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South Shore, Chicago

Coordinates: 41°45.6′N 87°34.8′W / 41.7600°N 87.5800°W / 41.7600; -87.5800
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
South Shore
Community Area 43 – South Shore
Rainbow Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan.
Rainbow Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan.
Location within the city of Chicago
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°45.6′N 87°34.8′W / 41.7600°N 87.5800°W / 41.7600; -87.5800
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyCook
CityChicago
Neighborhoods
list
Area
 • Total
2.99 sq mi (7.74 km2)
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total
53,971
 • Density18,000/sq mi (7,000/km2)
Demographics 2020[1]
 • White3.0%
 • Black92.7%
 • Hispanic2.6%
 • Asian0.3%
 • Other1.4%
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes
parts of 60619, 60637, and 60649
Median household income$26,425[1]
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

South Shore is one of 77 defined community areas of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Located on the city's South Side, the area is named for its location along the city's southern lakefront. Although South Shore has seen a greater than 40% decrease in residents since Chicago's population peaked in the 1950s, the area remains one of the most densely populated neighborhoods on the South Side.[2] The community benefits from its location along the waterfront, its accessibility to Lake Shore Drive, and its proximity to major institutions and attractions such as the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Jackson Park.

History

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Like all of what is now the City of Chicago, the South Shore community area was originally inhabited by a number of Algonquian peoples, including the Mascouten and Miami.[3] After the expulsion of Native Americans by white settlers in the nineteenth century, it became characterized by small settlements including Essex, Bryn Mawr, Parkside, Cheltenham Beach, and Windsor Park.[4] The area is bounded by 67th and 79th streets to the north and south and by Stony Island Avenue and Lake Michigan to the west and east. In 1861, the Illinois General Assembly incorporated Hyde Park Township, which included South Shore.[5] The area's population grew as workers in the nearby steel industry settled in the area.[4] Following the June 29, 1889 elections, the South Shore community area was annexed into the City of Chicago with the entirety of Hyde Park Township.[6] The location of the World's Columbian Exposition in nearby Jackson Park prompted the sale of land and building lots. As in other parts of Chicago, the desire for affordable housing at the start of the twentieth century led to the large scale construction of bungalows. Unlike other areas in which bungalows were built en masse, South Shore's bungalow residents were largely affluent. Additionally, South Shore was the destination for white flight from Washington Park as immigrants and African Americans moved there.[4]

After racially restrictive covenants were declared unconstitutional by Shelley v. Kraemer, African American families began to move into historically white neighborhoods such as South Shore.[4] The South Shore Commission initiated a program they called "managed integration", designed to check the physical decline of the community and to achieve racial balance. The initiative was largely unsuccessful on both counts. Per the 1950 census, South Shore had 79,000 residents and was 96% white. A 1951 University of Chicago study estimated that over 20% of the neighborhood’s residents were Jewish. In 1960, the population had dropped to 73,000 residents and was 90% white and 10% black.[7] Like many other urban neighborhoods across the United States undergoing racial change and tensions, many of the white residents began to choose to move to new locations.[4] By 1970, the population had risen to 81,000 and was 69% black and 28% white as South Shore itself became a victim of white flight. By 1980, the population had fallen slightly to 78,000, but was 94% black.[4]

By the late 1990s South Shore had developed into a middle-class African American community. The Chicago Park District purchased the waning South Shore Country Club in 1972, converting it into a cultural center.[8]

Neighborhoods and sub-areas

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Map of the South Shore neighborhood.

Jackson Park Highlands

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The Jackson Park Highlands District is a sixteen block area bounded by East 67th Street on the north. East 71st Street on the south, South Cregier Avenue on the west, and South Jeffrey Boulevard on the east.[9]

The Jackson Park Highlands District is a historic district in the South Shore community area of Chicago. The district was built in 1905 by various architects. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 25, 1989.[9]

Jeffery–Cyril Historic District

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The Jeffery–Cyril Historic District is a national historic district in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The district comprises a cluster of six apartment buildings on Jeffery Boulevard, 71st Place, and Cyril Avenue. All six buildings were built between 1927 and 1929.[10] The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 1986.[11]

South Shore Bungalow Historic District

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The South Shore Bungalow Historic District is a residential historic district in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The district contains 229 Chicago bungalows and twenty other residential buildings built between 1911 and 1930. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 2008.[11]

Architecture

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South Shore Cultural Center

The South Shore Cultural Center, previously the South Shore Country Club, began as a lakefront retreat for the wealthiest of Chicago's movers and shakers. The firm of Marshall and Fox, architects of the Drake, Blackstone, and Edgewater Beach hotels, were hired to design an opulent, Mediterranean-style clubhouse for a membership that included some of Chicago's most prominent families. The grounds provided private stables and members-only beach, and golf course. Tennis, horseback riding, and skeet shooting were enjoyed by guests the likes of Jean Harlow, Will Rogers, and Amelia Earhart. Between the first and second World Wars, a housing boom brought a development of luxury cooperative apartments and mansions to the neighborhood surrounding the club. In 1974 the club held its last members-only event. Today, the Chicago Park District owns the property. It has been restored to its original design and is now open to the public. A major drawback to the South Shore and surrounding South Chicago neighborhoods is that they are one of the few remaining Chicago lakefront neighborhoods that lack a fully publicly accessible neighborhood shoreline. There are lakefront gaps between the existing South Shore Cultural Center and Rainbow Beach to its south. Even larger masses of lakefront land along the South Chicago neighborhood (at the abandoned USX steel mill) with their beautiful vistas of the city's lakefront and Chicago skyline are undergoing development as parks and not completely available for recreational enjoyment by the adjacent neighborhood residents. Presently, Chicago Lakeside Development has proposed plans that call for the completion of this southern portion of lakefront with the development of new parklands, beaches, and a continuous waterfront bicycle and jogging path that will link Calumet Park and Beach in the East Side neighborhood to the South Shore Cultural Center in South Shore. Completion of such a project would result in improved access to Chicago's southern lakefront and connect it to neighborhoods such as Hyde Park and Bronzeville to the north.

At the northern end of South Shore is the historic district Jackson Park Highlands, one of Chicago's greatest examples of structural history and 19th-century architecture, with an abundance of homes in the style of American Foursquare, Colonial Revival, and Renaissance Revival on suburban-sized lots.

Located in the Bryn Mawr section of South Shore is the Allan Miller House at 7121 South Paxton Avenue. Commissioned by advertising executive Allan Miller, this home is an excellent example of Prairie-style architecture. Built in 1915, it is Chicago's only surviving building designed by John Van Bergen, a former member of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture firm.

Politics

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Aerial view of South Shore and Hyde Park in 2015

The South Shore community area has supported the Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections by overwhelming margins. In the 2016 presidential election, the South Shore cast 18,130 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 373 votes for Donald Trump (96.07% to 1.98%).[12] In the 2012 presidential election, South Shore cast 22,515 votes for Barack Obama and cast 222 votes for Mitt Romney (98.77% to 0.97%).[13]

Crime and policing

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On July 14, 2018, the community clashed with the Chicago Police Department after a local barber, Harith Augustus, was shot multiple times by a police officer at 71st Street and Chappel Avenue. Body camera footage without audio was released immediately contrary to past practices of months-long waits for video in other police shootings. Footage taken by body cameras of other officers has not been released.[14][15][16]

Culture and religion

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The Nation of Islam National Center and Mosque Maryam are at 7351 South Stony Island Avenue.[17] The National Black United Front has its headquarters in the community.[18]

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago operates Catholic churches. On July 1, 2020, Our Lady of Peace, St. Bride, and St. Philip Neri in South Shore and Our Lady Gate of Heaven Church in Jeffery Manor will merge.[19]

Transportation

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The South Shore community area has five stations along the South Chicago Branch of the Metra Electric District. In South Shore, the South Chicago Branch runs the median of along East 71st Street, making stops at Stony Island, Bryn Mawr, and South Shore stations before turning southeast along South Exchange Avenue to make stops at Windsor Park and Cheltenham stations. In addition, the 75th Street station is on the Greater Grand Crossing side of the border between that area and South Shore.[20]

Education

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Chicago Public Schools operates district public schools.

Urban Prep Academies has a South Shore Campus.[21]

Muhammad University of Islam, a Nation of Islam-affiliated primary and secondary school, is adjacent to the Mosque Maryam.[17]

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
193078,755
194079,5931.1%
195079,336−0.3%
196073,086−7.9%
197080,52710.2%
198077,743−3.5%
199061,517−20.9%
200061,5560.1%
201049,767−19.2%
202053,9718.4%
[1][22]

Notable people

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References

[edit]
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