Portage Park, Chicago

Coordinates: 41°57′N 87°45.6′W / 41.950°N 87.7600°W / 41.950; -87.7600
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Portage Park
Neighborhoods
Area
 • Total3.98 sq mi (10.31 km2)
Population
 (2020)
ZIP Codes
parts of 60630, 60634, 60641
Median household income 2018 [1]$66,309
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Portage Park is located on the northwest side of the City of

community areas. Portage Park is bordered by the community areas of Jefferson Park and Forest Glen to the north, Dunning and the suburb of Harwood Heights to the west, Irving Park to the east and Belmont-Cragin
to the south.

The area is notable for its

trappers were easily able to paddle through the area in either direction without leaving their canoes.[2] In those days, the Des Plaines was perhaps the most significant way to the Illinois, and then on to the Mississippi
(and to return).

Portage Park has the largest

.

History

In 1850, along with construction of the

Polish Downtown and Goose Island were buying lots in the vicinity to build their homes. Area developers such as Szajkowski, Schorsch as well as Koester and Zander subdivided what had been farmland into subdivisions of what became part of Chicago's famous "bungalow belt
".

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
193064,203
194066,3573.4%
195064,736−2.4%
196065,9251.8%
197063,626−3.5%
198057,349−9.9%
199056,513−1.5%
200065,33515.6%
201064,124−1.9%
202063,020−1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[4] 2018 US Census American Community Survey [1]

Transportation

A Portage Park two-flat

The Portage Park neighborhood is accessible via

Mayfair
, just west of the Kennedy Expressway.

Neighborhood

The neighborhood of Portage Park is a primarily residential area. The area's building stock is composed primarily of

business districts in Portage Park; one, Six Corners, at the intersection of Irving, Cicero, and Milwaukee, and another at Belmont and Central extending south into Belmont-Cragin
.

Portage Theater marquee in 2007

The area was home to a number of

silent films. The Patio
was privately restored and now hosts musical and theater acts.

Portage Park is also home to a cluster of architecturally significant

St. John of Rila the Wonderworker
, St. Bartholomew, St. Ferdinand, and Our Lady of Victory tower over the neighborhood, giving the area much of its charm.

Portage Park (Chicago Park District)

A footpath in the Chicago Park District's Portage Park

Portage Park served as the focus that brought together the different communities in the area and created the neighborhood.

The field house at Portage Park was designed by

St. Wenceslaus
.

The park originally had a dirt bottom pond that blended into a concrete bottom pool. The hill to the east of the pool that exists now, was the dirt that was removed when the pool was first created when the park was first established. The pond portion of the pool extended to the western edge of this 'hill'. The earliest building in the park is the gymnasium, followed by the field house. The staircase to the field house was a circular affair, supported by several cement posts under the platform that was created by a large landing at the second floor.

The WPA was very involved in the creation of the long gone Rock House at the south end of the Park. This Rock House had a small pond area that had goldfish and flower basins. Until the polio epidemic, the water was kept at a substantial depth to support the fish over winter. The flower planters to the north and east of the main entrance off Central at Irving Park Road will give an idea of just what the Rock House looked like. There were seats throughout the half circle structure of flagstone. Except for the overhead wooden canopy, every where you looked there was white flagstone - walls, seats, floor, support pillars. The Chicago Park District has WPA photos of the structure. The park predates all of the buildings that surround it.

The swimming events of the

Pan-American Games were held here in 1959 in the second pool constructed in the park, as were the US swimming trials for the 1972 Summer Olympics
.

Other parks

The neighborhood of Portage Park has a number of other greenspaces aside from the neighborhood's namesake park:

  • Chopin Park
  • Dickinson Park
  • Dunham Park
  • Grace Zwiefka-Thuis Playlot Park
  • Lucy Gonzales-Parsons Playlot Park
  • Wilson Park

Education

Portage Park residents are served by

Lutheran
congregations in the area.

Public Elementary Schools

  • Peter A. Reinberg Elementary
  • Chicago Academy Elementary
  • William P. Gray Elementary
  • Portage Park Elementary School
  • Prussing Elementary School
  • Smyser Elementary School

Public High Schools

Private Elementary Schools

  • St. John's Lutheran School
  • Midwestern Christian Academy
  • Our Lady of Victory School (Closed 2016)
  • Pope Francis Global Academy
  • St. Bartholomew School (Closed 2023)
  • St. Ladislaus (Closed 2015)
  • St. Robert Bellarmine

Private High Schools

Politics

Portage Park has supported the

2012 presidential election
, Portage Park cast 14,028 votes for Barack Obama and cast 4,989 votes for Mitt Romney (72.34% to 25.73%).[8]

Public libraries

Chicago Public Library operates three branches located in the Portage Park community area: Portage-Cragin, Austin-Irving and Jefferson Park.

Culture

  • The Patio Theater, built in 1927, is a single-screen atmospheric style movie palace screening repertory and independent films.
  • There are preliminary plans to erect a statue of pianist
    Royal Baths
    along Chicago's lakefront.
  • Portage Park is the childhood home of
    O.M.I., the late Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago (1937-2015; served 1997–2014; cardinal, 1998; president of the U.S. bishops, 2007–2010; formerly, Bishop of Yakima, WA, and Archbishop of Portland, OR). He grew up in a working class area of the neighborhood in a small red-brick house. There is a street, near Byron Street, named for him.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Community Data Snapshot - Portage Park" (PDF). cmap.illinois.gov. MetroPulse. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Keating, Ann Durkin (Ed.) (2004). Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide, p. 254. University of Chicago Press.
  3. ^ Pogorzelski, Daniel, & Maloof, John (2008). Portage Park, p.7. Arcadia Publishing.
  4. ^ Paral, Rob. "Chicago Community Areas Historical Data". Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  5. ^ Skerrett, Ellen (2003). "It's More Than a Bungalow: Portage Park and the Making of the Bungalow Belt". In The Chicago Architecture Foundation, The Chicago Bungalow, p. 104. Arcadia Publishing.
  6. ^ "Luther North College Prep | Our Number One Priority is Your Child's Success". luthernorthcollegeprep.org. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  7. DNAInfo. Archived from the original
    on September 24, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  8. DNAInfo. Archived from the original
    on February 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  9. ^ Pashman, Manya Brachear. "Cardinal Francis George dies after long struggle with cancer". Chicago Tribune.

External links