Archer Heights, Chicago
| Archer Heights | |
|---|---|
| Community area | |
| Community Area 57 - Archer Heights | |
 Location within the city of Chicago |
|
| Coordinates: 41°48.6′N 87°43.8′W / 41.8100°N 87.7300°WCoordinates: 41°48.6′N 87°43.8′W / 41.8100°N 87.7300°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Cook |
| City | Chicago |
| Neighborhoods |
list
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| Area | |
| • Total | 2.01 sq mi (5.21 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 13,393 |
| • Density | 6,700/sq mi (2,600/km2) |
| Demographics2010 | |
| • White | 21.46% |
| • Black | 0.97% |
| • Hispanic | 76.02% |
| • Asian | 1.03% |
| • Other | 0.52% |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP Codes | parts of 60632 |
| Median income | $69,431 |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | |
Archer Heights is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. One of the 77 official community areas of Chicago.
Archer Avenue runs from south of Chicago's downtown area, through the southwest side of Chicago and beyond into the southwest suburbs, along what was once a Native American trail. The neighborhood is bounded by the Stevenson Expressway to the north, the CTA Orange Line to the south, the Corwith railyard to the east, and the railroad tracks/Knox Avenue to the west.
Archer Heights was originally inhabited by Native American tribes, however they had little use for the swampy prairies. Starting in the nineteenth-century land speculators and farmers sparked interest in the swampy lands. The land became a primary focus for real-estate developers and manufacturers. It gained exceptional interest from William B. Archer an Illinois & Michigan Canal commissioner and land speculator, for which Archer Heights gained its name.
After speculators came in, in 1900, and developed the southern sections of Archer Heights for residential use, railroads sustained control of the north side real estate. Due to horse cars in the late 1890s, and electric streetcars gaining popularity in the early 1900s, immigrant laborers started to poor into Archer Heights. Starting in the 1920s and 1930s Archer Heights had its largest population growth coming from the Polish, Italian, Czech, and Russian Jewish communities. During this time modern urban groundwork and two Catholic parishes, St. Bruno’s (1925) and St. Richards (1938), helped stimulate population growth.
After World War II population began to make a comeback, between 1930-1950, the Archer Heights community grew from 8,120 to 8,675. In the following years the population sprouted to 10,584, it made its peak in 1970 at 11,143. However, by 1980, the population fell off to 9,708, and continued to do so in 1990 falling to 9,227.
For over 90 years, the Archer Heights community has been predominantly white (96 percent in 1990), with a large contingent of foreign-born (27 percent in 1990), and a strong Polish cohort. In the 1990s, Hispanics, and primarily Mexicans, rose to 8 percent of the population. “While Archer Heights continues to be home to a large Polish community, since 2000 it became the latest swath of the Southwest Side bungalow belt where Hispanics have become the majority.”
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Wikipedia