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Humboldt Park is located on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois. The name may be used to describe the area as a community or the actual 207 acre (0.8 km²) park itself. The neighborhood is bordered by Western Avenue to the east, Pulaski Avenue to the west, Armitage Avenue to the North and Chicago Avenue to the south. It is a diverse neighborhood, home to a high concentration of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and African-Americans.
The park was named for Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist famed for his five-volume work, "Cosmos: Draft of a Physical Description of The World". Interestingly enough, his single visit to the United States did not include Chicago. The creation of Humboldt and several other west side parks provided beauty, linked together via Chicago's historical boulevard system. The park is flanked by large graystone homes.
Most of the neighborhood was annexed into the city in 1869, the year the park was laid out. The fact that this area stood just beyond the city's fire code jurisdiction as set out after the 1871 fire made inexpensively built housing possible.
The 1970s saw troubled times for Humboldt Park. Gang activity, crime, and violence predominated the area. The neighborhood continues to be economically depressed, with housing values below the city-wide average. Overcrowding remains a serious problem. Throughout its history, Humboldt Park has remained a neighborhood of persons "passing through," being an area in which to live while accumulating capital in order to move on. Today the neighborhood is slowly regaining popularity and property value.
External links
- Local Chicago
- Chicago Park District
- Humboldt Park (http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/parks.detail/object_id/3A5DC0F3-2FEF-44E8-B99B-1487EAC9D1D2.cfm/)
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