On Sept. 19, a bus full of tourists and residents took part in a different kind of architectural tour. Emmy-award winning historian Sherman “Dilla” Thomas narrated a two-hour tour through Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
The event was a fundraiser for The Neighborhood Bridge, a not-for-profit founded in 2023 to help West Side residents reach their full potential by connecting them to available human services. TNB works with existing partners to deliver a range of services, including primary and mental healthcare, housing assistance, financial counseling and household budgeting, job training, computer competency and violence prevention.
Prentice Butler, executive director of the organization, says a lot of thought went into this year’s fundraiser. “I wanted to create a unique opportunity for supporters and friends of The Neighborhood Bridge to see the area we serve. We’ve all been to plenty of galas. This is something different.”
Butler had attended a number of Dilla Thomas’ tours in the past and says of the Chicago-centric historian, “He’s amazing. I love the way that he brings life to history. He keeps the discussion lively and gives you the kind of facts you wouldn’t get anywhere else.”
In choosing to use Chicago’s Mahogany Tours for the event, Butler intentionally supported another Chicago-based business.
Along with the tour, Butler is looking forward to sharing more information about the five Austin-area schools that The Neighborhood Bridge supports and thinks the tour-as-fundraiser model will help donors be able to conceptualize Austin in a way that a more traditional fundraiser might not.
The tour is sold out, but based on the strong interest, Butler says it’s possible another tour might be on the horizon in 2027.
One attendee who was lucky enough to score a ticket is looking forward to getting back across Austin Boulevard for a deeper dive into the community. John Lillig was excited to learn about the tour from his parish, Ascension St. Edmund. He says, “The Neighborhood Bridge is doing wonderful, wonderful work. This really interested me.”
Lillig grew up in Austin and briefly lived there as a young adult, moving back into his family home with his wife and young children in the 1970s. He says part of the draw was the chance to take a tour with Dilla Thomas, while another part of his interest lay in his long roots to Austin.
He recalls as a child in the 1950s that a family friend on North Lockwood had African American neighbors. “Austin was all white at the time,” says Lillig. As an adult, he researched the Black family and discovered they had lived in Austin since 1900.
“I wondered, what was life like for them in the early 1900s? Did they go to public schools? What kind of churches did they go to?” says Lillig
He notes that while the tour will cover Austin’s hidden gems and architecturally interesting spots, he thinks seeing homes like these will also be interesting. “It’s not a hidden gem or an architectural wonder, but it tells the story of Austin.”
Today, Lillig says there’s been a lot of focus on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Walser House, recently purchased by Austin Coming Together, and the neighborhood that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson calls home. Lillig remembers an Austin that is rich in history and stories, including a home that hosted a music school, an empty lot that once was the location of a house of “ill repute,” and the southwest area of Austin that boasted a large Jewish population.
Lillig is bringing his cousin, who also grew up in Austin and lives in Austin, on the bus tour with him. He says he looks forward to engaging with the neighborhood where his parents lived and died and learning more about the people who have called and continue to call Austin home.
Nominate your bungalow
The Chicago Bungalow Association is accepting nominations for its annual Driehaus Bungalow Awards through Sept. 23, 2026. Created 22 years ago with the support of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the awards celebrate home improvement projects, large or small, completed on brick Chicago-style bungalows located in the City of Chicago.
Fourteen winners will receive a $1,500 cash prize and a copper plaque commemorating the award.
First place and runner-up awards are given in seven categories: exterior rehabilitation, interior rehabilitation, interior restoration, window restoration, small project, green project and landscape design.
For more information or to enter, visit: www.chicagobungalow.org
