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Creative Futures
Bruce Taylor began the first day of class by asking his nine students why they were given their first names. “I was named Joy,” responded one student, “because my daddy said I brought joy into his life.” After two beats of respectful silence a single giggle escaped from someone’s mouth. The class erupted in... »
Sticking Up for Lacrosse
Paul looked on appreciatively from the sidelines as his son came off the bench for the first time in the game. Two years younger and a head shorter than the other players around him, Paul Jr. chased down stray balls with his netted stick and an outsized passion that more than compensated for his... »
Midway
Before the airport was built, the railroad drew working families to the area west of the Grand Trunk tracks. To this day, West Lawn remains a small but vibrant cultural center for Lithuanians in Chicago and beyond—home to the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture and one of the only Lithuanian-language printing presses in the... »
Englewood & Auburn-Gresham
There’s a common question asked to visitors of Englewood and Auburn-Gresham: “Do you know where you are?” If you’re walking in the neighborhoods west of the Dan Ryan and south of 55th, and a worried, well-meaning passerby thinks you might not be from the area, you might get asked yourself. If you’re not careful,... »
Chinatown
Bolstered by a second wave of immigration in the ’50s and ’60s, the area has developed two distinct sections. “Old Chinatown” runs down Wentworth Street, “New Chinatown” down Archer Avenue. »
Best of the South Side 2011
If you look at a map, you’ll see our city of neighborhoods carved into 77 “community areas.” The lines, drawn by sociologists in the 1950s, sometimes traced the perimeters of ethnic enclaves and sometimes created them. Flattening Chicago’s complex social geography, these semi-official designations remain in use, but even urban planners would admit they... »
The Transformation
Chicago Housing Authority's “Plan for Transformation,” which started in 2000, is the “largest and most ambitious redevelopment effort of public housing in our country’s history.” CHA has already begun a series of demolitions, relocations, renovations, and new constructions—yet it remains to be seen how much can truly be changed. »
Prix-Fixe à la Pilsen
Of the 200 plus restaurants participating in Chicago Restaurant Week, eight are south of Roosevelt Road. Pilsen’s May St. Cafe leads the octet with a stellar reputation and the Latin flare to back it up. »
