West Lawn, one 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...

's 77 official 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...

, is located on the southwest side of the city. It is considered to be a "melting pot" of sorts, due to its constant change of races moving in and out of the area, as well as the diversity that exists there. It has a small town atmosphere in the big city. West Lawn is home to many Polish-Americans, Irish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and other people of Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

n and Eastern European origin. The current Alderman of the West Lawn community is Alderman Frank Olivo.

History

Chicago Lawn

Chicago Lawn, Chicago

Chicago Lawn is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the southwest side of the city. Its community neighbors include Gage Park, West Englewood, Ashburn, and West Lawn. It is bounded by Bell Avenue on the east, Central Park Avenue on the west, 59th Street on the...

, to the east, was settled while the marshy land of West Lawn remained unsettled. Some housing was built during the 1920s, but it still remained swampy land. Houses were built during the 1930s which then reported German-Americans, Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans, Czech-Americans and Italian-Americans living in the area. The area had been growing until the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, when the economy declined. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, growth continued and new houses and streets were built. The Airport Homes Race Riots

Airport Homes Race Riots

The Airport Homes Race Riots were a series of riots in 1946 in the West Elsdon community of Chicago. It was the worst episode of racial inspired violence that the city faced in some thirty years....

 of 60th & Karlov in 1946 were intended to keep black people out of the area. After the 1970s, more Mexican-Americans, Arab-Americans, Irish-Americans, and Polish immigrants started settling the area.

Notability

One small business in the neighborhood, the Capitol Cigar Store at 63rd and Pulaski, features a tall Native American statue as the landmark of West Lawn. The statue is most notable for being seen in the movie Wayne's World

Wayne's World

Wayne's World was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series Saturday Night Live. It evolved from a segment titled "Wayne's Power Minute" on the CBC Television series It's Only Rock & Roll, as the main character first appeared in that show...

. West Lawn is also the home of the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

The Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture is located at 6500 S. Pulaski Rd. in Chicago's West Lawn neighborhood, not far from Chicago Midway International Airport...

 along Pulaski

Pulaski Road (Chicago)

Pulaski Road is a major north-south thoroughfare in the city of Chicago, at 4000 W., or exactly five miles west of State Street. It is named after revolutionary war hero Casimir Pulaski...

. It was founded by Lithuanian-American

Lithuanian-American

Lithuanian Americans are citizens of the United States who are of Lithuanian ancestry. According to the United States Census, there are 712,165 Americans of full or partial Lithuanian descent....

 businessman Stanley Balzekas, Jr. and is the only museum in the US devoted to the subjects of Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, the Lithuanian language

Lithuanian language

Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...

, history

History of Lithuania

The history of Lithuania dates back to at least 1009, the first recorded written use of the term. Lithuanians, a branch of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands, establishing the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the 13th century the short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania. The Grand Duchy...

, culture

Culture of Lithuania

The culture of Lithuania, dating back to 200 BC, with the settlement of the Balts and has been independent of the presence of a sovereign Lithuanian state.-Pre-Lithuanian period :...

 and politics

Politics of Lithuania

Politics of Lithuania takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of government, and of a multi-party system....

, and to the Lithuanian-American

Lithuanian-American

Lithuanian Americans are citizens of the United States who are of Lithuanian ancestry. According to the United States Census, there are 712,165 Americans of full or partial Lithuanian descent....

 experience.

Notable residents include:

• Michael Madigan
  Michael Madigan
  Michael J. Madigan is the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois...
  
  

Ford City

Ford City is a neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago which immediately surrounds the Ford City Mall

Ford City Mall

Ford City Mall is a shopping mall located on the southwest side of Chicago in the West Lawn neighborhood on 76th Street and Cicero Avenue. Opened in 1965, the mall includes Carson Pirie Scott, JCPenney, Marshalls, and Old Navy.-History:...

, in turn named for the Ford Aircraft

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 plant which previously occupied the site. In the future, the Orange Line

Orange Line (Chicago Transit Authority)

The Orange Line, is a rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois run by the Chicago Transit Authority as part of the 'L' system. It is approximately long, and runs below grade and elevated on existing railroad embankments and new concrete and steel structures from Chicago Midway International...

 of the Chicago 'L'

Chicago 'L'

The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...

 will be extended here.

External links

• Official City of Chicago West Lawn Community Map
• Ford City Mall
• West Lawn Chamber Of Commerce
• Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
• Chicago Park District
  • West Lawn Park