence Scala, 6 82 A resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Chicago, Illinois, 6 83 5 September 2007 Series II: Near West Side Planning Board Statement of T. J. Haring, Planning Consultant to the Harrison-Halsted Community Group, 2 44 13 April 1961 Abandoned Buildings, 2 45 1954 Photographs, 2 46 Bulk, 1953-1963 1953-1963 Photographs, 2 47 Chicago Land Clearance Commission, 2 48 1954 Planning Board Minutes 1958 2 49 1958 Western Society of Engineers, 2 50 1949-1950 Membership Committee, 2 51 Housing and Development Coordinator, 2 52 1953 Last Speech To The Court and Newspaper Clippings, 2 53 ca. 1935 Central Chicago Redevelopment Corporation 1954, 2 54 1954 Chicago Land Clearance Commission 1954, 2 55 1954 April 21st Meeting With Downs, 2 56 1954 Chicago Plan Commission 1954 2 57 1954 Chicago Dwellings Association 1950-1951, 2 58 1950-1951 Housing And Redevelopment Coordinator 1954, 3 59 1954-1956 Housing and Redevelopment Coordinator 1953, 3 60 C. C. R. C., 3 61 Public Conservation Public Hearing, 3 62 16 May 1956 West Central Planning Association, 3 63 1954 Chicago Plan Commission 1950-1951, 3 64 1950-1951 City Planning and Advisory Board 1950-1951, 3 65 1949-1952 Chicago Plan Commission, 3 66 1952-1953 Responses to Housing Questionnaire, 3 67 1953 October 27, 1953 Meeting, 3 68 27 October 1953 Chicago Land Clearance Commission 1954, 3 69 1954 CDA, 3 70 1958 Annual Meeting 1950, 3 71 1950 Frank Horne 1954, 3 72 1954 Contract, 3 73 Chicago Land Clearance Commission 1950-1951, 3 74 1950-1951 Chicago Better Business Bureau, 3 75 1952 Near West Side Planning Board, 3 76 1954-1957 Blank Petition Signature Forms and Letters of Authority, 3 77 Temporary Organizing Committe for the Redevelopment of the Near West Side Book, 4 78 1948-1949 Near West Side Planning Board, Inc., 4 79 1950-1951 Near West Side Planning Board, Inc., 5 80 1951-1953 Near West Side Planning Board, Inc., 5 81 1951-1961 Housing Survey Results, Folder 84