Humboldt Park, Chicago

Humboldt Park
Community area
Community Area 23 - Humboldt Park
The Humboldt Park Field House and Refectory in 2014.
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°52.8′N 87°42′W / 41.8800°N 87.700°W / 41.8800; -87.700Coordinates: 41°52.8′N 87°42′W / 41.8800°N 87.700°W / 41.8800; -87.700
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	List Humboldt Park West Humboldt Park
Area
• Total	3.60 sq mi (9.32 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	56,323
• Density	16,000/sq mi (6,000/km2)
Demographics 2014
• White	5.25%
• Black	41.46%
• Hispanic	51.54%
• Asian	0.5%
• Other	1.25%
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes	parts of 60622, 60624, 60647, and 60651.

Humboldt Park, one of 77 designated community areas, is on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The Humboldt Park neighborhood is known for its dynamic social and ethnic demographic change over the years. The Puerto Rican community has identified strongly with the area since the 1970s; Humboldt Park is also the name of a 207-acre (0.8 km²) park adjacent to the community area.

The official community boundaries established by the City of Chicago include Bloomingdale Ave to the north, the Union Pacific railroad tracks to the south, the train tracks running between Kostner and Cicero to the west, and Humboldt Park proper to the east (to the East side of California Ave).

In contrast to the Humboldt Park Official Community Area, the Humboldt Park Neighborhood's borders include Western Avenue to the east, Pulaski Road to the west, North Avenue to the North, and the Union Pacific tracks to the south. The railyards southeast of Grand and Sacramento are also part of the community area. There are two distinct areas of Humboldt Park (the neighborhood): East Humboldt Park (In the West Town Community Area) and West Humboldt Park (In the Humboldt Park Community Area), divided by Sacramento Boulevard.

East Humboldt Park is east of Sacramento Boulevard to Western Avenue and between North Avenue and Division Street. Though it is considered a part of the Humboldt Park Neighborhood, it is officially a part of the West Town Community Area. Though the area was known for its lower middle class Puerto Rican community from the 1970s to the 1990s, the area has seen a large influx of whites due to the process of gentrification. Now most residents on this side of Humboldt Park are upper middle class residents. The area once had the largest middle class Puerto Rican community in the Midwest. The area is home to many social service institutions, a burgeoning scene of bars, restaurants, cafes and shops as well as two sixty-foot Puerto Rican flags on Division Street which mark the history of the area, especially from the 1970s to the mid 1990s. Many formerly empty store fronts on North Ave. and Division St. have provided opportunities for fledgling new business such as tattoo shops, stained glass craftsman, bar and restaurants, and a remodeled grocery store with a rich Mexican presence. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's sweeping school closings left no neighborhood elementary schools in the area.