NW Side Irish?

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Schuman

My mother(who is 100% Irish)grew up on 5th avenue until her family moved to the NW side(around Pulaski and Armitage). that was around 1955. Later she married and lived in Portage Park.

5th Ave., Christ, I haven't heard that street mentioned in a long time. I used to wonder how it got such an odd name that seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the grid numbering system.

In true old West Side Irish fashion I still call Pulaski "Crawford", if only to get a reaction from Drover.

[sprtrpr]

Originally Posted by Schuman

Did the NW side have any Irish neighborhoods(I mean original Irish areas,not white flight people)?

Edison Park is the most Irish neighborhood in the city.

[Chi-town Native]

I have to assume yes, simply as the Irish American Heritage Center is at roughly Wilson & the expressway.

[TheSunshineKid]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

I have to assume yes, simply as the Irish American Heritage Center is at roughly Wilson & the expressway.

I was hoping to take their Gaelic language class last October, but it wasn't in the cards for me.

[FleeTheRustBelt]

Originally Posted by rparz

I'm not too certain of it, but you'd probably get a good answer from a lifelong city resident who's in their 70's/80's.

Of a similar note, check out this Ethnic Settlement map of Chicago from the 1950's. "Community Settlement Map 1950"
http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/gar...ovxmGS81qagojt

Forgive the hijack, but that map is really interesting, even if the colors are kind of hard to read. Shows how the city looked before white flight really took place.

And the black area on the south side was pretty much entirely directly east of where the Dan Ryan wound up being built.

[rparz]

Originally Posted by FleeTheRustBelt

Forgive the hijack, but that map is really interesting, even if the colors are kind of hard to read. Shows how the city looked before white flight really took place.

And the black area on the south side was pretty much entirely directly east of where the Dan Ryan wound up being built.

I forgot where I heard (read) it, but I'm pretty sure that whole jog to the west when you're coming in past Comiskey is because Daley Sr. and 'The Machine' didn't want to cut off half of Bridgeport. So, they built it around Bridgeport.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by FleeTheRustBelt

Forgive the hijack, but that map is really interesting, even if the colors are kind of hard to read. Shows how the city looked before white flight really took place.

And the black area on the south side was pretty much entirely directly east of where the Dan Ryan wound up being built.

Awesome map for sure. Also noteworthy is the fact there are really almost no exclusively Irish areas. I've always found it quite fascinating (and suspect people just like a convenient whipping boy) that Chicagoans love to blame "the Irish" for all sorts of mayhem, when clearly there 1) aren't all that many actual Irish (unsurprising given the size of Ireland) and 2) clearly loads of people vote for that Irish last name who aren't Irish.

Figuring out #2 is one serious head-scratcher. Where does the mystique come from? Do people "vote Irish" due to some feeling Irish people know something everyone else doesn't?

Royko wrote a few times on the subject, speculating that due to speaking English, Irish settlers were able to spread out more easily throughout the City, which gave them a leg up when it came to organizing. Irish people also had a lot of experience in terms of being colonized, which meant a familiarity with "the system" which I suspect later is what evolved into "the Machine."

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

some feeling Irish people know something everyone else doesn't? .

Well they do, though the Jews and Italians know too.

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

Royko wrote a few times on the subject, speculating that due to speaking English, Irish settlers were able to spread out more easily throughout the City, which gave them a leg up when it came to organizing. Irish people also had a lot of experience in terms of being colonized, which meant a familiarity with "the system" which I suspect later is what evolved into "the Machine."

The Irish had the advantages of speaking English and having a familiarity with the Godless Saxons and their ways and were thus able to turn the tables on them over here. They (along with the Germans) were also the first huge wave of immigrants to hit the country after American independence was gained, that was certainly an advantage over the groups who came later.

[gomexico]

Originally Posted by FleeTheRustBelt

Forgive the hijack, but that map is really interesting, even if the colors are kind of hard to read. Shows how the city looked before white flight really took place.

And the black area on the south side was pretty much entirely directly east of where the Dan Ryan wound up being built.

The location of the Dan Ryan - the barrier - was no coincidence. It was intentional. Create a moat and hope they won't cross. That was also the plan behind the Robert Taylor Homes. Warehouse them.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by gomexico

The location of the Dan Ryan - the barrier - was no coincidence. It was intentional. Create a moat and hope they won't cross. That was also the plan behind the Robert Taylor Homes. Warehouse them.

And the subsequent destruction of that housing and displacement of all those people when it didn't work as well as planned.