Chicago - City of Broad Shoulders


This course is about Chicago, We will cover the history of the city and region, the politics, corruption, arts, plans, neighborhoods, humor, achievements and the future of the City.

Chicago Racial Demographics 1910-2000


Interesting to watch the changes in Chicago. In 1900 the neighborhoods were over 90% white.  A large portion of the south and west sides changed to primarily African-American, leading to the observations that Chicago was the most racially segregated city in America. 
In later years a major Hispanic movement changed the city again. And now a number of neighborhoods near in to the center of the city are gentrifying and are much more integrated. You can see this more easily by viewing each decades map by clicking the line near the bottom of the grahic.



Click below to read the article

Chicago Future and Plans






The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is the agency charged with planning for the seven county Illinois Metro area around Chicago. They also coordinate with planning efforts in the larger metro area into Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan.


The agency that leads the economic development of the City is the World Business Chicago:


The private organization that advocates for planning in the Chicago region is the Metropolitan Planning Council:




Mount Greenwood



The following was taken from Wikapedia  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Greenwood,_Chicago

Mount Greenwood is a predominantly Irish-Catholic neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago. It neighbors the Chicago neighborhoods of Beverly and Morgan Park to the east, the suburb of Evergreen Park to the north, the suburb of Oak Lawn to the west, and the suburbs ofMerrionette Park and Alsip to the south. Because of the presence of the cemeteries along the eastern edge of the neighborhood, the area was fictitiously said to have been known as "Seven Holy Tombs" before it was known as Mount Greenwood by author and playwright, John R. Powers in his fictionalized trilogy about growing up there. Mount Greenwood is about 14 miles (23 km) SW of the Loop.

Even though there were a small number of settlers in Mt. Greenwood, the origins of Mt. Greenwood began in 1817 when it was surveyed by George Waite. Mr. Waite established an area where he could trade with the local Native Americans. Mount Greenwood Cemetery was established around this time by Mr. Waite. With the cemetery came the saloons and restaurants and eventually tracks for horse and greyhound racing. The cemetery is also the final resting-place of Robert Haslam (1840-1912), who as a twenty-year-old immigrant from England became one of the most celebrated riders of the Pony Express mail service that operated from 1860-1861.

Mt. Greenwood became part of the city of Chicago in 1927. It was not until 1936 that the Works Progress Administration finally laid sewage systems, and paved and lighted city streets. As late as the 1960s, the Mount Greenwood Civic Association was still fighting the city for curbs and gutters. By the 1980s, Mount Greenwood was home to the last surviving farm in the city, which was developed as the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences at the southeast corner of 111th and Pulaski.

Mount Greenwood is home to many Chicago firefighters, police officers and union workers of Irishheritage. One of the more prominent and prolific families in Mount Greenwood at the turn of the 20th Century was that of James Dominic "Yank" Cunningham, born in Chicago in 1865. "Yank" operated a popular neighborhood saloon/restaurant and rooming house at 111th and Sacramento Streets, just across the way from Mount Olivet Cemetery. He died in 1907 at age 42, leaving a widow and eight children.

Most of Mt. Greenwood's population is also Roman Catholic. Most students in the neighborhood attend Catholic elementary schools and high schools. Mount Greenwood is home to two Catholic elementary schools, Queen of Martyrs andSt.Christina), three Catholic high schools (Brother Rice High School, Marist High School, and Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School) and a Catholic university (Saint Xavier University). Public grade schools in the area are Mt. Greenwood Elementary School and George F. Cassell Elementary School. Both are filled with neighborhood children.

Mount Greenwood, like many other Chicago neighborhoods, has its own branch of the Chicago Public Library. The library in this area looks identical to the Hegewisch Branch of the Chicago Public Library. The library has a significant Irish heritage collection.

The booming Mount Greenwood community was among the neighborhoods identified for park development in the Chicago Park District's Ten Year Plan to provide increased recreational opportunities in post-World War II Chicago. In 1946, the Mount Greenwood Civic Council urged the acquisition of vacant Board of Education land along 111th Street. The park district purchased the 24-acre site in 1949, and slowly began improving the property. The park district constructed a fieldhouse in 1966, and added a swimming pool in 1973. The 1990s brought further improvements. A soft surface playground featured an airport/train station-themed play area. A refrigerated ice skating rink provides winter recreation.

Several features of Mount Greenwood Park honor noted local citizens. A parking area is dedicated to Frederick G. Abrams, Sr. a Chicago Alderman and Treasurer of the Village of Mount Greenwood from 1918 to 1927. A baseball diamond bears the name Rooney Field, in honor of Rooney Richardson (--1982), who took an active role in community affairs. John R. Powers wrote a fictionalized trilogy of his experience growing up in Mount Greenwood in The Last Catholic in America (1973), Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up (1975?) and The Unoriginal Sinner and the ICE-CREAM GOD (1977). In his first novel, The Last Catholic in America Powers fictitiously wrote how the neighborhood was known as "Seven Holy Tombs" before it was Mt. Greenwood.

The school above is the Mt. Greenwood Elementary School in the far southwest side of Chicago. I graduated from Mt. Greenwood in 1962.

The following shots are housing on the perimeter of the school.


An older home north of the school.



Many of the homes were and are modest bungalows and cape cod.  Homes.  A typical 50's family would have raised four children in these homes. These homes would range from 2 to 3 bedrooms and perhaps 800 feet on the first floor. Some of them had a second floor for an additional 400 feet.


A nicer cape cod home included dormer windows to open up the second floor.



There has been significant investment in homes in Mt Greenwood.  A typical improvement would add a full second level to the original cape cod, often cantilevering over the first floor to pick up additional space.







Another nice improvement is the addition of large front porches to replace the original "stoop".






The home above adds a full second story and the front porch.



The home above illustrates an original brick bungalow on the right and a bungalow with a full second story added on the left.


The school has recently been substantially improved with a large addition and improved playground equipment. When we were there in the 1950's the playground was a large gravel lot with no equipment. Of course we also had to walk 3 miles uphill each way to school in blizzard conditions.



The front porch and flower baskets are a nice touch.




Mt Greenwood is somewhat unique in the south side of Chicago. Many City of Chicago employees are required to live in the City.  A large number of Police and Firemen have chosen Mt. Greenwood, which helps stabilize the community and maintain high property values.


Housing price on Zillow for the brick cape cod home below at 10900 and Trumbull near the Mt Greenwood School:



http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10900-S-Trumbull-Ave-Chicago-IL-60655/4083881_zpid/ 





The graph below is from Zillow.com and shows housing values. Like much of the rest of the United States bubble values peaked in 2007 and have declined since that time.




Lincoln Park



Video

http://www.hgtv.com/video/3-great-chicago-neighborhoods-video/index.html


In 1824 the United States Army built a small post near today's Clybourn Avenue and Armitage Avenue (formerly Centre Street). Indian settlements existed along Green Bay Trail, now called Clark Street (named after George Rogers Clark), at the current intersection of Halsted Street and Fullerton Avenue. Before Green Bay Trail became Clark Street, it stretched as far as Green Bay, Wisconsin, and was part of what still is Green Bay Avenue in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
In 1836, land from North to Fullerton and from the lake to Halsted was relatively inexpensive, costing $150 per acre ($370 ha) / 1836 prices, not adjusted for inflation). Because the area was considered remote, a small poxhospital and the city cemetery were located in Lincoln Park until the 1860s.
In 1837, Chicago was incorporated as a city, and North Avenue (to the south of today's Lincoln Park neighborhood) was established as its northern boundary. Settlements increased along Green Bay Trail when (1) the government offered land claims and (2) Green Bay Road was widened. The area north of Chicago, including today's Lincoln Park, was eventually incorporated as Lake View Township. The city, nonetheless, owned extensive tracts of land north of North Avenue, including what is the now the park. The Township was annexed to Chicago in 1889.
From 1896 to 1903, the original Ferris Wheel was located at a small amusement park near Clark and Wrightwood.[5] The site was from 2619 to 2665 N. Clark, which is now the location of a McDonald's and a high-rise residential building.[6]
The Biograph Theater on Lincoln avenue and (adjoining businesses) in 2008 redressed to appear as it did in 1934 for the film Public Enemies.
In 1968 a violent confrontation between demonstrators and police in Lincoln Park was avoided during the week of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
"I pointed out that it was in the best interests of the City to have us in Lincoln Park ten miles away from the Convention hall. I said we had no intention of marching on the Convention hall, that I didn't particularly think that politics in America could be changed by marches and rallies, that what we were presenting was an alternative life style, and we hoped that people of Chicago would come up, and mingle in Lincoln Park and see what we were about."
Abbie Hoffman from the Chicago 7 trial[7]

  1. Lincoln Park, Chicago - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Park,_Chicago‎
    Lincoln Park, is one of the 77 Community areas of Chicago, USA, situated on its north side. Named after Lincoln Park, a vast park bordering Lake Michigan, ...
    ‎History - ‎Ethnic Composition - ‎Famous Residents - ‎Community area
    You visited this page on 10/22/13.

  2. Images for lincoln park chicago

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  3. Lincoln Park Zoo | Chicago | Free and Open to All, 365 days a Year!

    www.lpzoo.org/‎
    A leader in animal conservation and care, Lincoln Park Zoo connects people with nature through a free, family-oriented wildlife experience.
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  4. Lincoln Park | Chicago Park District

    www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/lincoln-park/‎
    Lincoln Park lies along the lakefront from Ohio Street Beach in the Streeterville neighborhood, northward to Ardmore Avenue in Edgewater. The section of ...
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  5. Lincoln Park - Lincoln Park - Chicago, IL - Yelp

    www.yelp.com › Active Life › Parks‎
     Rating: 4 - ‎50 reviews
    50 Reviews of Lincoln Park "Been here several times. It's a huge beautiful park with lots of trees and flowers. The kids area is nice. Can't beat a beautiful park by ...

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      crime.chicagotribune.com/chicago/community/lincoln-park‎
      Summary. Crime reports in Lincoln Park, Sept. 13 - Oct. 13, 20131. Click on crime types to show only those dots on the map.

    2. Top 10 Things to Do in Lincoln Park - Chicago - About.com

      chicago.about.com › Local › Chicago › Chicago and Illinois History‎
      Find ten great things to experience when you visit Lincoln Park inChicago.

    3. Lincoln Park - Chicago - Reviews of Lincoln Park - TripAdvisor

      www.tripadvisor.com › ... › Chicago › Things to Do in Chicago‎
       Rating: 4.5 - ‎84 reviews
      Lincoln Park, Chicago: See 84 reviews, articles, and 38 photos of Lincoln Park, ranked No.34 on TripAdvisor among 354 attractions in Chicago.

    4. Lincoln Park restaurants, bars, events & music | Metromix Chicago

      chicago.metromix.com/neighborhood/lincoln-park‎
      Metromix Picks - in Lincoln Park. Image__3_. COMEDY NIGHT WITH MTVS WILDNOUT WILL " SPANK" HORTON. Date: Wed., Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m.. READ MORE.

    5. Lincoln Park neighborhood guide - Chicago neighborhoods

      yochicago.com/chicago-neighborhoods/Lincoln-Park‎
      Chicago's Lincoln Park (Area 7) is one of the 77 communities into which the city is officially divided. Lincoln Park's boundaries are North Ave (1600 N) on the ...

    6. Lincoln Park-Old Town travel guide - Wikitravel

      wikitravel.org/en/Chicago/Lincoln_Park-Old_Town‎
      Open source travel guide to Lincoln Park-Old Town, featuring up-to-date information on attractions, hotels, restaurants, nightlife, travel tips and more. Free and ...
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