Every time I watch the opening credits of the classic TV sitcom, “Good Times,” I’m always reminded that the housing projects shown are no longer there. The notorious Cabrini Green projects were demolished in 2011. The Evans family lived in one of those buildings, but the housing project they lived in was never mentioned by name. But those of us who grew up in Chicago knew exactly where they were.

When I was a child, my family also lived in the projects. Cabrini Green was on the near north side. We lived on the west side of Rockwell Gardens. Those buildings were demolished at the beginning of this century. Our apartment was similar to the one the Evans family lived in, although our front room was not as spacious as theirs. There were two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a tiny bathroom, and a severe lack of closet space. There’s not enough room for a divorced single mom with three kids, but we made it work.

My family had moved on from the projects long before “Good Times” premiered on CBS in 1974. But we still had memories of everyday life there. The issues about smashed washers and dryers in the laundry room, broken elevators, gang wars causing people to hide in their apartments, etc., were true. But other things that happened in that series did not always reflect reality.

One of the curious aspects of the show was how everyone from family members to next door neighbor Wilona Woods could walk into the Evans’ home without knocking. I know it’s a common television trope. It’s done because it’s often too time-consuming and/or boring to show characters that open doors for visitors, especially if it’s a person they know well. But most people who have lived in the projects would agree with me that the front doors to those apartments were generally locked at all times. Leaving the door open all the time would have been like putting up signs saying, “Please come in and take what you want.” It just wasn’t done.

Bookman was the obnoxious custodian whose character was added to the show during the second season. Bookman seemed to have a lot of power, including being able to evict families. Custodians are, of course, required to report any unusual conditions they find to management. But I never knew that the janitor in our old building had any authority other than cleaning. In fact, I remember tenants always giving the concierge a hard road and complaining about cleanliness issues.

I recently watched a replay of an episode in which Thelma had won a scholarship to a prestigious, predominantly white, all-girls high school located in Michigan. A member of one of the school’s sororities showed up at the apartment to convince Thelma to commit to them. The Evans quickly realized that the sorority only wanted Thelma as a token member because she was African American. There were so many things wrong with that scenario outside of racism. The sorority member, a blonde teenage girl, who was obviously from an upper middle class or wealthy background, would not have been caught dead in the projects in the past. Not everyone who lived in the projects was criminal or very poor, for that matter. But the only whites I saw who dared to venture into the projects were social workers, insurance agents, and the police. Stories about the housing projects being dangerous and violent places kept everyone else away.

After Thelma turned down the invitation to join the sorority, the sorority girl decided to leave the family with one last goodbye shot. She told them that they were lucky they didn’t send another sorority girl to see Thelma because that particular girl hated African Americans. JJ slammed the door behind the sorority girl. In reality, that girl would have been cursed or worse for being stupid enough to express racial discrimination in an area where she was a minority at the time.

I still enjoy watching “Good Times” reruns, but I always have to weigh what life was really like on the projects versus the Hollywood version.