NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY -- AN OVERVIEW

"What gives a city its soul is its neighborhoods."

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own traditions and history, and

together they tell the history of the urban and industrial side of America.  The

University Village/Little Italy community cherishes its rich history as one of the

first neighborhoods of Chicago. 

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, there were no permanent

settlers in Chicago.  The area was familiar only to the Indians, French traders and

trappers, missionaries, explorers and adventurers.  But within a few short years, it

became the pivotal city in the settlement of the West.  As Chicago became

increasingly urban, the builders of its neighborhoods reflected the culture of the

many European settlers who came to the early city.

The University Village was within the town limits when Chicago was incorporated in

1835 and has been home to successive waves of German, Irish, Scandinavian,

Greek, Polish, Russian, and later, Jewish and Italian immigrants.  The area's

location near the railroad center, river and lake made it the port of entry for the

immigrant populations moving to Chicago and the Midwest. 

In 1910, Jane Addams wrote that between "Halsted Street and the River -- lived

about 10,000 Italians, Neapolitans, Sicilians and Calabrians with an occasional

Lombard or Venetian.  To the South on 12th Street are many Germans and side

streets are given over almost entirely to Polish and Russian Jews.  Still further

south these Jewish colonies merged with a huge Bohemian community so vast

that Chicago ranks as the third largest Bohemian city in the world."

The University Village community is the place where Chicago's earliest settlements

occurred in the 1800's -- where churches and synagogues provided the institutional

framework for the settlements and were, along with the national cultures and

languages, the fabric of the 19th century city.  In the 20th century, additional ethnic

groups - including African-American, Asian and Hispanic - added their strength and

diversity to the community.  Due to the expansion of the area universities, medical

colleges and research institutions, there continues to be an influx of a multi-national

population who work and study in the area. 

Today, the strong sense of community and traditions still exists.  Now as a

neighborhood of the 21st century city, it has exploded not only with churches,

hospitals, universities, and businesses but also, cultural, artistic, and athletic

centers, and organizations of all kinds which provide assistance to the young and

old.  The neighborhood remains home to one of the oldest continuing

Italian-American communities in the United States.

This community is a neighborhood of the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren

and great, great grandchildren of those who have settled here over the years.  Yet, is

continues to welcome a procession of newcomers.  It is a neighborhood of people

and institutions working together to preserve the old and carefully build the new,

dedicated to historic preservation and economic development.  It is a community of neighbors creating and maintaining parks, planting trees and flowers.  It is a

community where diversity is celebrated, yet remains rooted in its Italian-American

traditions.  It is a neighborhood to be lived in, visited and enjoyed.