| Chicago Lawn
is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois.
It is located on the southwest side of the city. It
is bounded by Bell Avenue on the east, Central Park
Avenue on the west, 59th Street on the north, and 75th
Street on the south. This puts it 13 km (8 miles) southwest
of the Loop. The local residents call the area "Marquette
Park" after the 300-acre (1.2 km2) park in its
center.
The city of Chicago Lawn was
founded by John F. Eberhart in 1871. Although it was
annexed by the city of Chicago in 1889, it remained
mostly farmland with some scattered settlements until
the 1920s.
Between 1920 and 1930 the population
increased from 14,000 to 47,000. Residents of German
and Irish descent began to move into the area from the
Back of the Yards and Englewood neighborhoods. Poles,
Bohemians, and Lithuanians followed them. Most new residents
belonged to various Protestant denominations, but Chicago
Lawn also was home to many Roman Catholic churches and
schools. Today, there are six Catholic institutions
that make up the Marquette Park Catholic Campus Council.
Chicago Lawn was a thriving urban neighborhood as the
Depression hit the nation and by 1940 its population
had reached 49,291. In 1941, the National Biscuit Company
announced plans to build a huge bakery in Chicago Lawn.
When completed, this was the largest bakery in one location
in the world. The size of the facility was doubled in
the late 1990s. |
