East Side, Chicago
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Community Area 52 - East Side Location within the city of Chicago |
||
| Latitude Longitude |
||
| Neighborhoods |
|
|
| ZIP Code | parts of 60617 | |
| Area | 7.25 km² (2.80 mi²) | |
| Population (2000) Density |
23,653 (up 15.66% from 1990) 3,261.6 /km² |
|
| Demographics | hispanic Black white Asian Other |
68.1% 1.02% 29.4% 0.24% 1.23% |
| Median income | $80,724 | |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | ||
East Side is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the far south side of the city, between the Calumet River and the Illinois-Indiana state line. The neighborhood has its own park on Lake Michigan, Calumet Park, and its own forest preseve, Eggers Grove Forest Preserve, which neighborhood residents usually call Eggers Woods. It is served by U.S. Highway 12, U.S. Highway 20, and U.S. Highway 41, which are multiplexed in this neighborhood. The neighborhood is served by George Washington High School.
The East Side, until recently, was socially and economically dominated by the Calumet River and the jobs it supported. The river formed the once-thriving industrial Port of Chicago. A cluster of riverside docks and slips allowed materials of all sorts to be loaded and unloaded onto adjacent railroad lines, and the river itself was lined with steel mills. Republic Steel began operations here in 1901. The Republic mill was the site of frequent union unrest, culminating in the Memorial Day Massacre of 1937 and the successful drive by the United Steelworkers to organize the Chicago mills.
Many of the neighborhood's residents duiring this period were families of Croatian and Serbian heritage, who had emigrated from Europe to work in the steel mills and take related jobs. Especially after unionization, the neighborhood became a stronghold of the Chicago Democratic Party machine of Mayor Richard J. Daley. The neighborhood's longtime alderman, Edward Vrdolyak, became a noted Chicago "power broker" after the senior Daley's death.
In the 1950s, the East Side was divided in two by the Chicago Skyway. The riverside steel mills and heavy industries went into serious decline in 1970-2000, and are no longer the mainstay of the neighborhood.
The East Side today is oriented towards light industry and service jobs. As of 2006, the neighborhood is increasingly Hispanic in ethnic heritage. The presence of Calumet Park and Eggers Woods will be a key factor in the future of the East Side.
[edit] Trivia
At the northeastern corner of the neighborhood, close to Lake Michigan, stands a stone obelisk raised about 1830 by Illinois and Indiana to mark the northern end of the surveyed boundary line that separates the two states.
Most of the streets going north and south are named after the alphabet, with Avenue A closest to the Indiana state line and Avenue O closer to the Calumet River. The neighborhood is sometimes often called "Alphabet Town," like Manhattan's Alphabet City.
| City of Chicago |  |
|---|---|
| Geography • Climate • Government • History • Places and Landmarks • Colleges and Universities • Public Schools • Sports • Community Areas • Neighborhoods • Economy • Parks • Metropolitan Area |
