Englewood, Chicago

Before 1850, Englewood was an oak forest with much swampland. In 1852 several railroad lines crossed at what became known as Junction Grove, stimulating the beginning of what we know today as Englewood. The Union Stock Yard provided employment to early residents. In 1868 Henry B. Lewis, a wool merchant in the Loop and Board of Education member, suggested a new name from his association with Englewood, New Jersey. In 1865, Junction Grove was annexed to the Town of Lake and to Chicago in 1889.{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/426.html|title=Englewood}} The World's Columbian Exposition at nearby Jackson Park in 1893 led to real estate speculation and expansion of the community.Larsen, Erik, The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America, Doubleday Publishing Group, 2004, {{isbn|9781400076314}}

The Englewood community{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagoreporter.com/index.php/c/Sidebars/d/A_Brief_History_of_Englewood |title=Brief History of Englewood |publisher=chicagoreporter.com |date=July 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531172656/http://www.chicagoreporter.com/index.php/c/Sidebars/d/A_Brief_History_of_Englewood |archive-date=May 31, 2009}} was largely defined by the Englewood Shopping Center at 63rd & Halsted, a large pedestrian mall. The City, social services, and mall management worked with community leaders and groups to integrate the mall with the community. It was the site of numerous community events, parades, outdoor concerts, live radio broadcasts and the like. This was spearheaded by the Englewood Business Men's Association and its director, Richard Drew; after Drew's death in 1978 the Center lost its major anchor tenants, including Sears Roebuck, and became a collection of smaller merchants.

In 1999, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced a $256 million revitalization plan for the area. The keystone of the program is the relocation of Kennedy–King College to the former site of the Englewood Shopping Center. Shortly thereafter the city began an aggressive buyout and relocation program for mall merchants. The campus includes the Washburne Culinary Institute.{{cite web|url=http://kennedyking.ccc.edu/washburne/home.asp |title=Washburne Culinary Institute Homepage |access-date=January 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112003054/http://kennedyking.ccc.edu/washburne/home.asp |archive-date=January 12, 2010 }} Groundbreaking for the new, {{convert|40|acre|ha|adj=on}} campus occurred on November 9, 2005, and it opened in 2007.{{cite web|title=Mayor Daley, Community Leaders Break Ground For New Kennedy-King College Campus |url=http://www.pbcchicago.com/content/about/press_detail.asp?pID=184 |publisher=Public Building Commission of Chicago |access-date=October 6, 2013 |date=November 9, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027060328/http://www.pbcchicago.com/content/about/press_detail.asp?pID=184 |archive-date=October 27, 2014 }}{{cite web |title=New Kennedy-King College |url=http://www.pbcchicago.com/content/projects/project_detail.asp?pID=JC-13 |publisher=Public Building Commission of Chicago |access-date=October 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605165423/http://www.pbcchicago.com/content/projects/project_detail.asp?pID=JC-13 |archive-date=June 5, 2013}} "Mayor Daley cut the ribbon to open Kennedy King College on July 18, 2007."

Digital images of Englewood can be found in Explore Chicago Collections, a digital repository made available by Chicago Collections archives, libraries and other cultural institutions in the city.{{cite web|last1=Long|first1=Elizabeth|title=A Single Portal to Chicago's History|url=http://news.lib.uchicago.edu/blog/2015/10/21/a-single-portal-to-chicago-history/|publisher=The University of Chicago News|access-date=September 17, 2016}}

Englewood has a community parade every year, which is geared towards preparing its deserving youth for a new school year. The Englewood Back To School Parade is held annually every 3rd Saturday in August. The parade was founded by Willie Pittman in 1961. https://englewoodparade.org/. Mr. Pittman is also known as the first black Plumber to be licensed in the City of Chicago and Pittman Plumbing still exists today.

{{US Census population

|1930=89063

|1940=92849

|1950=94134

|1960=97595

|1970=89659

|1980=59075

|1990=48434

|2000=40222

|2010=30654

|2020=24369

|footnote={{cite web |last=Paral |first=Rob |title=Chicago Community Areas Historical Data |url=http://www.robparal.com/downloads/ACS0509/HistoricalData/Chicago%20Community%20Areas%20Historical%20Data.htm |access-date=September 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318055428/http://www.robparal.com/downloads/ACS0509/HistoricalData/Chicago%20Community%20Areas%20Historical%20Data.htm |archive-date=March 18, 2013 }}

}}{{expand section|date=January 2017}}

In 2000, Englewood had a poverty rate of 44%, substantially higher than the overall poverty rate in Chicago of 20%.[http://metroplanning.org/uploads/cms/documents/olympicsenglewooddemographics.pdf Demographics] from Metropolitan Planning Council. By Josh Ellis. Published 2009. Data taken from year 2000.

Based on census data collected by the city of Chicago in 2008–2012, the poverty rate for Englewood is 46.6% of households below poverty and 28% of people 16 years of age and older are unemployed.{{Cite web|title = Englewood {{!}} City of Chicago {{!}} Data Portal|url = https://data.cityofchicago.org/Health-Human-Services/Englewood/b352-9cxu|website = Chicago|access-date = February 16, 2016}}

In 1960, Englewood had 67,216 African American residents who made up about 69% of its population. At the time most African Americans resided around 63rd Street. At the time the median income of Englewood was $5,579 (${{inflation|USD|5,579|1960|r=2|fmt=c}} adjusted for inflation).{{cite magazine|url=http://www.chicagoreporter.com/news/2007/10/brief-history-englewood|title=A Brief History of Englewood|magazine=The Chicago Reporter|date=October 1, 2007|access-date=January 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113204324/http://www.chicagoreporter.com/news/2007/10/brief-history-englewood|archive-date=November 13, 2012|url-status=dead}}

By 1980, the total population was 62,069, a loss of about 30,000 people in two decades; 99% of the people were black, and the white population was down to 818. Edward McClelland of NBC Chicago stated "Not even ethnic cleansing in the Balkans achieved the levels of turnover that white flight in Chicago did."{{cite web|author=McClelland, Edward|url=http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/White-Flight-By-The-Numbers-206302551.html|title=White Flight, By The Numbers|publisher=NBC Chicago|date=May 6, 2013|access-date=January 10, 2017}}

These communities have among the highest incidents of adolescent violence in the city, creating serious safety and public health concerns.{{Cite journal |last=Gainer |first=Patricia S. |date=1993-03-01 |title=A Youth Violence Prevention Program |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.1993.01420150059011 |journal=Archives of Surgery |volume=128 |issue=3 |pages=303 |doi=10.1001/archsurg.1993.01420150059011 |issn=0004-0010|url-access=subscription }}

Halsted Street is a major thoroughfare in the neighborhood.

Both the Red Line (stopping at Garfield and 63rd) and Green Line (stopping at Halsted) run through Englewood, as does the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90 and I-94).

The railroad junction at Englewood, where Metra (the former Rock Island) crosses Norfolk Southern (the former Pennsylvania) has long been a cause of delay. In March 2010 a $133 million reconstruction project was announced which improved operations by replacing the diamond crossing between Metra and NS with an overpass for Metra. The project proposed by Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) was completed in 2014.{{cite web |last=Vance |first=Steven |title=Englewood Flyover broke ground today – will save 7,500 hours of Metra delays annually |date=October 10, 2011 |url=http://gridchicago.com/2011/englewood-flyover-broke-ground-today-will-save-7500-hours-of-metra-delays-annually/ |publisher=Grid Chicago |access-date=November 11, 2011}}

Englewood is host to numerous publicly-operated educational institutions. Primary and secondary schools are operated by Chicago Public Schools, while the community has post-secondary educational needs met at the Kennedy–King College, which was relocated to Englewood in 2005 as part of revitalization efforts in the neighborhood. A public high school, Englewood STEM High School, was opened in September 2019 to serve students in the surrounding area.{{Cite web|title=ArcGIS Web Application|url=https://chicago.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d56603be39824be099557dcdf9d7f7b9|access-date=2021-07-07|website=chicago.maps.arcgis.com}}

The Englewood community area has supported the Democratic Party in recent presidential elections by overwhelming margins. In the 2016 presidential election, Englewood cast 8,646 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 141 votes for Donald Trump (97.11% to 1.58%).{{cite news|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois/|last=Ali|first=Tanveer|title=How Every Chicago Neighborhood Voted in the 2016 Presidential Election|newspaper=DNAInfo|date=November 9, 2016|access-date=October 4, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924090904/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois/|archive-date=September 24, 2019}} In the 2012 presidential election, Englewood cast 12,344 votes for Barack Obama and cast 45 votes for Mitt Romney (99.53% to 0.36%).{{cite news|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/obama-romney-president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-2012-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois/|last=Ali|first=Tanveer|title=How Every Chicago Neighborhood Voted in the 2012 Presidential Election|newspaper=DNAInfo|date=November 9, 2012|access-date=October 4, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203045330/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/obama-romney-president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-2012-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois/|archive-date=February 3, 2019}}

In 2018, Australian film director George Gittoes made a documentary about Englewood. The 2019 TV show South Side takes place in the area of Englewood.

The Mental Health Impact Assessment (MHIA) emphasizes mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and substance abuse. Vacant foreclosed properties often lead to criminal activity, and the amendment aimed to hold banks accountable for security and painting such properties, reducing crime and improving the mental health of affected communities. According to a 2012 mental health impact assessment, Englewood faces various social and economic challenges, including high crime rates and limited access to public services, directly impacting residents' mental health.{{Cite journal |last=Todman |first=Lynn C. |last2=Hricisak |first2=Lauren M. |last3=Fay |first3=Jill E. |last4=Sherrod Taylor |first4=J. |date=June 2012 |title=Mental health impact assessment: population mental health in Englewood, Chicago, Illinois, USA |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14615517.2012.659991 |journal=Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal |language=en |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=116–123 |doi=10.1080/14615517.2012.659991 |issn=1461-5517|doi-access=free }} Community engagement in the MHIA pilot has helped gather input from the community. The findings and recommendations are presented in a policy letter to the Chicago City Council. The proposed amendment to the Vacant Buildings Ordinance was passed, indicating the successful integration of mental health considerations into policy decisions.

• Jamie Foster Brown, magazine publisher, and her sister Stella Foster, who are both entertainment journalists{{cite news |first=Leah |last=Hope |title=New billboards tout Englewood neighborhood's success stories |publisher=ABC7 News (WLS-TV/DT) |date=July 18, 2007 |access-date=October 29, 2013 |url=http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5489498 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101134010/http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=5489498 |archive-date=November 1, 2013 |url-status=dead }}
• Margaret Bonds, composer, pianist, arranger, and educator.
• Young Chop, music producer.
• Derrick Rose, former professional basketball player who has played for Chicago Bulls.
• Anthony Davis, professional basketball player who has played for the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.{{cite interview|last=Davis|first=Anthony|subject-link=Anthony Davis|interviewer=Brian Lauvray|title=Anthony Davis Is as Bummed About Chicago Gun Violence as Everyone Else|work=Vice|location=New York |date=July 30, 2014|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/anthony-davis-is-as-bummed-about-chicago-gun-violence-as-everyone-else/}}
• Bina Deneen, First Lady of Illinois (1905–1913). She resided at 532 West 61st Place until it was destroyed during the "Pineapple Primary".
• Charles Deneen, 23rd Governor of Illinois (1905–1913) and later United States Senator (1925–1931). He resided at 532 West 61st Place until it was destroyed during the "Pineapple Primary".{{cite news|author=|title=Specimen Ballot|date=November 3, 1904|volume=18|issue=6|newspaper=Warren County Democrat|publisher=Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections|access-date=June 28, 2019|url=https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=WCD19041103.1.2}}{{Cite web|publisher=Chicago Public Radio|url=http://www.wbez.org/blog/john-r-schmidt/2011-08-01/senator-and-pineapple-89639|author=John R. Schmidt|title=The Senator and the Pineapple|date=August 1, 2011|access-date=June 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814051603/http://www.wbez.org/blog/john-r-schmidt/2011-08-01/senator-and-pineapple-89639|archive-date=August 14, 2011|url-status=dead}}
• Lil Durk, rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was raised in Englewood.{{cite news |last=Austen |first=Ben |title=Public Enemies: Social Media Is Fueling Gang Wars in Chicago|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/09/gangs-of-social-media/|access-date=June 28, 2019|newspaper=Wired|date=September 17, 2013}} "Chief Keef and Lil JoJo, two rappers from the South Side neighborhood of Englewood..."{{cite web |title=Growing Up in Chicago and Getting Noticed |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2012/11/who-is-lil-durk/growing-up-in-chicago |date=October 17, 2012 |access-date=February 7, 2015 |work=Complex |first=David |last=Drake}}
• Kenny Golladay, NFL player.{{Cite web |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170501/ashburn/two-st-rita-graduates-headed-detroit-after-2017-nfl-draft |title=Two St. Rita Graduates Headed to Detroit After 2017 NFL Draft - Ashburn - Chicago - DNAinfo |access-date=June 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905154603/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170501/ashburn/two-st-rita-graduates-headed-detroit-after-2017-nfl-draft |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |url-status=dead }}
• H.H. Holmes, serial killer and con artist who operated a "murder castle" at a corner of South Wallace Avenue and West 63rd Street. He was a resident of Englewood from 1886 to 1894.{{cite web|url=http://www.themediadrome.com/content/articles/history_articles/holmes.htm |title = The Strange Life of H. H. Holmes|work= by Debra Pawlak |publisher=The Mediadrome|year=2002|access-date= January 3, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080611011945/http://www.themediadrome.com/content/articles/history_articles/holmes.htm |archive-date = June 11, 2008}}Lucy Theodate Holmes, passport application, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795–1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original data: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906–IMarch 31, 1925; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1490, 2740 rolls); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Jennifer Hudson, singer and actress{{cite journal|year=2007|title=Jennifer Hudson 1981–|journal=Biography Today |volume=17|issue=1|page=50|issn=1058-2347}}
• Richard Hunt, sculptor who served as Commissioner of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art from 1980 to 1986.{{cite news|last=Turner Trice|first=Dawn|title=Sculptor shares vision for activist's tribute|date=August 20, 2012|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=June 28, 2019|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2012-08-20-ct-met-trice-sculptor-0820-20120820-story.html}}
• Harold L. Ickes, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (1933–1946). He moved to Englewood as a child and attended Englewood High School.{{cite thesis|last=Mobius|first=Joseph B.|date=August 1, 1959|title=The propaganda philosophy of Harold L. Ickes|chapter=Chapter III The Early Years|publisher=Boston University|chapter-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/142085926.pdf|access-date=December 26, 2018}}
• Ralph Lewis, actor best known as Austin Stoneman in The Birth of a Nation.
• Willard Motley, African-American author. He was raised at 350 West 60th Street.[https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/06/26/willard-motley/ Bill Granger, "Willard Motley – A Writer Of Brutal Honesty"], Chicago TribuneJune 26, 1994.
• Bernie Mac, actor and comedian. He was raised in Englewood near West 69th Street and South Sangamon Street.{{cite news|last=Moore|first=Natalie|title=Comedian Bernie Mac gets honorary Chicago street|date=February 28, 2012|publisher=WBEZ|access-date=June 25, 2019|url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/comedian-bernie-mac-gets-honorary-chicago-street/7abc5f57-18c2-47b4-8956-ae6b61c13c19}}
• James Meeks (born 1956), pastor and former member of the Illinois Senate (2003–2013). He was raised in Englewood near West 64th Street and South Laflin Street.{{cite news|last=Rodkin|first=Dennis|title=At 66, the Rev. James Meeks launches a second career as a homebuilder|date=February 22, 2023|newspaper=Crain's Chicago Business|url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/james-meeks-vacant-lots-afforable-homes-roseland|url-access=subscription|access-date=February 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222160513/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/james-meeks-vacant-lots-afforable-homes-roseland|archive-date=February 22, 2023}}
• William T. Murphy (1899–1978), member of Congress from Illinois's 3rd congressional district (1959–1971). He resided at 6617 South Harvard Avenue during his time in Congress.{{cite book|title=Illinois Blue Book 1959-1960|page=92|access-date=March 23, 2023|url=http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/bb/id/11896}}
• Morgan F. Murphy, member of Congress from Illinois's 3rd congressional district. He graduated from Leo High School.{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/ct-morgan-murphy-obituary-20160310-story.html|title=Morgan Murphy Jr., former congressman, dies at 83|last=Graydon|first=Megan|date=March 10, 2016|access-date=June 24, 2017|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location=Chicago, Illinois}}
• Lil Reese, rapper{{cite news|last=Lee|first=William|title=Chicago rapper Lil Reese pleads guilty in pot possession case|date=January 6, 2019|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=June 28, 2019|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-lil-reese-pleads-pot-case-20190606-story.html}} "This is Taylor's second marijuana conviction in Cook County since the Englewood native shot into the limelight with the popularity of drill rap,"
• Fredo Santana, rapper.
• Mavis Staples, singer
• Famous Dex, rapper

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Englewood, Chicago}}

{{Portal|Chicago|Illinois}}

• [http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/doit/general/GIS/Chicago_Maps/Community_Areas/CA_ENGLEWOOD.pdf Official City of Chicago Englewood Community Map]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509054630/http://chicago.urban-history.org/district/southtwn/southtw2.htm Englewood Map during the 1920s–1930s]

{{Geographic Location

| Center = Englewood, Chicago

| Northeast = Fuller Park

| East = Washington Park

| Southeast = Greater Grand Crossing

| South = Auburn Gresham

| Southwest = Ashburn, Chicago

| West = West Englewood

| Northwest = Gage Park, Chicago

| North = New City

}}

{{Community areas of Chicago}}

{{Neighborhoods in Chicago}}

{{Chicago}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Community areas of Chicago

Category:South Side, Chicago