Near South Side, Chicago

The Near South Side is a

Along Lake Shore Drive, the Near South Side includes some of Chicago's best-known structures: Soldier Field, home of the NFL's Chicago Bears; McCormick Place, Chicago's primary convention center; the Museum Campus, which contains the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium; and Northerly Island. The area is currently undergoing a major residential and mixed-use redevelopment.

History

The Near South Side is one of the most dynamic of Chicago's communities. It has undergone a metamorphosis from a

The Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of the World's Fair held on the Near South Side lakefront from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial.^[8][9] The theme of the fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding. More than 40 million people visited the fair, which symbolized for many hope for Chicago and the nation, then in the midst of the Great Depression.^[10]

Modern day

West of Lake Shore Drive, much of the Near South Side, in the middle of the twentieth century, consisted largely of railroad tracks and interchanges until the 1960s, when middle-class housing developments were built in the community area. In 1977, George Halas surrendered 51 acres (210,000 m²) of railyards for redevelopment as Dearborn Park apartments, townhouses and accompanying tree-lined walkways.^[11] In 1988, the second phase of Dearborn Park construction began between State St. and Clark St., south of Roosevelt Rd.^[4] A housing boom emerged in the 1990s and continues to the present day with the construction of many new condominium and apartment towers.

Construction of the

Adler Planetarium

Shedd Aquarium

Landfill use created Burnham Park and

The newly developed Central Station area includes three park areas. Mark Twain Park lies between South Indiana Avenue and Lake Shore Drive at 15th Place. Daniel Webster Park is bounded by 14th Street, South Indiana Avenue and townhouse developments. The Grant Park Extension lies east of One Museum Park and South of Roosevelt. The developers donated 1.5 acres (6,100 m²) for one park to the city and developed the other two as part of its approval process. The donated tract protects the northward view of Grant Park.^[13][14]

McCormick Place

Fairs and exhibitions held on the lakefront sites created demand for an exhibition hall. In 1960, construction was begun on McCormick Place, a huge exposition and convention complex at 23rd Street and Lake Shore Drive named for newspaper magnate Robert R. McCormick. The original building burned in 1967, and was rebuilt and reopened in 1971 at the behest of mayor Richard J. Daley. Large expansions were added in 1986, 1997 and 2007.^[4] The current redevelopment includes greatly expanded hotel accommodation. McCormick Place also houses the Arie Crown Theater,^[15] and it is the annual location for the Chicago Auto Show.^[16]

Historic structures

Prairie Ave. (c. 1900)

Fort Dearborn Massacre sculpture on Pullman property (1911)

Marshall Field residence: 1905 S. Prairie Ave. (c. 1905)

Mercy Hospital: 2537 S. Prairie Ave. (1910) (where Theodore Roosevelt went after 1912-10-14 shooting)

National Historic Landmark Glessner House: 1800 S. Prairie Ave. (1963)

NRHP listed Clarke House

: 1827 S. Indiana Ave. (c. 1836)

One Museum Park West and One Museum Park along Prairie Avenue

(model left); One Museum Park West (model center) and One Museum Park (2008-05-25)

Beginning in the mid-1990s, factories started being replaced with or converted to loft condominiums.

Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance

, a non-profit organization was formed to provide representation for thousands of South Loop residents, including the Prairie District, Central Station and Museum Park, Motor Row, the South Michigan Ave Corridor, as well as other areas of the Near South Side.

Further information: Culture Coast Chicago

Streets

Museum Campus. Previously, the northbound lanes ran east of Soldier Field. After reconstruction, both northbound and southbound lanes ran west of Soldier Field.^[24]

Its northern boundary (Roosevelt Road) marks the end of consecutively named east–west streets. East–west streets north of Roosevelt Road have street names, except between State Street and Michigan Avenue. There are two block-long 8th and 11th Streets and a four-block 9th Street. Most streets south of Roosevelt simply use street numbers. Streets in this neighborhood from 13th to 26th are mostly numbered.^[3] Cullerton Street (20th Street) and Cermak Road (22nd Street) are two of the few named east–west cross streets. Numbering continues southward in Chicago into the upper hundreds at a pace of 8 blocks per mile.

Politics

The Near South Side community area has supported the

2012 presidential election, the Near South Side cast 9,252 votes for Barack Obama and cast 2,253 votes for Mitt Romney (79.33% to 19.32%).^[26]

South Loop/Printer's Row overlap

Because neighborhood line drawing is sometimes imprecise, there is some confusion regarding where the

Eisenhower Expressway.^[29]

The South Loop is described as the neighborhood immediately south of "the Loop", yet "the Loop" has multiple meanings.

community area.^[30][31] This transit-related area is the northern portion of the community area. Saying it is south of the former places it in the Near South Side, while saying it is part of the latter places it in the Loop. The Official City of Chicago Loop Map supports the latter.^[32]

Notable people

• Philip Danforth Armour (1832–1901), meatpacking industrialist and founder of Armour and Company. He resided at 2115 South Prairie Avenue during the latter years of his life.^[33]
• Richard M. Daley (born 1942), 54th Mayor of Chicago. He moved from Bridgeport to the Near South Side in 1993 while Mayor of Chicago. He moved to the Gold Coast after his time as Mayor.^[34]
• Kimball Piano Company. He resided at 1801 South Prairie Avenue during the 1890s.^[35]
• Major
  first Black astronaut. He was a childhood resident of 11 West 23rd Street.^[36]
• Frank Leland (1869–1914), baseball player, field manager and club owner in the Negro leagues. He resided at 2348 South Dearborn Avenue.^[37]

Education

Phillips Academy High School

Residents are zoned to schools in

Phillips Academy High School is the zoned high school of the Near South Side.^[38]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Near South Side". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. May 15, 1997.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Community Data Snapshot Near South Side" (PDF). Retrieved August 1, 2021.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Map of Community Area 33: Near South Side" (PDF). City of Chicago. June 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
4. ^
   Chicago Historical Society. Archived
   from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the Chicago Department of Planning and Development (1996). "Community Area #33: Near South Side". Chicago Historic Resources Survey: An inventory of Architecturally and historically significant structures. pp. 258–264.
6. ^
   Chicago Historical Society. Archived
   from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
7. Chicago Historical Society. Archived
   from the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
8. ^ "Century of Progress World's Fair, 1933-1934 (University of Illinois at Chicago)". collections.carli.illinois.edu. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
9. ^ "MAP OF THE 1933 FAIR - City Clicker". cityclicker.net. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
10. ^ Rydell, Robert W. (April 24, 2018). "Century of Progress Exposition". Chicago History Museum and the Newberry Library. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2018 – via Encyclopedia of Chicago.
11. ^
    Chicago Historical Society. Archived
    from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
12. ISBN 0-7385-0716-4
    .
13. ^ Handley, John (September 23, 2001). "Going for the green at Central Station". Chicago Tribune. p. 3A. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
14. ^ Finley, Larry (November 16, 2001). "Setting A New Course The front gate to Chicago, for many decades, was the old Illinois Central Railroad station on Michigan Avenue. Generations of new Chicagoans rode into town on the Illinois Central's iron arteries, that ran through the heartland of the nation down to the Gulf of Mexico. Now, a new generation is putting down roots there as the Central Station community, an ambitious project that will eventually create between 4,000 and 5,000 new town houses and condominiums, as well as shops, offices and parks". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 1C. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
15. ^ "Arie Crown Theater". Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
16. ^ "Chicago Auto Show 2010". Chicago Auto Show. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
17. Chicago Historical Society. Archived
    from the original on December 19, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
18. Chicago Historical Society. Archived
    from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
19. ^ Sharoff, Robert (September 20, 1998). "Saving the Grand Relics Of Chicago's Prairie Ave". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
20. ^ "National Register of Historic Places: Illinois - Cook County". National Register of Historic Places. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
21. ^ Sharoff, Robert (September 4, 2005). "Restoring the Legacy of a Historic Chicago Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
22. Chicago Historical Society. 2005. Archived
    from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
23. ^ Handley, John (July 9, 2006). "Looking south - Construction in the South Loop is booming, but buyers are taking their time". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, Real Estate Section. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
24. ^ "Chicago Timeline 1996: Lake Shore Drive Moves West". Chicago Public Library. August 1997. Archived from the original on September 26, 2006. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
25. DNAInfo. Archived from the original
    on September 24, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
26. DNAInfo. Archived from the original
    on February 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
27. ^ "Bringing Neighbors Together . . ". Greater South Loop Association. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
28. ^ "Who We Are". South Loop Neighbors. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
29. ^ "South Loop including Printer's Row, Museum Campus & Bronzeville". Fodor's Travel. Retrieved November 2, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
30. Chicago Historical Society. Archived
    from the original on December 3, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
31. Chicago Historical Society. Archived
    from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
32. ^ "Loop Map" (PDF). City of Chicago. June 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
33. ^ "Busy Life of Mr. Armour". Chicago Tribune. January 7, 1901.
34. ^ Goldsborough, Bob (February 8, 2022). "South Loop home that former Mayor Richard M. Daley once owned sells for nearly $1.2M". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
35. ^ Benjamin, Susan (December 11, 1970). "Illinois Historic Sites Inventory Form: William W. Kimball House" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
36. Chicago Defender – via ProQuest subscription at Chicago Public Library
    .
37. Chicago Defender. November 21, 1914 – via ProQuest
    .
38. ^ "Geographic Information Systems". Chicago Public Schools. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008.

Further reading

Eds. Grossman, James R., Keating, Ann Durkin, and Reiff, Janice L., 2004 The Encyclopedia of Chicago. The University of Chicago Press,

ISBN 0-226-31015-9

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Near South Side, Chicago.

• Chicago/Near South travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official City of Chicago Near South Side Community Map
• Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance Website