History of the North Park Area

The area along the North Branch of the Chicago River known as River Park had been home to highly sophisticated Eastern Woodlands Indians as far back as 2000 B.C. These tribes were later succeeded by Miamis who built a village of 700 people, a large community for the 18th century. Miami settlements, including the one in River Park, were encountered in 1696 by the French Jesuit priest Father Francois Pinet who established the Mission of the Guardian Angels at what is now the intersection of LaSalle and Wacker.

In 1855 North Park was a portion of the newly designated Jefferson township. A few houses were built, but residential and commercial development were severely restrained by the lack of transportation. In 1889 when by election the township was annexed to Chicago, North Park was largely prairie and woodlands with a few German and Swedish farmers residing in the area bounded by Devon Avenue, Pulaski Avenue, the North branch of the Chicago River and the River Channel. Several Czechoslovak families also had moved into the northwest section drawn there by the opening of the Bohemian National Cemetery in 1877.

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Residential development increased under the impetus provided by the foundation of North Park College (now, University) in 1893 by Swedes affiliated with the Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America. Swedes and other Scandinavians were attracted to the neighborhood. The isolation of the area gradually diminished as street car (surface) lines on Lawrence, Elston, and Kedzie Avenues were extended north and westward. By 1907 the Ravenswood elevated line had progressed to the nearby Albany Park Community. For the first few years, fares were supplemented by local property owners in order to cover operating deficits.

In addition to the College, other significant institutions arose at the turn of the century. The city established the Chicago Parental School in 1901 at Foster and Central Park as a place "of confinement, discipline, and instruction" for boys of compulsory school age. This site is now occupied by Jewish charitable institutions. In 1905 the city founded the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium on a 160 acre site around Crawford (now Pulaski) and Bryn Mawr with a bed capacity of 1000. When the sanitarium was finally closed in 1974 there was considerable controversy regarding the future use of the site. Non-commercial interests won out, leading to development of open land and adjacent senior housing, the latter called North Park Village. In addition the Village includes Peterson Park (part of the Chicago Park District), a health clinic for seniors, and a recycling center. The open land, the North Park Nature Center is a protected wetlands area.

Alongside the influence of North Park College, powerful real estate and transportation interests affected the development of 1890's North Park, although more directly that of nearby Albany Park. The Northwest Land Association was a syndicate set up to purchase large tracts of farmland for street car magnates Charles Tyson Yerkes and De Lancey Lauderback, banker John J. Mitchell, and Clarence Buckingham (of fountain fame). These men were initially interested in the construction of transport lines to bring city residents out to two racetracks, one around Montrose and Kedzie, the other in River Park near present day Argyle and Albany streets.

There were only 478 people living in North Park in 1910, many lots remaining unsold. Residential growth accelerated after this with the real upswing occurring after World War I, mainly in the southeast third of the community. The population grew to 3,376 by 1920 with Swedes still the dominant ethnic group. During the mid-1920's Russian Jews began to move into the community from neighboring Albany Park and from West Side neighborhoods including Douglas Park. A smaller number of Poles also took up residence in North Park during this period.

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By 1930 the population had tripled to 11,052 and characteristic bungalows and two-flats began to dot the area. The community had less "of an air of being out in the country" as the time wore on. Growth slowed during the 1930's as a result of the Depression. The Jewish population grew, however, and by decade's end was only a little smaller than the Swedish settlement.

Construction picked up again in the 1950's and North Park's population peaked at almost 18,000 in 1960. Russian Jews followed by Poles were then the dominant groups. After this time, the Jewish population declined, moving to suburban Skokie and points north. New migration in the 1970's brought in an influx of Hispanic and Asian (largely Korean) residents. The neighborhood became more diverse than ever, culturally and linguistically.

In 1951 North Park became home to Lincoln Village, one of the nation's first shopping centers on a tract bounded by Kimball, Lincoln, Kedzie and McCormick. Businessman Ernest G. Skinner was the guiding spirit for this development built at a cost of $6 million. In 2003 the shopping center underwent a major renovation enticing new businesses, such as Borders and Starbucks, to open there.

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