Hyde Park, Chicago
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| Community Area 41 - Hyde Park Image:US-IL-Chicago-CA41.GIF Location within the city of Chicago | ||
| Latitude Longitude | Template:Coor dm | |
| Neighborhoods |
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| ZIP Code | parts of 60615, 60637 | |
| Area | 4.27 km² (1.65 mi²) | |
| Population (2000) Density | 29,920 (up 4.51% from 1990) 7,001.3 /km² | |
| Demographics | White Black Hispanic Asian Other | 43.5% 37.7% 4.11% 11.3% 3.39% |
| Median income | $35,991 | |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | ||
Hyde Park is a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, located seven miles south of the Loop; it is home to the Museum of Science and Industry and the University of Chicago.
Hyde Park was founded by Paul Cornell in the 1850s in the south side of Chicago. Today the name Hyde Park is applied to the neighborhood from 51st Street ("E. Hyde Park Blvd.") to 61st Street, but in the 19th century the name applied to areas as far south as the 100s. The neighborhood's eastern boundary is Lake Michigan and its western boundary is Washington Park. Some refer to the area between 47th Street and 51st Street ("E. Hyde Park Blvd.") as a part of Hyde Park, although this area is technically the south half of the Kenwood neighborhood.
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History
In the 1890s Hyde Park started to make its mark in Chicago as an urban neigborhood. The University of Chicago was founded by John D. Rockefeller in the early 1890s. In 1893, Hyde Park hosted the World's Columbian Exposition. While the fair covered hundreds of acres, the only structure left today is Charles Atgood's Palace of Fine Arts which has since been converted into the Museum of Science and Industry.
The University of Chicago, with leadership from William Harper, its first president, and large financial contributions from John D. Rockefeller, quickly became one of the nation's best universities. It has since grown to become a highly prestigious research university with over 70 Nobel prize winners associated with the university. The University of Chicago continues to dominate the neighborhood physically and politically today.
Between the 1950s and 1960s Hyde Park began to suffer from the economic decline that was affecting much of the South Side. To protect itself, the University of Chicago sponsored one of the largest urban renewal plans in the nation. Organizing through the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference in the 1950's, many citizens wanted to create an "interracial community of high standards." In the 1960s Hyde Park's average income soared by 70%, but its black population fell by 40%. Overall, Hyde Park did not experience the same economic depression that came to face neighboring areas such as Woodlawn, Washington Park, and Oakland all the while remaining a racially diverse neighborhood.
Famous Hyde Park residents have included Julius Rosenwald, Muhammad Ali, Marshall Field, Mayor Harold Washington, and Louis Farakhan. The neighborhood has also produced three U.S. Senators: Paul Douglas, Carol Moseley Braun, and Barack Obama. The neighborhood contains buildings from famous architects such as Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Institutions
Hyde Park is home to a number of higher education institutions:
- The University of Chicago
- The Catholic Theological Union, a seminary of 28 Roman Catholic religious orders (not the diocesan seminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago)
- The Chicago Theological Seminary, a seminary of the United Church of Christ
- The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- The McCormick Theological Seminary, a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- The Meadville Lombard Theological School, a theological school of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Local Controversies
Thanks to the socioeconomic and educational background of many residents, many Hyde Park residents are politically active within and beyond Hyde Park. Political activities and controversies (of varying levels of importance) in Hyde Park include:
- Debate over urban renewal plans and construction
- Planned reconstruction of the lakeshore at Promontory Point
- Election campaigns of resident Harold Washington and Senate candidates (cited above)
- University construction and expansion
- Financial and management problems at the Hyde Park Co-Op, a supermarket and member-based cooperative
- Challenges associated with the off-campus behavior of students at Kenwood High School
- Local economic development, such as the new Borders bookstore
Location and Transportation
Hyde Park is generally defined as bordered by Cottage Grove Avenue on the west, 51st Street (also known as East Hyde Park Boulevard) on the north, 61st street on the south, and the Lake Michigan shoreline on the east. The area between 47th Street and 51st Street is sometimes considered a part of Hyde Park, but it is actually the southern half of the Kenwood neighborhood.
The neighborhood is connected to the rest of the city by both Chicago Transit Authority and Metra transportation services. CTA services include the number 4 (Cottage Grove), X4, 6 (Jackson Park Express), 15 (Jeffery Local), 28 (Stony Island), X28, 55 (Garfield), X55, and 173 (University of Chicago/Lakeview Express) buses. These allow transfers to Red and Green Line trains to the Loop or provide direct express service to downtown. Metra's Electric District line has several stops in Hyde Park and provides service to downtown by way of the Randolph Street Station. South Shore Line trains stop at the 55th-56th-57th Street Station and provide service to Indiana.
Layout
The even numbered streets in Hyde Park (e.g., 52nd, 54th, etc.) are almost exclusively residential. 53rd, 55th, and 57th streets contain the largest number of businesses.
East of the Metra tracks on 55th street there is a series of independent Asian restaurants. Promontory Point is located at where 55th street meets the lake. To the west of the Metra line between 54th and 55th streets there is a shopping center that includes a Co-Op grocery store, a 24-hour Walgreens, and a Potbelly's. To the north of this there is the Borders bookstore which competes with a number of independent bookstores stores on 57th street, including Powell's and the general-readership branch of the Seminary Co-op Bookstore known as "57th Street Books".
53rd street is lined with restaurants and small businesses between Woodlawn to the west and Lake Park to the east. For a long time, Harper Court was a noted chess haven, though the games were broken up and the tables removed in early 2002, after local merchants reportedly complained.
West of Woodlawn there are very few businesses. South of 55th street development is dominated by the University of Chicago and north of it the neighborhood consists mainly of apartments. The lack of many restaurants within a five minute walk of campus is often a source of frustration to local students.