Li'l Cop
Remembering KGst, 1 of 5
This card was given to me in late 1986 by an ex-Royal. He went to Von Steuben in the mid 70s, so that's probably a good estimation for how old the card is. I don't know how long the Royals held sway at Pulaski-Peterson, but by the early 80s they had resettled themselves a block away at Keystone-Glenlake. This was a judicious move. At Pulaski-Peterson they did have the benefit of scoping out the chicks from the girls' high school that used to be on the corner, but the intersection proved to be too congested and noisy for gang members to operate. On the other hand, Keystone-Glenlake was the ideal refuge. Surrounded by wholesale companies and blue-collar businesses that closed by 5PM, it was the perfect shelter for the world-weary thug looking to get away from the pressures of daily gangbanging life. With no nearby rivals whatsoever to distract them, they could congregate by the railroad track and drink their beer and smoke their weed in almost total isolation. In fact, aside from a few visible streetside tags, it was almost impossible for anyone passing by on either Pulaski or Peterson to ever know they were there.
One of the more prominent KGst soldiers was Stone, who must have joined after this card was made. His prolific artwork could be found in the early to mid 80s along the train tracks in the manufacturing district that stretched all the way down to Bryn Mawr, as well as up around the old Zayre retail store on McCormick and Lincoln. (There was a 500-foot gangway between the Zayre and the postal office that was full of Royals' graffiti...and a lot of broken bottles too. Once in a while other Folk gangs like the IGs and SCs would come by and help the Royals with their "exterior decorating".)
As a result of all the Royals' activity, two satellite sections sprang up near KGst. One was a half mile down Pulaski at Brynford Park (BPRs). This was mainly just midgets with markers, and managed to last a year or two. The other was a half mile down Peterson at Central Park (PCPst). This offshoot was a little more successful, lasting from around 1984 to 1986. These Royals painted many black-and-blue masterpieces in the alleys on either side of Peterson, and usually hung out in Peterson Park.
By the early 1990s the original Royals had vacated Keystone-Glenlake. Although they are long gone and the neighborhood's been relatively quiet ever since, it's apparently still considered a violent and crime-ridden area because there's a "pig eye" right on the corner.
I remember I had asked the guy who gave me this card how he got into the gang, and he gave me a cryptic answer: "You gotta ask around."
Remembering KGst, 1 of 5
This card was given to me in late 1986 by an ex-Royal. He went to Von Steuben in the mid 70s, so that's probably a good estimation for how old the card is. I don't know how long the Royals held sway at Pulaski-Peterson, but by the early 80s they had resettled themselves a block away at Keystone-Glenlake. This was a judicious move. At Pulaski-Peterson they did have the benefit of scoping out the chicks from the girls' high school that used to be on the corner, but the intersection proved to be too congested and noisy for gang members to operate. On the other hand, Keystone-Glenlake was the ideal refuge. Surrounded by wholesale companies and blue-collar businesses that closed by 5PM, it was the perfect shelter for the world-weary thug looking to get away from the pressures of daily gangbanging life. With no nearby rivals whatsoever to distract them, they could congregate by the railroad track and drink their beer and smoke their weed in almost total isolation. In fact, aside from a few visible streetside tags, it was almost impossible for anyone passing by on either Pulaski or Peterson to ever know they were there.
One of the more prominent KGst soldiers was Stone, who must have joined after this card was made. His prolific artwork could be found in the early to mid 80s along the train tracks in the manufacturing district that stretched all the way down to Bryn Mawr, as well as up around the old Zayre retail store on McCormick and Lincoln. (There was a 500-foot gangway between the Zayre and the postal office that was full of Royals' graffiti...and a lot of broken bottles too. Once in a while other Folk gangs like the IGs and SCs would come by and help the Royals with their "exterior decorating".)
As a result of all the Royals' activity, two satellite sections sprang up near KGst. One was a half mile down Pulaski at Brynford Park (BPRs). This was mainly just midgets with markers, and managed to last a year or two. The other was a half mile down Peterson at Central Park (PCPst). This offshoot was a little more successful, lasting from around 1984 to 1986. These Royals painted many black-and-blue masterpieces in the alleys on either side of Peterson, and usually hung out in Peterson Park.
By the early 1990s the original Royals had vacated Keystone-Glenlake. Although they are long gone and the neighborhood's been relatively quiet ever since, it's apparently still considered a violent and crime-ridden area because there's a "pig eye" right on the corner.
I remember I had asked the guy who gave me this card how he got into the gang, and he gave me a cryptic answer: "You gotta ask around."