South Lawndale, Chicago

South Lawndale
—  Community area  —
Community Area 30 - South Lawndale
26th Street in Little Village
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°51.0′N 87°42.6′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	List Little Village Marshall Square South Lawndale
Area
• Total	4.4 sq mi (11.5 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	79,288
• Density	Bad rounding here18,000/sq mi (Bad rounding here6,900/km2)
Demographics 2010
• White	3.85%
• Black	13.08%
• Hispanic	82.56%
• Asian	0.14%
• Other	0.36%
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	parts of 60608 and 60623
Median household income	$33,593
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

South Lawndale, one of the 77 well-defined community areas, is located on the west side of the city of Chicago, Illinois.

Neighborhoods

Little Village

Now predominantly inhabited by new Mexican immigrants, Little Village (part of South Lawndale Community Area) was originally settled by Eastern European and Irish immigrants in the late 19th century, after the Great Chicago Fire sent the population of Chicago rippling out from the city's center to the outlying countryside. Jobs created by industrial development in the early 20th century also attracted residents to the Little Village area, adding to the community's strength and viability as its own independent borough.

By the mid-20th century, Little Village saw a marked increase in Polish immigrants, escaping the ravages of war-torn Europe, and in the 1970s a large influx of Mexicans moved to the neighborhood. Many of these new residents were transplants from neighboring Pilsen. They were displaced during the construction of the University of Illinois Chicago campus, which chewed up a large section of residential land, pushing inhabitants further west from downtown.

But it is the injection of Latino culture that gives the Little Village neighborhood its vibrant and distinct character today. In fact, the neighborhood is called "Mexico of the Midwest" by many of its residents. Little Village celebrates Mexican Independence Day every September with a parade down 26th Street. It's the second largest Hispanic parade in Chicago. The 26th Street Mexican Independence Parade attracts thousands of spectators each year who flock to the neighborhood to show support and pride for their heritage. Of course, Little Village has a wealth of great Mexican restaurants that also help to reinforce the community's strong cultural ties.

For green spaces and recreation in Little Village, residents can make a visit the community parks. Washtenaw Park has a baseball diamond and offers up a variety of arts and crafts classes for adults as well as day camps for kids. Shedd Park is a little park in Little Village named for John G. Shedd (known to most Chicagoans as the founder of the Shedd Aquarium). Piotrowski Park is the neighborhood's largest public park and is the most popular outdoor retreat for Little Village residents.

Famous past residents of Little Village include Mayor Anton Cermak, who lived in the 2300 block of S. Millard Avenue, across the street from Lazaro Cardenas Elementary. Pat Sajak was also a Little Village resident. He attended Gary Elementary Schools and Farragut High School. The bulk of Little Village falls within the aldermanic boundaries of the 22nd ward (Muñoz). The commercial strip along 26th Street is said to have the second highest business revenue in the city after N. Michigan Avenue.

Marshall Square

Marshall Square is a neighborhood on Chicago's West Side, in the northeast corner of the South Lawndale Community Area, named to designate the square formed by Marshall Boulevard, 24th Boulevard, Cermak Road, and California Avenue. It is bounded roughly by Kedzie Avenue. on the west, 26th Street on the south, the BNSF Railway tracks (2000 S.) on the north, and the north/south railroad tracks (2500 W.) on the east. The bulk of the Marshall Square neighborhood falls within the aldermanic boundaries of the 12th Ward. According to the Chicago Public Library Marshall Square Branch webpage, James A. Marshall, for whom Marshall Boulevard was named, came to Chicago in 1832, opened a dancing school and served as secretary of the Chicago Real Estate Board.

Although these days Marshall Square is widely considered by many of its residents to simply be the easternmost part of Little Village, with many businesses in the area using the Little Village name, the architecture reflects the distinct style of Pilsen homes. Marshall square also has close ties with the southeast corner of North Lawndale, with a sizable Mexican population around the southern half of Douglas Park.

Points of interest include: the art-deco Marshall Square Theater at Cermak Road and Marshall Boulevard, which was originally a vaudeville venue, later a silent movie theater, and currently a venue for banquets, weddings, and Latin music under the current name of "Apollo's 2000"; the remaining building of the former Albaugh-Dover mail-order warehouse and factory on Marshall Boulevard at 21st; the massive Carter Harrison High School at 24th Boulevard and Marshall Boulevard, now an elementary school named for Maria Saucedo, an area teacher who lost her life in a fire in 1981, and is the alma mater of clarinet player Benny Goodman and newspaper columnist Irv Kupcinet; and the highly visible statue of Marquette and Joliet which stands at the junction between Marshall and 24th Boulevards.

Education

Chicago Public Schools operates district public schools.

Enlace Chicago operates eight full service community schools in Little Village: Farragut, World Language, Infinity, Social Justice and Multicultural Arts High Schools and at Rosario Castellanos and Madero Middle Schools and Eli Whitney grammar school. "Enlace Chicago Community Schools."

The United Neighborhood Organization operates the Octavio Paz School in Little Village.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	76,749		—
1940	70,915		−7.6%
1950	66,977		−5.6%
1960	60,940		−9.0%
1970	62,821		3.1%
1980	75,204		19.7%
1990	81,155		7.9%
2000	91,071		12.2%
2010	79,288		−12.9%

External links

• Official City of Chicago South Lawndale Community Map
• Enlace Chicago on Facebook
• Little Village Chamber of Commerce
• La Villita Community on Facebook
• La Villita Community on Twitter
• Marshall Square Online
• Maria Saucedo bio
• Marshall Square Theater
• Albaugh-Dover
• St. Agnes of Bohemia in Little Village
• St. Agnes of Bohemia School in Little Village