User:Vincent J. Romano

Vince Romano Vince grew up in and is a product of the Legendary Taylor Street…Chicago’s Little It-aly…the port-of-call for Chicago’s Italian American emigrants. Like many first genera-tion Italian American’s, his identity was, in-part, the creation of the neighborhood and its institutions.

Among those institutions was the Jane Addams Hull House, America’s first settlement house. The Taylor-Halsted area became known as “The Hull House Neighborhood.” As early as 1895, Jane Addams and Ellen Starr described the inner core of the Hull House neighborhood as wall-to-wall Italians.

Later, armed with his post graduate courses, Vince hired on as a social worker with the Hull House. He also served as a counselor for the Hull House summer camp, the Bowen Country Club. Reversing roles, he now became a contributor to the fashioning of identi-ties of waves of first and second generation Italian Americans that followed him.

It is from this unique perspective, which evolved from having been both the recipient of and contributor to that Taylor Street phenomenon, which sets Vince aside from most writers of the Italian American experience. Vincent Romano is uniquely qualified as a writer of the Italian American experience!

The Taylor Street Archives reflects his distinctive perspective of a time, a place and a people that were and will never be again. While lacking political correctness it strives for historical accuracy. The Taylor Street Archives was designed to go beyond family values and the work ethic so often espoused by those who report the Italian American experi-ence.

Former President of the Gregorians, an Association of Italian American Educators, Vince left the college ranks in 1983. He entered the Financial Services industry. Holding the title of Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley, he is the senior member of the Romano Group, which services the financial needs of businesses and the investment needs of indi-viduals.