The neighborhood now known as Austin began in 1864 as a development by Henry Austin. It was built at the first stop on the Chicago and Galena Railroad as a farm town, and was called "Austinville." Austin set about attracting industry to his town, and it developed, paradoxically, into both a bedroom community for commuters, and an industrial town in its on right. It was annexed to Chicago in 1889.

Deindustralization has hit Austin hard in recent decades, and now the mostly African-American community suffers from high unemployment. It is that vulnerability that Wal-Mart exploited in 2004 to woo 37^th ward alderman Emma Mitts and cause her to fight for the approval for one of their stores. Despite a heroic effort by unions and community groups, Mitts and Wal-Mart were successful in city hall and a Wal-Mart store will be built on the site of the old Helene Curtis factory at Grand and Kilpatrick. It will be the only Wal-Mart store in the City of Chicago

Below are photographs of the site of the old factory and its vicinity. Note that Mitt's argument that there is no retail in the community is quite hollow, as there are already a number of establishments in the area.