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Home/Our Legacy

100 Years in Hyde Park (1927–2027)

A Century of Chicago.
A Century of Community.
A Century in the Chair.

“For 100 years, Hyde Park Hair Salon has had a front-row seat to history.”

Presidents, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, students, and generations of Chicagoans have passed through Hyde Park while the neighborhood—and the world around it—continued to change. Here is our story, told side by side with the city we serve.

The Historic Barber Chair at Hyde Park Hair Salon
Chapter 01 • 1927–1937

1927–1937

A Neighborhood Institution Takes Root
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Chicago enters a period of extraordinary cultural and architectural growth.
  • Hyde Park is already established around the University of Chicago and the lakefront.
  • The Great Migration continues reshaping Chicago’s South Side.
  • The 1933–34 Century of Progress World’s Fair draws millions to Chicago.
HPHS — Our Story
  • Hyde Park Hair Salon is established in 1927.
  • The shop begins serving residents of Hyde Park and Chicago’s South Side.
  • A neighborhood barber shop starts building a tradition that will span generations.
Verification Note: Founder / original 1927 location details to be added.
Chapter 02 • 1937–1947

1937–1947

Community Through Depression and War
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Chicago emerges from the Great Depression and becomes a major wartime production center.
  • World War II transforms Chicago’s workforce and neighborhoods.
  • The Great Migration accelerates as Black families move north seeking jobs and opportunity.
  • Hyde Park and surrounding South Side neighborhoods continue changing rapidly.
HPHS — Our Story
  • HPHS continues serving the neighborhood through years of national uncertainty and change.
  • Generations of customers begin making the shop part of their regular lives.
  • The barber shop becomes more than a place for a haircut—it becomes a neighborhood gathering place.
Chapter 03 • 1947–1957

1947–1957

Hyde Park Begins Reinventing Itself
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Postwar Chicago experiences major demographic and economic change.
  • The Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference forms in 1949.
  • Hyde Park confronts housing pressures, racial transition and neighborhood reinvestment.
  • Plans for major urban renewal begin taking shape around the University of Chicago.
HPHS — Our Story
  • HPHS remains rooted in Hyde Park as the neighborhood around it changes.
  • The shop continues serving residents across generations.
  • Conversations in the barber chair reflect the changing community outside its doors.
Chapter 04 • 1957–1967

1957–1967

A Neighborhood Remade by Change
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Large-scale urban renewal transforms Hyde Park’s physical landscape.
  • Buildings, businesses and residential blocks are demolished and redeveloped.
  • Chicago becomes a major stage for the national Civil Rights Movement.
  • Martin Luther King Jr.’s Chicago Freedom Movement brings national attention to housing inequality.
HPHS — Our Story
  • 1965 Transition: The business officially adopts the Hyde Park Hair Salon name in 1965.
  • HPHS continues operating through one of the most significant transformations in Hyde Park history.
  • The shop strengthens its role as a core neighborhood gathering place.
Chapter 05 • 1967–1977

1967–1977

New Generations Shape the South Side
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • The Civil Rights era gives way to new movements for political and economic empowerment.
  • Chicago’s South Side continues evolving socially and culturally.
  • Hyde Park solidifies its identity as an unusually diverse center of education, culture and community life.
  • Local institutions become increasingly important anchors for neighborhood stability.
HPHS — Our Story
  • HPHS serves another generation of Hyde Park residents.
  • The shop’s reputation increasingly grows through relationships, referrals and community trust.
  • Its chairs become a place where neighborhood news, sports, politics and life are discussed every day.
Chapter 06 • 1977–1987

1977–1987

Chicago Welcomes a Future President
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Chicago’s Black political influence grows dramatically.
  • Harold Washington is elected Chicago’s first Black mayor in 1983.
  • Hyde Park remains a center for academics, activists, professionals and civic leaders.
The Obama Thread: Arrival A young Barack Obama arrives in Chicago in 1985 to work as a community organizer on the South Side.
HPHS — Our Story
  • HPHS continues building its reputation as a trusted South Side institution.
  • The salon serves residents living through another important chapter in Chicago’s political and cultural history.
  • This period sets the stage for a relationship that will eventually connect HPHS to a future President.
Chapter 07 • 1987–1997

1987–1997

From Community Organizer to Public Life
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Barack Obama returns to Chicago after Harvard Law School, building his life and career on the South Side.
  • Barack and Michelle Obama marry in Chicago in 1992.
  • Obama leads a major voter-registration effort through Project Vote in 1992.
  • In 1996, Hyde Park-area voters elect him to the Illinois State Senate.
HPHS — Our Story
  • Barack Obama becomes an HPHS customer before becoming a state senator.
  • The future president’s visits become part of the everyday rhythm of the neighborhood shop.
  • HPHS continues welcoming community leaders, professionals, athletes, students and longtime Hyde Park families.
  • 1992 Milestone: Ishmael Coye joins the shop at age twenty, starting his journey toward lead barber and eventual owner.
The Obama Thread: In the Chair Barack Obama becomes a regular client, establishing a two-decade relationship with Master Barber Zariff.
Chapter 08 • 1997–2007

1997–2007

A Neighborhood Customer Rises Nationally
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Barack Obama represents Chicago’s South Side in the Illinois Senate.
  • His 2004 Democratic National Convention address introduces him to a national audience.
  • Illinois elects Obama to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
  • The Obama family purchases its Kenwood home in 2005, just blocks from HPHS.
HPHS — Our Story
  • HPHS continues cutting Barack Obama’s hair as his career moves from Springfield to Washington.
  • HPHS remains part of Obama’s Chicago routine even as public attention around him grows.
  • 2007 Relocation: Under Ishmael Coye’s leadership, the shop moves to its current home at 5234 S. Blackstone Avenue following the sale of the historic Hyde Park Theatre building.
Master Barber Zariff cutting Barack Obama's hair
Ishmael and Zariff with Barack Obama
Chapter 09 • 2007–2017

2007–2017

From Hyde Park to the White House
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • Barack Obama launches his presidential campaign in 2007.
  • In 2008, Chicago celebrates as Obama is elected the nation’s 44th President (reelected 2012).
  • Hyde Park and the South Side receive worldwide attention as the community that shaped the Obama family.
  • Plans emerge to bring the Obama Presidential Center to Chicago’s South Side.
HPHS — Our Story
  • The longtime HPHS customer becomes President of the United States.
  • The shop becomes internationally associated with Obama’s Chicago story.
  • Obama’s relationship with his barber continues beyond his rise to the presidency.
  • HPHS welcomes increasing interest from media, international visitors, and historians.
The Obama Thread: Presidential Era The barber shop's historic chair becomes a cultural landmark recognized globally.
Chapter 10 • 2017–2027

2017–2027

A Century of Trust. A New Chapter.
Chicago & Hyde Park — The World Around Us
  • The Obama Foundation establishes its long-term presence on Chicago’s South Side.
  • Construction of the Obama Presidential Center transforms nearby Jackson Park.
  • Hyde Park, Woodlawn and surrounding neighborhoods attract growing national attention.
  • The Obama Presidential Center opens, creating a new global destination on the South Side.
HPHS — Our Story
  • 2027 Centennial: HPHS prepares to celebrate 100 years of continuous history in 2027.
  • The shop transforms from a celebrated neighborhood barber shop into a cultural destination and national brand.
  • Its history is preserved through storytelling, merchandise, media, and an expanded visitor experience.
  • The first century becomes the foundation for the next.

A Century of Trust. The Next Chapter.

100 years. Thousands of customers. Countless conversations. One neighborhood institution. Be a part of the next hundred years in the chair.

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