104 / 150
101
C
hapter
T
hree
:
‘S
uffer
the
C
hildren
…’ (1956 – 1977)
“There were days when Ralph J. Koeppe
would wince when people asked, ‘Have
you been able to do anything to change the
neighborhood?’
Koeppe has been the executive director of
Kingdom House, a social service agency of
the United Methodist Church at 1321 South
11th Street for the past 22 years. For many
years, this Near South Side neighborhood
known as LaSalle Park could be easily
written off as a section with a high crime
rate and a highly transient population.
At one point, Kingdom House, which is
celebrating its 75th anniversary this year,
considered relocating after a huge exodus
from the neighborhood, Koeppe says.
THEN BEGINNING
[sic] in the
1960s, the area started to revive, with a
new commitment to the neighborhood from
several institutions, most notably the Ralston
Purina Co.
Thanks to Ralston Purina Co, there
are 148 new housing units, known as La
Salle Village, providing for a more stable
population. The same company is now
renovating 12 row houses on the southeast
corner of 10th Street and Morrison Avenue.
The city’s Community Development
Agency plans to renovate the exterior of 12
houses at several locations, resurface the
streets and put in new curbing, sidewalks
and street lighting., according to the CDA
planner for the area.
And with these bright prospects for the
neighborhood’s future, the older homes,
needing repair but having architectural
value, are selling well, says Bill Eldred of
CDA.
A SIGNIFICANT
[sic] change in
C
P
hoto
:
C:
Community
leaders gather in the
unfinished gymnasium
of the new building
‘W
herever
I
go
in
the
city
,
people
come up
to
tell
me how
they
grew up
in
the
neighborhood
and
remember what
K
ingdom
H
ouse
meant
to
them
as
a
child
,’
– R
alph
K
oeppe