East Side, Chicago
| East Side | |
|---|---|
| Community Area 52 East Side | |
 Location within the city of Chicago |
|
| Coordinates: 41°42.0′N 87°33.6′W / 41.7000°N 87.5600°WCoordinates: 41°42.0′N 87°33.6′W / 41.7000°N 87.5600°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Cook |
| City | Chicago |
| Neighborhoods |
list
|
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.80 sq mi (7.25 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 23,042 |
| • Density | 8,200/sq mi (3,200/km2) |
| Demographics 2010 | |
| • White | 17.23% |
| • Black | 3.37% |
| • Hispanic | 78.45% |
| • Asian | 0.23% |
| • Other | 0.72% |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP Codes | parts of 60617 |
| Median income | $29,284 |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | |
East Side is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the far south side of the city, between the Calumet River and the Illinois-Indiana state line, approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Downtown Chicago. The neighborhood has its own park on Lake Michigan, Calumet Park, and its own forest preserve, Eggers Grove Forest Preserve, which neighborhood residents usually call Eggers Woods. It is served by U.S. Highway 12, U.S. Highway 20, and U.S. Highway 41, which are multiplexed in this neighborhood.
The East Side, until recently, was socially and economically dominated by the Calumet River and the jobs it supported. The community got its name from the river because it was located on its east bank. The river formed the once-thriving industrial Port of Chicago. A cluster of riverside docks and slips allowed materials of all sorts to be loaded and unloaded onto adjacent railroad lines, and the river itself was lined with steel mills. Republic Steel began operations here in 1901. The Republic mill was the site of frequent union unrest, culminating in the Memorial Day Massacre of 1937 and the successful drive by the United Steelworkers to organize the Chicago mills.
Many of the neighborhood's residents during this period were families of Slovenia, Croatian and Serbian heritage, who had emigrated from Europe to work in the steel mills and take related jobs. Especially after unionization, the neighborhood became a stronghold of the Chicago Democratic Party machine of Mayor Richard J. Daley. The neighborhood's longtime alderman, Edward Vrdolyak, became a noted Chicago "power broker" after the senior Daley's death. Today, the area is largely Hispanic.
...
Wikipedia