View Florence Scala WGN interview at http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/410116.html.
A life-long resident of the Little Italy neighborhood, Florence Scala fought fervently to save a large section of the neighborhood from being razed to make room for the construction of the University of Illinois’ Circle Campus.
Born in Chicago on September 17, 1918, Scala grew up on Taylor Street. She volunteered at Hull House between 1934 and 1954. There, she learned about city planning and community activism. In addition to the lessons learned from her years at Hull House, Scala also studied urban planning at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.
She furthered served her community as the secretary and treasurer of the Near West Side Planning Board (1949-1958) and as the secretary of the Near West Side Conservation Community Council (1957-1959). However, her best-known act of service to her community was her struggle to stave the construction of Circle Campus. In 1961, Mayor Richard J. Daley announced a plan for the building of a new campus for the University of Illinois that called for the destruction of a large portion of Scala’s neighborhood. That year, Scala also became the co-chair of the Harrison-Halsted Community Group, which led the fight against the University’s construction.
Images from the Historic Netsch Campus at UIC Virtual Tour (http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walkingtour/3c.html)
One of the buildings set to be demolished in the plan for the construction of Circle Campus was Jane Addams’ Hull House. Scala’s struggle to save Hull House even reached the Supreme Court. Although the Court did not rule in her favor, Scala was able to secure the preservation of the original Hull House building. Having been moved from it’s original location during the construction of Circle Campus, Hull House now resides on UIC’s East Campus and serves as the home of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum.
Despite Scala’s struggle to stop the destruction of a large section of her neighborhood, the construction of the University’s new campus prevailed, ultimately resulting in the demolition of over 800 houses and 200 businesses.
Images from the Historic Netsch Campus at UIC Virtual Tour (http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walkingtour/3b.html)
After Scala passed away in 2007, Studs Terkel referred to her as a heroine and noted that "she tried with intelligence and courage to save the soul of [the] city."
An Interview of Florence Scala by Studs Terkel
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
These interviews and more can be found at http://studsterkel.org/index.php.