Portage Park, Chicago
Portage Park | ||
---|---|---|
Area | ||
• Total | 3.98 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
The area is notable for its
Portage Park has the largest
.History
In 1850, along with construction of the
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1930 | 64,203 | — | |
1940 | 66,357 | 3.4% | |
1950 | 64,736 | −2.4% | |
1960 | 65,925 | 1.8% | |
1970 | 63,626 | −3.5% | |
1980 | 57,349 | −9.9% | |
1990 | 56,513 | −1.5% | |
2000 | 65,335 | 15.6% | |
2010 | 64,124 | −1.9% | |
2020 | 63,020 | −1.7% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[4] 2018 US Census American Community Survey [1] |
Transportation
The Portage Park neighborhood is accessible via
Neighborhood
The neighborhood of Portage Park is a primarily residential area. The area's building stock is composed primarily of
The area was home to a number of
Portage Park is also home to a cluster of architecturally significant
Portage Park (Chicago Park District)
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
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
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
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
- Edwin G. Foreman High School
- Carl Schurz High School
- Rickover Naval Academy School
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
- St. Patrick High School
- Luther North College Prep (Closed after the 2016–17 school year)[6]
Politics
Portage Park has supported the
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 Bathsalong 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
- ^ a b c d "Community Data Snapshot - Portage Park" (PDF). cmap.illinois.gov. MetroPulse. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- ^ Keating, Ann Durkin (Ed.) (2004). Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide, p. 254. University of Chicago Press.
- ^ Pogorzelski, Daniel, & Maloof, John (2008). Portage Park, p.7. Arcadia Publishing.
- ^ Paral, Rob. "Chicago Community Areas Historical Data". Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Luther North College Prep | Our Number One Priority is Your Child's Success". luthernorthcollegeprep.org. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
- DNAInfo. Archived from the originalon September 24, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- DNAInfo. Archived from the originalon February 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ Pashman, Manya Brachear. "Cardinal Francis George dies after long struggle with cancer". Chicago Tribune.