West Ridge, Chicago

West Ridge
—  Community area  —
Community Area 02 - West Ridge
Location within the city of Chicago
Streetmap
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Illinois
County Cook
City Chicago
Neighborhoods
Area
 • Total 3.5 sq mi (9.14 km2)
Population (2000)
 • Total 73,199
 • Density 20,742.3/sq mi (8,008.6/km2)
  population up 11.97% from 1990
Demographics
 • White 49.7%
 • Black 6.78%
 • Hispanic 15.5%
 • Asian 22.3%
 • Other 5.65%
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes 60645 and parts of 60659
Median income $41,144
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

West Ridge is one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is a middle class neighborhood located on the far North Side of the City of Chicago. It is located in the 50th Ward. Also historically called North Town, it is bordered on the north by Howard Street, on the east by Ridge Boulevard, Western Avenue, and Ravenswood Avenue, the south by Bryn Mawr Avenue and Peterson Avenue, and on the west by Kedzie Avenue and the North Shore channel of the Chicago River. At one time joined with neighboring Rogers Park, it separated in the 1890s over a conflict concerning park districts (known as the Cabbage War.) Today West Ridge is one of Chicago's better off communities, filled with thriving multi-ethnic culture lining Devon Avenue, historic mansions lining Ridge and Lunt Avenues, cultural institutions such as St. Scholastica Academy and one of the highest per capita incomes on the North Side of Chicago. It had represented in the Chicago City Council by Alderman Bernard Stone from 1973 until May 2011. On April 5th, 2011 Alderman Debra Silverstein defeated Stone in a runoff election[1] and now represents the 50th Ward, which encompasses West Ridge.

It is home to the Midwest's largest Hasidic community, as well as other Jewish, Irish American, German-American, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Assyrian, Russian, and Korean immigrant communities.

Contents

Golden Ghetto

The Golden Ghetto is bounded on the north by Warren Park and Pratt Avenue and on the south by Peterson Avenue. It acquired its name from the thriving Jewish community there from about 1930 to the mid-1970s. That community began to drift into the suburbs in the 1960s, and the neighborhood began to be home to South Asians and Russian Jews from about that time.

The heyday of the area is the topic of Adam Langer's Crossing California, told from the perspective of the second-generation residents during their middle school and teenage years.

Schools

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Chicago Public Schools operates public schools.

Private schools

References

  1. ^ "Election results Stone v. Silverstein". http://www.chicagoelections.com/pctlevel3.asp?Ward=50&elec_code=24&race_number=23. Retrieved 18 May 2011. 
  2. ^ "Home." Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Retrieved on February 5, 2011. "2828 West Pratt Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60645."
  3. ^ Banas, Casey. "SCHOOL MAY REOPEN TO EASE CROWDING." Chicago Tribune. July 17, 1985. Chicagoland 4. Retrieved on February 5, 2011. "Neumann School, a private school for emotionally disturbed children,[...]"
  4. ^ "General Information." Tzemach Tzedek Elementary School. Retrieved on February 5, 2011.

External links

Chicago portal
Illinois portal