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West Lawn
West Lawn
	— Community area —
Community Area 65 - West Lawn
	Location within the city of Chicago
	Coordinates: 41°46.2′N 87°43.2′W / 41.77°N 87.72°WCoordinates: 41°46.2′N 87°43.2′W / 41.77°N 87.72°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	list Ford City; West Lawn
	Area
- Total	3 sq mi (7.72 km2)
	Population (2000)
- Total	29,235
- Density	9,808.1/sq mi (3,786.9/km2)
	population up 24.9% from 1990
	Demographics
- White	30.9%
- Black	2.60%
- Hispanic	63.91%
- Asian	0.93%
- Other	1.66%
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes	part of 60629
Median income	$47,017
	Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

West Lawn, one of Chicago's 77 official community areas, is located on the southwest side of the city. It is a quite friendly community, and is considered to be a "melting pot" of sorts, due to its constant change of races moving in and out of the area, as well as the diversity that exists there. It has a small town atmosphere in the big city. People are kind and are established as long-term residents. West Lawn is home to many Polish-Americans, Irish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and other people of Latin American and Eastern European origin.

[edit] History

Chicago Lawn, to the east, was settled while the marshy land of West Lawn remained unsettled. Little housing was built during the 1920s, but it still remained swampy land. Houses were build during the 1930s which then reported German-Americans, Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans, Czech-Americans and Italian-Americans living in the area. The area had been growing until the Great Depression, when the economy declined. After World War II, growth continued and new houses and streets were built. The Airport Homes Race Riots of 60th & Karlov in 1946 were intended to keep black people out of the area. After the 1970s, more Mexican-Americans, Arab-Americans, Irish-Americans, and Polish immigrants started settling the area.

[edit] Notability

One small business in the neighborhood, the Capitol Cigar Store at 63rd and Pulaski, features a tall Native American statue as the landmark of West Lawn. The statue is most notable for being seen in the movie Wayne's World. West Lawn is also the home of the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture along Pulaski. It was founded by Lithuanian-American businessman Stanley Balzekas, Jr. and is the only museum in the US devoted to the subjects of Lithuania, the Lithuanian language, history, culture and politics, and to the Lithuanian-American experience.

Notable residents include:

Michael Madigan

[edit] See also

South Side Irish

[edit] Neighborhoods

[edit] Ford City

Ford City is a neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago which immediately surrounds the Ford City Mall, in turn named for the Ford Aircraft plant which previously occupied the site. In the future, the Orange Line of the Chicago 'L' will be extended here.

[edit] External links

Official City of Chicago West Lawn Community Map
Ford City Mall
West Lawn Chamber Of Commerce
Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
Chicago Park District
- West Lawn Park

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