Near West Side, Chicago
Encyclopedia
The Near West Side, one of the 77 defined community areas
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...

 of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, is located (west of the Chicago River
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...

), adjacent to the downtown central business district (the Loop
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...

). The rich history of the Near West Side of Chicago has its genesis in the Hull House
Hull House
Hull House is a settlement house in the United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located in the Near West Side of , Hull House opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull...

 phenomenon. It was at the turn of the nineteenth century that Jane Addams and Ellen Starr chose the Near West Side slums to found America's first settlement house. The world renowned Nobel Peace Prize winner labeled that immigrant community, "The Hull House Neighborhood." Once a bubbling cauldron of European immigrants, its business districts:--(Greek Town, Maxwell Street and Little Italy)--remain as vestiges of the mass migration from southern Europe during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century. Only the Italian enclave continues to endure as a vibrant on-going community. Taylor Street Archives

United Center

In the center of the neighborhood is the United Center. The arena opened its doors in 1994, replacing Chicago Stadium. The United Center is the home arena for the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

 and the Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

, and also occasionally hosts concerts and other special events. The arena cost $175 million dollars to construct and is 960000 square feet (89,186.9 m²) in size. The venue can seat between 20,000 and 25,000 people, depending on the event. Outside the Center is the Michael Jordan Statue
Michael Jordan statue
The Michael Jordan statue, officially known as The Spirit , is a bronze sculpture by Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany outside the United Center in the Near West Side community area of Chicago...

.

Little Italy

The eastern end of Little Italy encompasses about 12 blocks on Taylor Street and the nearby area. The neighborhood lies between the Illinois Medical District and the UIC campus. Many suburban Italians, whose roots trace back to Taylor Street—the port-of-call for the majority of Italians who immigrated to Chicago from the shores of southern Italy—maintain a regular pilgrimage to "the old neighborhood." For many, the lure is attending mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii and/or the annual celebrations of Italian food and culture. The memberships of the surviving Social Athletic Clubs (The Old Neighborhood Clubs) are swelled on the week-ends by the men who once resided in the neighborhood. Taylor Street's Little Italy is home to the landmark restaurants Rosebud, Pompei and Francesca's. Those coming for the full Italian-American experience should enjoy a visit to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (and nearby Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...

 plaza), a frozen lemonade
Italian ice
Italian ice, also known as water ice, is a sweetened frozen dessert made with fruit or other natural or artificial food flavorings, similar to sorbet. Italian ice is not shaved ice that is flavored; rather, it is made by the same process by which ice cream is made: freezing the ingredients while...

 from Mario's Italian Lemonade, a beef
Italian beef
An Italian beef is a sandwich of thin slices of seasoned roast beef, dripping with meat juices, on a dense, long Italian-style roll, believed to have originated in Chicago, where its history dates back at least to the 1930s...

 at Al's No. 1 Italian Beef, a visit to Conte di Savoia Italian grocer and deli, buy some pasta and cannoli at Scafuri's bakery, and stroll in Arrigo (Peanut) Park to see the statue of Columbus.

University Village

University Village is a renamed near west Chicago community consisting of newly constructed residential and retail properties. The University Village/Little Italy community cherishes its rich past as one of the first neighborhoods of Chicago. The community is home to mixed-income residents from ethnically diverse socio-economic backgrounds as a result of immigration, urban renewal, gentrification and the growth of the resident student and faculty population of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

University Village, Chicago, consists of major new residential developments over old known Chicago neighborhoods. One such development is the Ivy Hall development, over the area once known as the Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the...

 neighborhood. This development took one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago and made it into a middle- to upper-class income area.

The University Commons development and University Station were created from the defunct South Water Market, historically known as the distribution point for Chicago's produce and agriculture market. The Roosevelt Square development was created over the remains of the now demolished public housing area that was under the auspices of the Chicago Housing Authority called the ABLA homes.

University Village, Chicago also includes the established neighborhood of Little Italy, with a rich history of its own.

University Village surrounds the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...

 campus to the south and west. The Illinois Medical District borders the area on the west. The BNSF viaduct is the southern border, the Dan Ryan expressway I-94 borders the area on the east.

Tri-Taylor

Tri-Taylor, the western end of Taylor Street's Little Italy consists of the area bordered by Congress Parkway to the North, the diagonal Ogden Avenue to the East, Roosevelt Road
Roosevelt Road
Roosevelt Road is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only one mile south of Madison Street...

 on the south and railroad tracks on the west. It is shaped vaguely like a triangle and hence "Tri-Taylor." The neighborhood is traditionally an extension of the Little Italy neighborhood to its east, although it has consistently been one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago as it was situated on the borders of African American, Irish, Hispanic, and Italian areas. Recently it has been composed mostly of students from nearby the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...

 (UIC). The neighborhood is also home to the Chicago Technology Park research center as well as the West Side Center for Disease Control, the office for the Medical Examiner of Cook County, and the Chicago Hope Academy (a private high school which opened in 2005). This area has a great residential location not far from places like the Illinois Medical District, Downtown Chicago, the Interstate 290, Rush University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Greektown

The Greektown
Greektown, Chicago
Greektown is a dining and nightlife district on the Near West Side of the American city of Chicago, Illinois. It is one of many neighborhoods that make up the Near West Side community area, and is popular with tourists and Chicago residents alike....

section of Chicago is located roughly between Van Buren and Madison Streets
Madison Street (Chicago)
Madison Street is a major east-west street in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to human intervention, the Chicago River emptied into Lake Michigan at the present day intersection of Madison Street and Michigan Avenue....

, along Halsted Street
Halsted Street
Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the American city of Chicago, Illinois.-Location:In Chicago's grid system, Halsted street marks 800 West, one mile west of State Street, from Grace Street in Lakeview south to the city limits at the Little Calumet River in West Pullman...

, within the Near West Side community area of Chicago. It was popularized in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which was actually filmed mostly in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. The neighborhood is known for its plethora of excellent Greek restaurants, including the famous Parthenon, and its 24 hour foodspots.

Maxwell Street

This served as a huge outdoor market frequented by many Chicago residents. In the 1990s it was redeveloped.

West Loop

The West Loop is in the Near West Side community area along the western bank of the Chicago River. It is bounded by Grand Avenue on the north, the Ashland Avenue on the west, the Eisenhower Expressway on the south and the Chicago River on the east.
A former manufacturing corridor turned art-edgy neighborhood, the area consists primarily of warehouses that are still in use or have been converted to loft condominiums (loftominiums), restaurants, night clubs, art galleries, and some retail. It is also the home of Harpo Studios
Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey . It also includes Harpo Films & Harpo Radio, Inc....

, owned by well known talk show host Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...

, and the production site of her syndicated television show.

Fulton River District


The Fulton River District makes up the north east area of the Near West Side, just west of the Loop. It is bordered by the Chicago River to the east, Ohio Street on the north, Madison Street to the south, and the Kennedy Expressway
Kennedy Expressway
The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a long highway that travels northwest from the Chicago Loop to O'Hare International Airport. The expressway is named for the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. The Interstate 90 portion of the Kennedy is a part of the much longer I-90...

 to the west. The Fulton River District is a former manufacturing and current transportation corridor turned residential neighborhood. The neighborhood is made up of warehouses that have been converted to loft condominiums, new construction high rise condominiums and apartments, high rise and mid rise business offices, retail and restaurants. The Fulton River District is also the home of The Boeing Company
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

, and the Ogilvie Transportation Center
Ogilvie Transportation Center
The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center is a passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, serving the three commuter rail lines of Metra's Union Pacific District, which approach the terminal elevated above street level. It occupies the lower floors of the Citigroup Center...

 (formerly Chicago & North Western Station), a major commuter rail terminal. The neighborhood is known for the scent of chocolate emanating from the Blommer Chocolate Company.

Illinois Medical District

The Illinois Medical District
Illinois Medical District
The Illinois Medical District is a special-use zoning district on the Near West Side of Chicago. It was designated as such by an act of the Illinois General Assembly in 1941. The District is bounded on the north by Congress Parkway, on the east by Ashland Avenue, on the west by Oakley Boulevard...

 is one of the largest medical district in the United States, formerly the largest. John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly known as Cook County Hospital), one of the largest county-run hospitals in the U.S. and inspiration for the TV shows ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

and The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...

, is located here. The District had its start in the 1870s when Cook County Hospital, Rush Medical College, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons were established on the Near West Side following the great Chicago fire of 1871. The cornerstone for the Medical Center was the building of Cook County Hospital in 1876. In 1877, Rush Medical College erected a building next to County at Harrison and Wood. Presbyterian Hospital (affiliated with Rush) was built in 1883. The University of Illinois at Chicago's origins in the District can be traced to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, founded in 1881. In 1917, the State acquired the vacated West Side Park
West Side Park
West Side Park was the name used for two different baseball parks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League. Both parks witnessed championship baseball...

 located at Polk and Wolcott for the University.

The district is also home to: University of Illinois Medical Center
University of Illinois Medical Center
The University of Illinois Medical Center is a member of the Illinois Medical District, one of the largest urban healthcare, educational, research, and technology districts in the USA...

, Rush University Medical Center
Rush University Medical Center
Rush University Medical Center is a 676-bed academic medical center that includes hospital facilities for adults and children. It also includes the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center...

, Rush University
Rush University
Rush University is a private university on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The university, founded in 1972, is the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center.Rush University comprises:* Rush Medical College* Rush University College of Nursing...

, University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana–Champaign....

, UIC Eye & Ear Infirmary, UIC College of Dentistry, UIC College of Pharmacy
UIC College of Pharmacy
The UIC College of Pharmacy is a public pharmacy school located in Chicago, Illinois. It offers a four-year professional degree program that leads to the PharmD, the highest level of professional education in pharmacy, which is approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as the...

, Jesse Brown VA, The Neuropsychiatric Institute, Rothstein CORE Center, Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind & Visually Impaired, Illinois Forensic Science Center, West Side CDC, the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center, Chicago Dept. of Public Health and the Cook County Coroner's Office. Recently, the FBI Division Headquarters for Chicago was erected on Roosevelt Road.

Landmarks

Designated Chicago Landmarks in the Near West Side include:
  • First Baptist Congregational Church
    First Baptist Congregational Church
    First Baptist Congregational Church is a Baptist congregation now located in the former Union Park Congregational Church building, a Chicago Landmark at 60 N. Ashland Blvd. in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The church was designed by architect Gurdon P. Randall and built between 1869 - 1871. The First...

  • Groesbeck House
    Groesbeck House
    The Groesbeck House is an Italianate style house located at 1304 West Washington Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The house was built in 1869 by Otis L. Wheelock for Abraham Groesbeck. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on January 12, 1993....

  • Hull House
    Hull House
    Hull House is a settlement house in the United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located in the Near West Side of , Hull House opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull...

  • Jackson Boulevard District and Extension
    Jackson Boulevard District and Extension
    The West Jackson Boulevard District in Chicago, Illinois, also known as West Jackson Historic District, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was earlier designed as a Chicago Landmark, in 1976, and expanded as Jackson Boulevard District and Extension in 1997. The...

  • Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church
    Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church
    Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, originally named the Third Church of Christ, Scientist, is a landmark church located on West Washington Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The church was built in 1901 by Hugh M.G. Garden. The church was sold to its current owners in 1947. It was designated...

  • St. Ignatius College Prep Building
  • Union Station
    Union Station (Chicago)
    Union Station is a major train station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, replacing an earlier 1881 station. It is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the city's primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between Adams...

  • United Center
    United Center
    The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...


Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

 (USPS) operates the main Chicago Post Office at 433 West Harrison Street in the Near West Side. The post office is the only 24 hour post office in the United States. USPS also operates the Nancy B. Jefferson Post Office at 116 South Western Avenue. I-290 and I-90 both run through the Near West Side, and their interchange, dubbed Circle Interchange
Circle Interchange
The Circle Interchange is an expressway interchange near downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is the junction between the Dan Ryan, Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways...

, is too. Also, BNSF owns track in the area, and Metra runs its BNSF service on this track.

Economy

Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

 operates its headquarters
Boeing International Headquarters
The Boeing International Headquarters is a 36-floor skyscraper located in the Near West Side of Chicago. The building has been made the corporate headquarters for Boeing, which decided in 2001 to move to Chicago from Seattle...

 at 100 North Riverside. Boeing moved into the facility, formerly the headquarters of Morton Salt
Morton Salt
Morton Salt is a United States company producing salt for food, water conditioning, industrial, agricultural, and road/highway use. Based in Chicago, the business is North America's leading producer and marketer of salt. It is a subsidiary of the German company K+S.-History:The company began in...

, in 2001. Orbitz
Orbitz
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is an Internet travel company headquartered in the Citigroup Center in Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois. Through its primary web site Orbitz.com, Orbitz Worldwide enables travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products, facilitating 1.5 million flight...

 has its headquarters in the Citigroup Center in the Near West Side.

PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...

's Chicago offices are in the Near West Side. Aeroméxico
Aeroméxico
Airways of Mexico, SA de CV , operating as Aeroméxico, is the flag carrier airline of Mexico based in Colonia Cuauhtémoc, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City. It operates scheduled domestic and international services to North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia...

 operates the Chicago Downtown Location on the first floor at 954 West Washington Boulevard.

Diplomatic missions

The Consulate-General of Mexico in Chicago
Diplomatic missions of Mexico
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Mexico, excluding honorary consulates. Mexico's foreign service started in 1822, the year after the signing of the Treaty of Cordoba which marked the beginning of Mexico's independence...

 is located at 204 South Ashland Avenue.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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