Humboldt Park, Chicago
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Community Area 23 - Humboldt Park Location within the city of Chicago |
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| ZIP Code | parts of 60622, 60624, 60639, 60647, 60651 | |
| Area | 9.38 km² (3.62 mi²) | |
| Population (2000) Density |
65,836 (down 4.51% from 1990) 7,021.9 /km² |
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| Demographics | White Black Hispanic Asian Other |
3.32% 47.7% 48.0% 0.36% 0.91% |
| Median income | $28,728 | |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | ||
Humboldt Park located on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. The name may be used to describe the area as a community or the actual 207 acre (0.8 km²) park itself. The neighborhood has a diverse population and is home to a high concentration of Puerto Ricans.
In conventional use, the neighborhood's borders include Western Avenue to the east, Pulaski Road to the west, Armitage Avenue to the North and Chicago Avenue to the south. The Humboldt Park Community Area, which many statistics about the area refer to, is west of that area; its borders are the Belt Railway on the west, just east of Cicero Avenue; the Union Pacific tracks to the south, along Kinzie Street; Bloomingdale Avenue on the north; and Humboldt Boulevard, Humboldt Park, and Sacramento Boulevard on the east. The railyards southeast of Grand and Sacramento are also part of the Community Area.
The park was named for Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist famed for his five-volume work, "Cosmos: Draft of a Physical Description of The World". Interestingly enough, his single visit to the United States did not include Chicago. The creation of Humboldt and several other west side parks provided beauty, linked together via Chicago's historic boulevard system. The park is flanked by large graystone homes.
Most of the neighborhood was annexed into the city in 1869, the year the park was laid out. The fact that this area stood just beyond the city's fire code jurisdiction as set out after the 1871 fire made inexpensively built housing possible.
As soon as the 1950s, Puerto Ricans settled the area. The infamous Division Street Riots resulted in the start of organizations for Puerto Rican rights in 1966. The Our Lady of the Angels School Fire occurred at the Our Lady of Angels School on December 1, 1958 in the Humboldt Park area. The school, which was operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, lost 92 students and three nuns in five classrooms on the second floor.
The 1970s saw troubled times for Humboldt Park. Gang activity, crime, and violence predominated the area. The neighborhood continues to be economically depressed, with housing values below the city-wide average. Overcrowding remains a serious problem. However, the neighborhood's Puerto Rican population, in the face of gentrification, remains insistent on keeping and expanding a community through many housing, political, social, and economic initiatives like the Paseo Boricua business corridor on Division St between Western and California avenues where two 59 foot steel gateway-like Puerto Rican flags are planted.
[edit] Education
Chicago Public Schools serves the area.
Orr High School and Roberto Clemente High School serve predominantly Hispanic and African-American student bodies.
[edit] Movie
Humboldt Park starring Freddy Rodriquez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina, Jay Hernandez, Ramses Jimenez, Luis Guzman, Melonie Diaz, Vanessa Ferlito and Elizabeth Pena. Release date: 2009, Studio Overture films, Synopsis: Story revolves around the return of three siblings to their parents' home for the holidays in Humboldt Park on Chicago's Northwest side.
[edit] External links
- Official City of Chicago Humboldt Park Community Map
- Chicago Park District
- Humboldt Park Arts, Culture, Gentrification, Immigration
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