Chicago Lawn | |
|---|---|
| Community Area 66 – Chicago Lawn | |
 The 323-acre Marquette Park. | |
 Location within the city of Chicago | |
| Coordinates:41°46′N87°41′W / 41.767°N 87.683°W /41.767; -87.683 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Cook |
| City | Chicago |
| Neighborhoods | list
|
| Area | |
• Total | 3.49 sq mi (9.04 km2) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 55,931 |
| • Density | 16,000/sq mi (6,190/km2) |
| Demographics (2020)[1] | |
| • White | 2.4% |
| • Black | 39.7% |
| • Hispanic | 55.4% |
| • Asian | 0.5% |
| • Other | 1.9% |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Codes | parts of 60629 and 60636 |
| Median income 2020[1] | $36,278 |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | |
Chicago Lawn is one of the 77community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the southwest side of the city. Its community neighbors includeGage Park,West Englewood,Ashburn, andWest Lawn. It is bounded by theCSX andNorfolk Southern Railway tracks on the east, Central Park Avenue on the west, 59th Street on the north, and theBelt Railway of Chicago on the south, and is 13 km (8.1 mi) southwest of theLoop. Local citizens refer to the area as "Marquette Park," after thepark in its center.
The city of Chicago Lawn was founded by John F. Eberhart in 1871. Although it was annexed by the city of Chicago in 1889, it remained mostly farmland with some scattered settlements until the 1920s. Between 1920 and 1930 the population increased from 14,000 to 47,000. Residents ofGerman andIrish descent began to move into the area from theBack of the Yards andEnglewood neighborhoods.Poles,Bohemians, andLithuanians followed them. Most new residents belonged to various Protestant denominations, but Chicago Lawn also was home to many Roman Catholic churches and schools. Today, there are six Catholic institutions that make up the Marquette Park Catholic Campus Council. Chicago Lawn was a thriving urban neighborhood as theDepression hit the nation and by 1940 its population had reached 49,291. In 1941, theNational Biscuit Company announced plans to build a huge bakery in Chicago Lawn. When completed, this was the largest bakery in one location in the world. The size of the facility was doubled in the late 1990s.
TheLithuanian community has maintained a notable presence in the area by establishing a network of institutions that earned their community the label asthe Lithuanian Gold Coast. They formed some of the richest savings and loans in the city. TheLithuanian Sisters of Saint Casimir foundedHoly Cross Hospital in 1928 andMaria High School in 1952 (originally established as St. Casimir Academy in 1911). The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church was established in 1927 on the corner of 69th Street and Washtenaw Avenue. It was founded as a Lithuaniannational parish and services are still held inLithuanian. AnArt Deco monument was erected by Chicago'sLithuanian community inMarquette Park commemorating Lithuanian pilotsStasys Girėnas andSteponas Darius who died in the crash of theLituanica in 1933.
Chicago's changing racial demographics had a profound impact on Chicago Lawn. In the 1960s many of the white Americans had fled Englewood & West Englewood and Chicago Lawn became a target for civil rights groups' open housing marches during theCivil Rights Movement. In 1966, as part of theChicago Freedom Movement,Martin Luther King Jr. led a march into Marquette Park, where the marchers met a violent reaction. King himself was hit by a rock. Violence also erupted in the neighborhood whenGage Park High School attempted to integrate afterBrown v. Board of Education (1954). The1990 census still showednon-Hispanic whites as the largest demographic group by race, comprising 43% of the population.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 47,462 | — | |
| 1940 | 49,291 | 3.9% | |
| 1950 | 50,211 | 1.9% | |
| 1960 | 51,347 | 2.3% | |
| 1970 | 48,508 | −5.5% | |
| 1980 | 46,568 | −4.0% | |
| 1990 | 51,243 | 10.0% | |
| 2000 | 61,412 | 19.8% | |
| 2010 | 55,628 | −9.4% | |
| 2020 | 55,931 | 0.5% | |
| [2] | |||
However, over the next decade the racial composition of the neighborhood changed radically and by the2000 censusAfrican Americans had become the largest racial group comprising 53% of the population, withHispanic and Non-Hispanic whites groups accounting for 35% and 10% respectively. There are alsoJewish andPalestinian communities in the neighborhood. Some Irish, Poles, and Lithuanians still remain too, although most have moved further south and west. Many of the Lithuanians and Poles have reestablished their communities inLemont.
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By the 1920s Arabs immigrated to Chicago, and political turmoil in the decades following the 1948 creation of Israel brought more Palestinian Muslims to Chicago. Arab families live in Chicago Lawn and Gage Park Neighborhoods. Arab community founded Chicago Islamic Center and Mosque on 63rd. Many Middle Eastern store and restaurant near Mosque area. Arab families come fromPalestine,Jordan,Syria, andLebanon. In the 1950s,Palestinians with families moved out of their boardinghouses and shops and into apartments and homes just west of Chicago's "Black Belt." By the 1970s, they formed a concentrated residential community in Gage Park and Chicago Lawn, on the South Side, and had established a business district with stores catering to Arab clientele. Arab community founded Chicago Islamic Center and Mosque on 63rd. Many Middle Eastern store and restaurant near the Mosque area. Chicago's largest concentration of Palestinians still lives in these areas and in the communities to the south and west of them.
Chicago Public Schools operates public schools in the neighborhood.[3]
TheChicago Public Library Chicago Lawn Branch, dedicated on December 1, 1960, serves the community.[7]
The Chicago Lawn community area has supported theDemocratic Party in the past two presidential elections. In the2016 presidential election, the Chicago Lawn cast 13,959 votes forHillary Clinton and cast 609 votes forDonald Trump (93.87% to 4.10%).[8] In the2012 presidential election, Chicago Lawn cast 15,171 votes forBarack Obama and cast 682 votes forMitt Romney (95.24% to 4.28%).[9]
Notes
Further reading
Places adjacent to Chicago Lawn, Chicago | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
