- East Side, Chicago
East Side is one of the 77 official community areas of
Chicago, Illinois . It is located on the far south side of the city, between theCalumet River and the Illinois-Indiana state line, approximately 13 miles south of Downtown Chicago. The neighborhood has its own park onLake Michigan , "Calumet Park", and its own forest preseve, Eggers Grove Forest Preserve, which neighborhood residents usually call "Eggers Woods". It is served byU.S. Highway 12 ,U.S. Highway 20 , andU.S. Highway 41 , which are multiplexed in this neighborhood.History
The "East Side", until recently, was socially and economically dominated by the Calumet River and the jobs it supported. The community got its name from the river because it was located on its east bank. The river formed the once-thriving industrial
Port of Chicago . A cluster of riverside docks and slips allowed materials of all sorts to be loaded and unloaded onto adjacentrailroad lines, and the river itself was lined withsteel mills.Republic Steel began operations here in 1901. The Republic mill was the site of frequent union unrest, culminating in theMemorial Day Massacre of 1937 and the successful drive by theUnited Steelworkers to organize the Chicago mills.Many of the neighborhood's residents duiring this period were families of
Croatia n andSerbia n heritage, who had emigrated from Europe to work in the steel mills and take related jobs. Especially after unionization, the neighborhood became a stronghold of the Chicago Democratic Party machine of MayorRichard J. Daley . The neighborhood's longtimealderman ,Edward Vrdolyak , became a noted Chicago "power broker" after the senior Daley's death. Today, the area still remains largelyHispanic , Serbian, Croatian, and Polish.In the 1950s, the East Side was divided in two by the
Chicago Skyway . The riverside steel mills and heavy industries went into serious decline in 1970-2000, and are no longer the mainstay of the neighborhood. [ [http://www.neiu.edu/~reseller/esstwelcome.html History of the East Side] ]Growing Suburban Qualities
The East Side has been long neglected as is any other South Side neighborhood. Many of the older houses are in the unique-to-Chicago
bungalow style, though some parts of the East Side are notable for their newer grandiose like houses and suburban feel. Today, the East Side is steadily redeveloping with new homes being built, grocery chains such asAldi entering the community, and the redevelopment of Lake Pointe Plaza have improved the East Side. The average price of a home in the East Side is nearing $320,000Fact|date=October 2007.Boundaries
East Side is bounded by 95th street(9500 S) to the North, Burley Avenue (roughly 3200 E) to the West, State Line Road(4100 E) to the East, and 126th street(12600 S) to the South.
chools
East Side is served by both Catholic and
Chicago Public Schools . Taylor Elementary, Gallistel Elementary, Jane Addams Elementary and Washington Elementary are among the public elemantary schools.George Washington High School is the neighborhood public high school. Annunciata Elementary School is the neighborhood's Catholic, private school and St. Francis De Sales is the neighborhood's Catholic, private high school. Many students of the East Side are enrolled in schools outside of the neighborhood. These may includeBishop Noll Institute in nearbyHammond, Indiana ,Marian Catholic High School inChicago Heights, Illinois , Mount Carmel High School and Mother McAuley High School.Public Transportation
East Side is
Metra territory, as the nearestCTA train station is the 95th/Dan Ryan station on the Red Line, 7 miles northwest of the neighborhood. Residents utilize theMetra Electric station at 93rd street (9300 S, 3300 E)(inSouth Chicago ), and the Metra/South Shore Line atHegewisch /136th street. TheChicago Skyway has been refurbished and privatized. At night it's beautifully lighted outline gives the feel of bridge expanse and, in fact, it does span the Calumet River. The area's edges have been outfitted with landscaped terraces and "pocket parks" have been installed at the intersection of Ewing Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard - one right under the Skyway, complete with decorative benches and ornamental lamp lighting (it serves as a rest stop for cyclers) and the other across the boulevard with a working ornamental fountain. The Burnham Greenway Trail travels along this section under the Skyway, traverses the boulevard and runs along briefly impeded stretches of greenspace right into the south suburban communities of Burnham and Calumet City.East Side is also served by three
CTA bus routes:
* 26 - South Shore Express
* 30 - South Chicago
* 100 - Jeffery ManorTrivia
At the northeastern corner of the neighborhood, close to Lake Michigan, stands a stone
obelisk Illinois-Indiana State Line Boundary Marker to mark the northern end of the surveyed boundary line that separatesIllinois andIndiana .Most of the streets going north and south are named after the alphabet, with Avenue B closest to the Indiana state line and Avenue O closer to the Calumet River. The neighborhood is sometimes often called "Alphabet Town," like
Manhattan 'sAlphabet City .The road which should have been called "Avenue A" is named State Line Road.
The northern portion of East Side between the
Calumet River andLake Michigan gave the community the nickname of "The Island".The bubble-gum pop song
The Night Chicago Died refers to the East Side of Chicago, confusing even native Chicagoans who have never heard of the East Side. It is likely the band (Paper Lace ), being from Nottingham, England, had no knowledge of Chicago geography and simply used "East Side" out of ignorance.References
External links
* [http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_ATTACH/Community_Areas_EAST_SIDE.pdf Official City of Chicago East Side Community Map]
Geographic Location 2
Center =East Side, Chicago
Northeast =Lake Michigan
Southeast =Hammond, Indiana
South =Hegewisch, Chicago
WSW =South Deering, Chicago
Northwest =South Chicago, Chicago
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