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Avondale
Avondale
	— Community area —
Community Area 21 - Avondale
	Location within the city of Chicago
	Coordinates: 41°56.4′N 87°42.6′W / 41.94°N 87.71°WCoordinates: 41°56.4′N 87°42.6′W / 41.94°N 87.71°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	list Avondale; Jackowo; Wacławowo
	Area
- Total	2 sq mi (5.18 km2)
	Population (2000)
- Total	43,083
- Density	21,541.4/sq mi (8,317.2/km2)
	population up 21.2% from 1990
	Demographics
- White	29.6%
- Black	1.55%
- Hispanic	62.0%
- Asian	2.21%
- Other	4.65%
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes	60618
Median income	$36,677
	Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Avondale is one of 77 officially designated Chicago, Illinois community areas. It is located on the Northwest Side of Chicago. Its main borders are the North Branch of the Chicago River, Diversey Avenue, Addison Street, Pulaski Road and the Union Pacific/Northwest rail line; bisecting the community are Belmont and Milwaukee Avenues along with the Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90/Interstate 94). Located directly north of the Logan Square neighborhood, it is also accessible through the Belmont and Logan Square stations of the CTA Blue Line.

An early racially-integrated suburb now considered a neighborhood, Avondale became part of Chicago when the city annexed the Town of Jefferson in 1889. Factories that sprang up around the turn of the century by the railroads were responsible for the initial wave of European immigrants, mostly Germans, Scandinavians and Poles. This quiet, blue-collar neighborhood had an increase in the Hispanic population from 37.6% in 1990 to 62.0% in 2000.^[1]

Avondale was the site of one of Chicago's Seven Lost Wonders, the Olson Park and Waterfall complex at Diversey and Pulaski.^[2]

[edit] Neighborhoods

[edit] Jackowo

Polish store on Milwaukee Avenue

Jackowo [jat͡sˈkɔvɔ] is one of Chicago's largest and most vibrant 'Polish Patches'. The neighborhood gets its name from Saint Hyacinth's Basilica (Bazylika Św. Jacka), the local Catholic parish church, at 3636 West Wolfram Street. Milwaukee Avenue is the main strip with dozens of sausage shops, restaurants, bakeries etc. This area is also referred to as the Polish Village - a name featured on signs hung on street lamps over the district. Pulaski Avenue, named after the Polish Revolutionary War hero, runs through the area.

The Polish community of Jackowo appeared in late 19th century and early 20th century, when hundreds of Poles settled there and began working in local factories. The neighborhood experienced its heyday as the cultural nexus of Chicago's Polonia during the 1980s and 90's with the so-called Solidarity and Post-Solidarity waves of Polish migration to Chicago, including a number of political refugees. Although today much of the Polish diaspora has moved out to more upscale neighborhoods and other immigrants from Latin America or from the former Soviet Bloc, such as Ukrainians and Czechs have moved in, the area still retains much of its Polish character. Like neighboring Logan Square, the neighborhood is also experiencing gentrification as artists and Yuppies move their way northwest along Milwaukee Avenue.

The neighborhood is serviced by the Blue Line's Belmont station located on its northeastern edge next to the Kennedy Expressway at the intersection of Kimball and Belmont, less than three blocks away from the St. Hyacinth's former mission of Our Lady of Fatima.

[edit] Wacławowo

St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church in Wacławowo, Chicago

Wacławowo [vat͡swaˈvɔvɔ] is the "Polish Patch" just north of Jackowo. The neighborhood's housing stock primarily consists of brick two-flats built in the first half of the 20th century prior to World War II, although there are a number of bungalows present in the area neighboring the Villa District to the north. Like most of the Polish Patches in Chicago, its name derives form the area's Polish parish, in this case St. Wenceslaus. The neighborhood is serviced by the Blue Line's Addison station located on its northeastern edge over the Kennedy Expressway. Wacławowo is primarily a residential area of two flats and some bungalow housing as opposed to the bustling commercial activity that characterizes the Jackowo district.

[edit] See also

Avondale is part of Chicago's 1st Ward and is currently represented by Alderman Manny Flores.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[0] "Chicago Area Housing Website - Housing website home page". http://www.chicagoareahousing.org/.

[1] ttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0508290065aug29,0,5504866.story?coll=chi-homepagepromo440-f

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