Washington Park (community area), Chicago

History

In the mid-to-late 19th century, a large number of Irish and German railroad workers and meatpackers made Washington Park home. There was a sprinkling of African American residents in the working-class district south of Garfield Boulevard/55th Street. Affluent American-born European Americans settled the wide north-south avenues that provided a direct route into the Loop 7 mi to the north. Cable cars, the Chicago 'L' and wide boulevards contributed to late 19th century prosperity. The wide avenues, especially Grand Boulevard (now named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Drive), provided popular locations for mansions and grand apartments built by many wealthy Chicagoans.

The park in this community area was named for President George Washington in 1880. In the 1920s, the University of Chicago created the community area system of city subdivision with the current names that continue to be used today. The community areas although not formally adopted by the United States Census Bureau are largely consistent with census tract boundaries. The Washington Park community area and its census tracts have been unchanged.

Changing demographics

A turn-of-the-20th-century housing construction boom along with increases in the African American population of the midwest during the Great Migration resulted in the movement of lower-income and predominantly African American Chicagoans southward. Soon, the European-American inhabitants mostly left the area, in a phenomenon often termed "white flight". The transition was rapid and marked with conflicts such as the Race Riot of 1919.

The area rapidly changed from European American to African-American in the 1920s. By 1930, the population was only 7.8% white. By 1960, the population was 0.5% white. From 1950 to 2000 the total population of the neighborhood declined from 57,000 to 14,146. A good example of the Land Clearing commission activities is the Lake Meadows Park to the north of Washington Park. The failure of the evolution of industry and commerce in the community, white flight and land redevelopment for non-residential use combined led to population decline.

Religion

Religion and worship are cornerstones of the South Side communities. The nearby hub of Bronzeville at 47th and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive (known as King Drive and formerly Grand Boulevard) was a cultural hub of the neighborhood that fostered a cultural identity. In keeping with the racial transformation, the cultural and religious institutions, including those of Irish Catholics, Greek Orthodoxy and the Jewish faith, converted to African American institutions.

Structures

The neighborhood once contained many public housing complexes including about a third of the nation's largest, the Robert Taylor Homes. The Taylor homes have been demolished because of the socioeconomic problems that they perpetuated. The area has minimal industry or commerce at the current time. The other property on the NRHP in the area is the Schulze Baking Company Plant.

The DuSable Museum of African American History, founded in 1961, moved to Washington Park in 1973. It is a Washington Park landmark and one of the largest African American museums in the country.

Namesakes

Several nearby regions and institutions use Washington Park in their name. Immediately to the south, Washington Park Subdivision exists where Washington Park Race Track once stood. One city block to the north, Washington Park Court District is a neighborhood that has become a Chicago Landmark.

In literature and culture

The Washington Park neighborhood has been the setting for works of popular literature. James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan trilogy is set in Washington Park. In Richard Wright's novel Native Son, Bigger Thomas drives the drunken Jan Erlone and Mary Dalton around Washington Park, as the two embrace.

In addition to hosting the DuSable Museum, the park hosts Fountain of Time, the world's earliest concrete finished art work.

Conditions in Washington Park Subdivision is are described in a section of Black Metropolis by St. Clair Drake and Horace Roscoe Cayton.

The play Raisin in the Sun was inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's time in the neighborhood after her father won the repeal of racial covenants. In 2010, the Hansberry house, the red brick three-flat at 6140 S. Rhodes Avenue which they bought in 1937, was up for landmark status before the Chicago City Council's Committee on Historical Landmarks Preservation.

Notable people

• Dayvon D. Bennett (1994–2020), alias "King Von", rapper and songwriter
• Jesse Binga (1865–1950), founder of the first privately owned African American bank in Chicago. He moved to the then-white neighborhood in 1917.
• Chief Keef (born 1995), rapper and record producer.
• Grover C. Nash (1911–1970), aviator and first Black pilot to fly mail for the United States Postal Service. He resided at 6109 South Calumet Avenue at the time of his feat.
• Cecil A. Partee (1921–1994), 31st and 33rd President of the Illinois Senate. He resided at 6032 South Michigan Avenue while serving as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives.
• Deval Patrick (born 1956), 71st Governor of Massachusetts (2007–2015). He was raised in Washington Park.
• King Von (1994-2020) Chicago Drill Rapper. Grew up in Parkway Gardens
• Michelle Obama (born 1964) Former First Lady Of The United States. Born in Parkway Gardens
• Harry Mark Petrakis (1923–2021), novelist known for depictions of Greek-American life. He was a childhood resident of Washington Park.
• Melvin Van Peebles (1932–2021), actor, filmmaker, playwright, novelist and composer. He was a childhood resident of the Washington Park community area at 58th and Calumet.

Notes

References

1. "Community Data Snapshot - Washington Park". MetroPulse.
2. Bachin, Robin. (2005). "Washington Park (Park)". Chicago Historical Society.
3. Hinz, Greg. (September 20, 2006). "Daley sets site for Olympic stadium". ChicagoBusiness.com.
4. Graf, John, ''Chicago's Parks'' Arcadia Publishing, 2000, p. 85., {{ISBN. 0-7385-0716-4.
5. Graf, John. (2000). "Chicago's Parks". Arcadia Publishing.
6. (2005). "Chicago's Community Areas". [[Chicago Historical Society]].
7. "Spatially Referenced Census Data for the City of Chicago: Sources Available at or through the University of Chicago Library". The University of Chicago Library.
8. Paral, Rob. "Chicago Community Areas Historical Data".
9. Best, Wallace. (2005). "South Shore". Chicago Historical Society.
10. Eds. Grossman, James R., Keating, Ann Durkin, and Reiff, Janice L., 2004 ''The Encyclopedia of Chicago'', p. 1044. The University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN. 0-226-31015-9
11. (August 2025). "Lake Meadows Park". Chicago Park District.
12. Best, Wallace. (2005). "Washington Park (community area)". Chicago Historical Society.
13. Pacyga, Dominic A.. (2005). "South Side". Chicago Historical Society.
14. Seligman, Amanda. (2005). "Washington Park Subdivision". [[Chicago Historical Society]].
15. (2003). "Washington Park Court District". City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division.
16. Deering, Tara. (May 25, 1999). "Fountain Face-Lift Turns Back Clock - The Elements Have Been Hard On Lorado Taft's Fountain Of Time In Washington Park. But Crews Hope To Restore Its Splendor.". [[Newsbank]].
17. [[St. Clair Drake. (1993). "Black Metropolis". [[University of Chicago Press]].
18. (March 11, 2002). "A Raisin in the Sun". [[NPR]].org.
19. [http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2031043,CST-NWS-raisin05.article 'Raisin in the Sun' home for landmark?] {{Webarchive. link. (April 13, 2010 , Maudlyne Ihejirika, ''[[The Chicago Sun-Times]]'', February 5, 2010)
20. Evans, Maxwell. (August 18, 2021). "King Von Mural Near Parkway Gardens Sparked Debate, Threats And Harassment. Now, Neighbors To Vote On Its Fate". [[Block Club Chicago]].
21. Rodkin, Dennis. (May 22, 2013). "This Washington Park Renovation Is the Next Chapter of a Great Chicago Housing Story". [[Chicago (magazine).
22. Rosemary Regina Sobol, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chief-keef-20130730-story.html Chief Keef pays $531 to settle speeding ticket], ''Chicago Tribune'' (July 30, 2016): "his former home in the Parkway Gardens apartment complex on the South Side."
23. Waterford, Janet. (May 21, 1938). "RACE AVIATOR FLIES U.S. AIR MAIL ROUTE: FLYER TESTS NEW 'FEEDER' SERVICE PLAN". [[Chicago Defender]].
24. [http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/ref/collection/bb/id/16489 Illinois Blue Book 1965-1966] page 268
25. DNAinfo Staff. (June 7, 2013). "'Deval Patrick Way' Honors Chicago Roots of Massachusetts Governor". DNAinfo Chicago.
26. Petrakis, Henry Mark. (2014). "Song of My Life: A Memoir". [[University of South Carolina Press]].
27. Van Peebles, Melvin. "Artistic development, near-death experiences, and the power of persistence". BOMB Magazine.