Two years after graduating from the University of Chicago, Danny Lyon spent several months photographing the residents of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, dubbed "Hillbilly Heaven." Known for his immersive and active participation, Lyon gained the trust of the families he followed, showcasing them in images that highlighted the community's pride outside of their hardships.

Uptown was first exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1966 and was Lyon's first independent exhibition at a major institution. The show was curated by Hugh Edwards, the Institute's photography curator and mentor of Lyon, who had even lent him a Rolleiflex camera for the project.

Since then, Uptown has been featured in Lyon's solo exhibitions across the globe, including Pictures from the New World at the Philadelphia Art Museum in 1982, Danny Lyon: Photographs and Films at the Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver, in 1985, and Danny Lyon: Photo/Film held in 1991 at the Folkwang Museum in Germany. Most recently, it was exhibited in Danny Lyon's career retrospective, Message to the Future, held at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2016.