Englewood is a neighborhood and community area located on theSouth Side ofChicago,Illinois, United States. It is also the 68th of the 77community areas in the city. At its peak population in 1960, over 97,000 people lived in its approximately 3 square miles (7.8 km2),[2] but the neighborhood's population has since dropped dramatically. In 2000, it had a population of approximately 40,000 inhabitants, and the 2010 census indicated that its population has further declined to approximately 30,000.[3] Englewood is bordered byGarfield Boulevard to the north, 75th Street to the south,Racine Avenue to the west, and an irregular border that bends along theMetra Railroad Tracks to the east. On the southwest side of Chicago liesWest Englewood, which is generally lumped in with Englewood by Chicagoans. Englewood, a low-incomeAfrican-American community, has a high rate of foreclosed properties due to the area's population drop.
Before 1850, Englewood was an oak forest with much swampland. In 1852 several railroad lines crossed at what became known as Junction Grove, stimulating the beginning of what we know today as Englewood. TheUnion Stock Yard provided employment to early residents. In 1868 Henry B. Lewis, a wool merchant in the Loop andBoard of Education member, suggested a new name from his association withEnglewood, New Jersey. In 1865, Junction Grove was annexed to theTown of Lake and to Chicago in 1889.[4] TheWorld's Columbian Exposition at nearbyJackson Park in 1893 led to real estate speculation and expansion of the community.[5]
The Englewood community[6] was largely defined by the Englewood Shopping Center at 63rd & Halsted, a large pedestrian mall. The City, social services, and mall management worked with community leaders and groups to integrate the mall with the community. It was the site of numerous community events, parades, outdoor concerts, live radio broadcasts and the like. This was spearheaded by the Englewood Business Men's Association and its director, Richard Drew; after Drew's death in 1978 the Center lost its major anchor tenants, includingSears Roebuck, and became a collection of smaller merchants.
In 1999, MayorRichard M. Daley announced a $256 million revitalization plan for the area. The keystone of the program is the relocation ofKennedy–King College to the former site of the Englewood Shopping Center. Shortly thereafter the city began an aggressive buyout and relocation program for mall merchants. The campus includes the Washburne Culinary Institute.[7] Groundbreaking for the new, 40-acre (16 ha) campus occurred on November 9, 2005, and it opened in 2007.[8][9]
Digital images of Englewood can be found in Explore Chicago Collections, a digital repository made available byChicago Collections archives, libraries and other cultural institutions in the city.[10]
Englewood has a community parade every year, which is geared towards preparing its deserving youth for a new school year. The Englewood Back To School Parade is held annually every 3rd Saturday in August. The parade was founded by Willie Pittman, the first licensed Black plumber in the city, in 1961.[11]
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In 2000, Englewood had apoverty rate of 44%, substantially higher than the overall poverty rate in Chicago of 20%.[13]
Based on census data collected by the city of Chicago in 2008–2012, the poverty rate for Englewood is 46.6% of households below poverty and 28% of people 16 years of age and older are unemployed.[14]
In 1960, Englewood had 67,216 African American residents who made up about 69% of its population. At the time most African Americans resided around 63rd Street. At the time the median income of Englewood was $5,579 ($59,298.06 adjusted for inflation).[15]
By 1980, the total population was 62,069, a loss of about 30,000 people in two decades; 99% of the people were black, and the white population was down to 818.[15] Edward McClelland ofNBC Chicago stated "Not even ethnic cleansing in the Balkans achieved the levels of turnover thatwhite flight in Chicago did."[16]
These communities have among the highest incidents of adolescent violence in the city, creating serious safety and public health concerns.[17]
Englewood is host to numerous publicly-operated educational institutions. Primary and secondary schools are operated byChicago Public Schools, while the community has post-secondary educational needs met at theKennedy–King College, which was relocated to Englewood in 2005 as part of revitalization efforts in the neighborhood. A public high school,Englewood STEM High School, was opened in September 2019 to serve students in the surrounding area.[19]
H.H. Holmes, serial killer and con artist who operated a"murder castle" at a corner of South Wallace Avenue and West 63rd Street. He was a resident of Englewood from 1886 to 1894.[30][31]
Willard Motley, African-American author. He was raised at 350 West 60th Street.[35]
Bernie Mac, actor and comedian. He was raised in Englewood near West 69th Street and South Sangamon Street.[36]
James Meeks (born 1956), pastor and former member of theIllinois Senate (2003–2013). He was raised in Englewood near West 64th Street and South Laflin Street.[37]
William T. Murphy (1899–1978), member of Congress from Illinois's 3rd congressional district (1959–1971). He resided at 6617 South Harvard Avenue during his time in Congress.[38]
Morgan F. Murphy, member of Congress from Illinois's 3rd congressional district. He graduated from Leo High School.[39]
^"New Kennedy-King College". Public Building Commission of Chicago. Archived fromthe original on June 5, 2013. RetrievedOctober 6, 2013. "Mayor Daley cut the ribbon to open Kennedy King College on July 18, 2007."
^Lucy Theodate Holmes, passport application, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795–1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original data: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906–IMarch 31, 1925; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1490, 2740 rolls); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
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