SOUTH SIDE (CHICAGO)

The 'south side' is a major part of the city of Chicago, located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The south side has had a distinct identity which is often associated with racial diversity. The boundaries of the region vary by source but, generally the area encompasses roughly 60% of the city's land area with a higher ratio of single-family homes and large sections zoned for industry. Considerable heterogeneity in race, income and other demographic measures can be found there.
Although it has endured a reputation as being poverty-stricken and crime-ridden, the reality is more varied, and it ranges from poor to working class to affluent. Neighborhoods such as Armour Square, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Little Village and Pullman tend to be more blue collar, while the Jackson Park Highlands, Hyde Park, Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park and Beverly tend to have more middle, upper-middle and higher incomes.
The south side is serviced by the Red, Green and Orange lines of the CTA.

Contents

Boundaries

Subdivisions

Southwest side

History

Prostitution

Demographics

Arts

Socioeconomics

Parks

References in popular culture

References

Boundaries

Over time the spacial and cultural perspectives change and influence the contemporary definition of the term "south side." The south side of Chicago is variously defined as the portion of the city south of the Chicago River Chicago (city, Illinois) or south of Roosevelt Road (12th Street). South Side Pacyga, Dominic A. However, street numbering uses Madison Street, which is between these two alternatives, as the demarcation between north and south.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, ''Streetwise Chicago'', "Madison Street", p. 79, Loyola University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8294-0597-6 Most Chicagoans would exclude the downtown business district, called the Loop and including Madison Street, from being in any side of the city, even though it is south of the river. Since the Loop's southern boundary is Roosevelt Road, the south side begins with the Near South Side (#33) community area, and, moving westward, the Armour Square (#34), Bridgeport (#60), McKinley Park (#59), Brighton Park (#58), Archer Heights (#57) and Garfield Ridge (#56) community areas. To the south of these lie 35 more community areas of the city, making the south side larger than the north and west sides combined. Lake Michigan and the Indiana state line border provide enduring eastern lines of demarcation, and the evolving city limits have provided a fairly uncontested southern border.

The black population of Chicago

Subdivisions

Following mostly racial lines, the South Side is further divided into a White and Hispanic southwest side, a largely black south side, and a smaller, more racially diverse southeast side centered on the East Side (#52) community area, and including the adjacent community areas of South Chicago (#46), South Deering (#51), and Hegewisch (#55). Chicago's Southeast Side The contentions about the boundary of the South and Southwest sides are due to a lack of a meaningful natural or artificial dividing marker. However, one source opines that the boundary is best defined as the railroad tracks east of Western Avenue.

Southwest side

The southwest side of Chicago is a subsection of the south side comprising mainly residential neighborhoods, and mainly defined by the distinguishing feature of being predominantly white. Architecturally, the southwest side is distinguished by the tract of Chicago's Bungalow Belt, which runs through it.
Brighton Park, a Polish enclave along Archer Avenue (which leads toward Midway Airport), is located on the southwest side of the city, as is Beverly, which is home to a large concentration of Irish Americans and boasts its annual South Side Irish Parade, which typically draws a larger crowd than the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago's Loop. The southwest side is also home to the largest concentration of Górals, (Carpathian highlanders) outside of Europe; it is the location of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
The CTA's Orange Line, which runs to Midway Airport, services the southwest side.

History

Prostitution

Chicago's reputation for political corruption stems from tolerance of vices such as prostitution. Early prostitution occurred in the central business district. However, the disreputables were eventually pushed to the south side, creating the Levee, one of the nation's most infamous sex districts. Although Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison II closed the Levee in 1912 and much of the trade moved to the suburbs, nightclubs on the south side had an ample supply of prostitutes. Prostitution Blair, Cynthia M. Among those who cared for and rehabilitated persons charged with prostitution were a small group of the Good Shepherd Sisters who eventually became the first nuns to serve African Americans on Chicago's south side. House of the Good Shepherd / Chicago Industrial School for Girls Hoy, Suellen

Demographics

With its factories, steel mills, and meat-packing plants, the south side saw a sustained period of immigration which began around the 1860s, and continued through the Second World War. Irish, Italian, Polish and Lithuanian immigrants in particular, settled in neighborhoods adjacent to industrial zones. African Americans resided in Bronzeville (around 35th and State Streets), in an area called "the black belt", later spreading across the south side after World War II. The Black Belt, which gave a new meaning to the term ghetto, arose from discriminatory real estate practices and the threat of violence in nearby white neighborhoods. Ghettoization Bennett, Larry
Post reconstruction black southerners migrated to Chicago in large numbers and caused the African American population to nearly quadruple from 4000 to 15000 between 1870 and 1890. African Americans Manning, Christopher The population was concentrated on the south side. The migration continued into the 20th century when the Black population reached 40000 by 1910, with 78% residing in the south side's "Black Belt", which extended for 30 blocks along State Street and was only a few blocks wide. The migration of blacks to Chicago's south side led to a white flight. Oak Lawn, IL Gurlacz, Betsy
White flight from the south side resulted in a high remaining percentage of African Americans. Most neighborhoods south of 55th Street are predominantly black with a large Mexican American population residing in Little Village (South Lawndale) and areas south of 99th Street. The South Side has had a history of racial segregation. One factor was the construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway which separated some white neighborhoods from black neighborhoods (e.g. the divide between Bridgeport and Bronzeville). Progress gained momentum with the historic redevelopment of Bronzeville and Washington Park. Many of the Chicago Housing Authority's massive public housing projects, which lined several miles of south State Street, have been torn down. After decades of sustaining some of the poorest housing conditions in the United States, the CHA has begun replacing the old high-rise public housing with mixed-income, lower-density developments, known as the Plan for Transformation.^[1] Neighborhood rehabilitation (and, in some cases, gentrification) can also be seen in parts of Woodlawn and Bronzeville, as well as in Bridgeport and McKinley Park. Historic Pullman's redevelopment is another example of a work in progress. Chinatown, which has seen a surge in growth and has become an increasingly popular destination for both tourists and locals alike, is a cornerstone of the city's Chinese community. Hyde Park is home to the University of Chicago as well as the South Side's largest Jewish population, which is centered around Chicago's oldest synagogue, KAM Isaiah Israel.
Gangs have been prominent on the south side for over a century. By the 1960s, gangs such as the Vice Lords began to improve their public image, moving from thuggish ventures to procuring government and private grants. By 2000, gangs crossed gender lines to include about a 20% female composition. Gangs Diamond, Andrew J.

Arts

DuSable Museum

Chicago's African American community, which was concentrated on the south side, experienced an artistic movement following the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. From the 1930s until the 1950s, the movement was concentrated in and around the Hyde Park community area and included Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Burroughs, Elizabeth Catlett, Eldzier Cortor, Gordon Parks, and Richard Wright. Art Warren, Lynne Other Chicago Black Renaissance artists included Willard Motley, William Attaway, Frank Marshall Davis and Margaret Walker. St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton exemplified the new intellectual style in ''Black Metropolis'', an enduring depiction of 1930s and 1940s urban ghetto Chicago life. In 1961, Burroughs founded the DuSable Museum and by the late 60s the South Side had a resurgent art movement led by Jim Nutt, Gladys Nilsson and Karl Wirsum who became known as the Chicago Imagists.
Music in Chicago flourished because labels with studios in New York City or Los Angeles only kept regional distribution offices in Chicago, which created a vacuum for many independent labels. Record Publishing Clague, Mark In 1948, Blues was introduced by Aristocrat Records (later Chess Records) and Muddy Waters and Chess Records quickly followed with Little Walker, Jimmy Rogers, and Howlin' Wolf. Vee-Jay, the largest black owned label before Motown Records, was among the post-World War II companies that formed "Record Row" on Cottage Grove between 47th and 50th Streets and later (in the 1960s) along South Michigan Avenue. Rhythm and Blues Pruter, Robert Rhythm and blues continued to thrive after Record Row became the hub of gospelized R&B, known as soul. Chicago continues as a prominent city for musical contribution.
Many other artists have left their mark on Chicago's south side. These include Upton Sinclair and James Farrell via fiction, Archibald Motley, Jr. via painting, Henry Moore and Lorado Taft via sculpture, and Thomas Dorsey and Mahalia Jackson via gospel music.

Socioeconomics

Chicago Skyway toll plaza

Much of the south side has evolved from speculative investments. Stephen A. Douglas, Paul Cornell, George Pullman and various business entities have developed South Chicago real estate. The Pullman District, a company town, Hyde Park Township, various platted communities and subdivisions were the results of such efforts. Real Estate deVise, Pierre By the 1930s, Chicago boasted a composition which included over 25% residential structures less than 10 years old, many of which were bungalows. These continued to be built in the working-class south side into the 1960s. Bungalows Bigott, Joseph C. Bungalow Belt Keating, Ann Durkin Kitchenettes, often including Murphy beds and Pullman kitchens, also composed a large part of the housing supply during and after the Great Depression, especially in the Black Belt. Kitchenettes Plotkin, Wendy Chicago's south side had a history of philanthropic subsidized housing dating back to 1919. Subsidized Housing Bowly, Jr., Devereux However, in 1949 the United States Congress passed the Housing Act to fund public housing. The CHA produced a plan of citywide projects that was rejected by white aldermen on the Chicago City Council who rejected public housing in their wards. This led to a CHA policy of construction of family housing in black residential areas, which led to concentrations on the south and west sides of the city. Chicago Housing Authority Choldin, Harvey M. Gentrification of parts of the Douglas community area has bolstered the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District. Gentrification Bennett, Larry Gentrification in various parts of the south side has displaced many African Americans. North Lawndale Seligman, Amanda The south side had hosts numerous cooperatives. Hyde Park has several middle-income co-ops, and other south side regions have limited equity (subsidized, price controlled) co-ops. Condominiums and Cooperatives Steffes, Tracy These regions have experienced condominium construction and conversion in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Midway

Parks

Today, the south side boasts many large parks that are part of the legacy of Paul Cornell and his service on the South Parks Commission. Chicago Park District parks serving the south side include Burnham Park, Jackson Park, Washington Park, Midway Plaisance and Harold Washington Park.

References in popular culture

The south side's gritty reputation often makes its way into popular culture. The opening lines of Jim Croce's song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" state that the south side is "the baddest part of town." Richard Wright's novel ''Native Son'' takes place on the south side and focuses on the plight of African Americans in the ghetto, including the housing practices that created such slums.
''Barbershop'' and parts of ''The Blues Brothers'' take place in the south side. David Auburn's play ''Proof'' takes place exclusively in the Hyde Park neighborhood; the film adaptation expands the setting.

References

1. The CHA's Plan for Transformation