Woodlawn's population decline (1960–2010)
Woodlawn's population fell from roughly 80,000 at its 1960 peak to about 25,000 by the 2010 census. The 63rd Street corridor, once a dense Black commercial district, lost most of its retail stores and businesses over those decades.
The neighborhood's commercial base shrank sharply, leaving gaps that later development efforts tried to fill.
Woodlawn today has few neighborhood-serving businesses, which is both a problem and an opening for new entrants.
A new takeout kitchen is small evidence of whether that commercial vacuum can be filled as the Obama Center nears completion.
