West Argyle Street Historic District

Coordinates: 41°58′24″N 87°39′25″W / 41.97333°N 87.65694°W / 41.97333; -87.65694
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West Argyle Street Historic District
Argyle 'L' station
West Argyle Street Historic District is located in Chicago metropolitan area
West Argyle Street Historic District
West Argyle Street Historic District is located in Illinois
West Argyle Street Historic District
West Argyle Street Historic District is located in the United States
West Argyle Street Historic District
LocationChicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°58′24″N 87°39′25″W / 41.97333°N 87.65694°W / 41.97333; -87.65694
ArchitectMultiple
NRHP reference No.10000311
Added to NRHPJune 3, 2010

West Argyle Street Historic District (also known as Little Saigon,

historic district in northern Uptown, Chicago, Illinois. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 2010. The community covers an area of about 41 acres (0.17 km2); its rough boundaries are N. Glenwood Ave to the west, Winona Street to the north, Sheridan Road
to the east, and Ainslie Street to the south.

It was home to the Essanay Studios in the 1920s, known for the movies it made with Charlie Chaplin. Essanay Studios now is home to St. Augustine College.

History

Argyle Park

The area covered by the historic district originally developed in the 1880s as a suburb called Argyle Park. The suburb was named by Chicago Alderman and developer James A. Campbell for his ancestors the

Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway that opened in May 1885.[3][4]

The village, along with the rest of the

'L' network, and the area became popular with people of limited means who wanted to live on the Lake Michigan shore.[7]
The railroad tracks were elevated onto an embankment between 1914 and 1922.

New Chinatown

Restaurants in a single story building on a street corner
Vietnamese and Thai restaurants at the corner of Argyle Street and Broadway

Chicago restaurateur Jimmy Wong bought property in the area in the 1960s and planned its rebirth as New Chinatown. He envisioned a mall with pagodas, trees and reflecting ponds to replace the empty storefronts.

Argyle 'L' station a $250,000 face-lift, then in 1981 he started the "Taste of Argyle," an annual food festival. He also secured funds from Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne to fix the sidewalks, and later from Mayor Harold Washington to repair building facades. Because of his tireless work in promoting the neighborhood, Soo would later be known as the unofficial "Mayor of Argyle Street."[11] By 1986 it was estimated that Uptown had about 8,000 Chinese and Vietnamese residents.[9]

The concentration of Vietnamese restaurants, bakeries and shops; as well as Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian and Thai businesses along Argyle Street, centered on the Argyle 'L' station has led to the neighborhood being nicknamed New Chinatown, Little Saigon, or Little Vietnam.

Broadway to the west, Winona Street to the north, Sheridan Road to the east, and Ainslie Street to the south was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.[7][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Eng, Monica (November 29, 2017). "THE ESSENTIALS: Argyle Street". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  2. ISBN 978-0-252-03356-8
    .
  3. Newspapers.com
    .
  4. ^ "Suburban". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 8, 1885.
  5. ^ "Ten New Sister Wards". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 20, 1889.
  6. ^ "Electrification of the Evanston Suburban Line of the Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul". The Railway Age. 44 (14): 467. October 4, 1907. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Uptown's Argyle Street Named To Historic Register". CBS2 Chicago: Chicago Area Local News. CBS Broadcasting Inc. June 14, 2010. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  8. ^ Madhani, Aamer (July 6, 2001). "Jimmy Wong 1914-2001 - Restaurateur helped start 'new Chinatown'". Chicago Tribune.
  9. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  10. Newspapers.com
    .
  11. ^ Lynch, Kevin; Janega, James (April 4, 2001). "Charlie Soo 1945-2001: Argyle Street 'Mayor,' bold promoter of Asian shops". Chicago Tribune.
  12. ^ "Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 6/01/10 through 6/04/10". National Park Service. Retrieved July 29, 2010.

Further reading

External links

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