Under the Viaduct

Memories from the Manor and Beyond

By: Debra Kaplan Low

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

GROWING UP IN THE SHADOW OF CHICAGO'S VIADUCTS

Drawing from a colorful cast of characters ranging from childhood friends to the mostly bald, one-legged lady everyone tries to avoid to a father with a severe anger problem, Debra Kaplan Low shares intimate stories about her life growing up in the early 1950s to 1970 in the Manor, a south Chicago neighborhood delineated by the city's system of viaducts. She discusses environmental and health hazards that affected the Manor, an area built on landfill contaminated with toxic waste from nearby steel mills and chemical plants. Additionally, Low describes how the Manor was affected by significant social changes that culmininated in "white flight" following the brutal murder of eight student nurses and the assisnation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Her story explores both sides of the viaducts and continues into her adult experiences with Chicagoans in Arizona.