northsiders vs southsiders (Chicago, Cicero, Skokie: insurance, homes, live)

[Windy City John]

Where and how did it all start? Any defintions of distinction? Please educate me.

[via chicago]

i'm not sure what you mean by "started". madison ave. is the dividing line of the chicago street grid, which seperates north addresses from south addresses.

historically, the southside has been poor and black (although not entirely), and the northside white and rich. obviously this segregation creates further divisions.

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by via chicago

i'm not sure what you mean by "started". madison ave. is the dividing line of the chicago street grid, which seperates north addresses from south addresses.

historically, the southside has been poor and black (although not entirely), and the northside white and rich. obviously this segregation creates further divisions.

Well, it goes back a little farther than that. They had steel mills, auto plants and stockyards on the southside (which is the larger area) so it was much less residential than the north. After the decline of the 1st Ward and the Levee district (we're talking WWI here) the swells built homes on the northside (except for Kenwood). New foreign immigrants found housing on the west side, the near south side and the southeast side. North of Madison street was a tonier area (except for Uptown) than similar areas in the south.

When the north side was building insurance businesses, the southside was industrial. Any population movement within the city was out from the city center, mainly to the north but also to fringe areas on the south like Morgan Park. So there developed distinctions between north side Irish (George Dunne) and south side Irish (the Daleys). Jews from Rogers Park (like Gene Siskel) had a leg up on Jews from the south side (David Mamet) and Jews from the west side like Arthur Goldberg. Chicago had great ethnic divisions!

Moving out to the suburbs was similarly different. Morton Grove and Skokie became great post-war magnets for single family homes but they were a lot different than Harvey, Blue Island and Markham. The southside didn't really become predominantly black until the late sixties. That (and the social upheavals on the west side) changed the city's mix, and its partisanship forever.

This divisiveness lives on. Black folks from the southside (like Obama) are considered snooty by their brethern on the west side (like Rickey Hendon). I have no idea what the northside Hispanics think of the Latinos on the southeast side and in Little Village, but I bet there are differences.

Sorry for going on so long.

[Avengerfire]

I would think it started when the north side started to be populated more and with the annex of Lake View Township(1887). Before that there was not much of a north side. Most of the population was on the south side and near west side.

[Milliano]

Originally Posted by Manigault

This divisiveness lives on. Black folks from the southside (like Obama) are considered snooty by their brethern on the west side (like Rickey Hendon). I have no idea what the northside Hispanics think of the Latinos on the southeast side and in Little Village, but I bet there are differences.

Could be totally wrong but IIRC from a book recently, the Hispanic population on the west and southwest sides tends to be much more often Mexican, while to the north/northwest it's more often other groups such as Puerto Rican? Something about the Hispanic populations differing a lot from one area to another. Then there is also a large Hispanic population in the far southeast, and the suburbs there aren't there? Surely someone has knowledge on this they can give. I hardly ever see anything about the Hispanic population in this forum, even though there are almost million Hispanics in Chicago city limits.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Milliano

Could be totally wrong but IIRC from a book recently, the Hispanic population on the west and southwest sides tends to be much more often Mexican, while to the north/northwest it's more often other groups such as Puerto Rican? Something about the Hispanic populations differing a lot from one area to another. Then there is also a large Hispanic population in the far southeast, and the suburbs there aren't there? Surely someone has knowledge on this they can give. I hardly ever see anything about the Hispanic population in this forum, even though there are almost million Hispanics in Chicago city limits.

Logan Square is a big Puerto Rican area. Pilsen, Little Village, Cicero, etc are all overwhelmingly Hispanic as well

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by Milliano

Could be totally wrong but IIRC from a book recently, the Hispanic population on the west and southwest sides tends to be much more often Mexican, while to the north/northwest it's more often other groups such as Puerto Rican? Something about the Hispanic populations differing a lot from one area to another. Then there is also a large Hispanic population in the far southeast, and the suburbs there aren't there? Surely someone has knowledge on this they can give. I hardly ever see anything about the Hispanic population in this forum, even though there are almost million Hispanics in Chicago city limits.

I think you have it! There are more Puerto Ricans and Dominicans on the north side while, to my experienc, the south is more Mexocan.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by via chicago

i'm not sure what you mean by "started". madison ave. is the dividing line of the chicago street grid, which seperates north addresses from south addresses.

historically, the southside has been poor and black (although not entirely), and the northside white and rich. obviously this segregation creates further divisions.

Very untrue. Generally in the last quarter or half of the 20th century you are somewhat correct. But in the first half of post-fire Chicago's history things were far different. The northside has plenty of areas that are not wealthy or White even now. The southside used to be where all the rich lived,hence all of the mansions on south Mich.,State,Prairie,Martin Luther,Indiana,Cottage Grove etc...

Also, Madison and State were not always the dividing lines. Many street names have been changed.

Check out this 1875 map before the major annexes.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by via chicago

Logan Square is a big Puerto Rican area. Pilsen, Little Village, Cicero, etc are all overwhelmingly Hispanic as well

Logan Square definitely has a larger Puerto Rican population than Little Village/Pilsen, but there are far more Mexican immigrants than Puerto Ricans in Logan Square.

Compared to a lot of East Coast cities Chicago doesn't have a very large Puerto Rican population, about 4% citywide compared to 18% Mexican.

Humboldt Park is the largest Puerto Rican community in Chicago, but even in the area around the Paseo Boricua the number of Mexican immigrants outnumber Puerto Ricans.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Very untrue. Generally in the last quarter or half of the 20th century you are somewhat correct. But in the first half of post-fire Chicago's history things were far different. The northside has plenty of areas that are not wealthy or White even now. The southside used to be where all the rich lived,hence all of the mansions on south Mich.,State,Prairie,Martin Luther,Indiana,Cottage Grove etc...

Which is why I said "not entirely". Im well aware sections of the south and west side used to be some of the most luxurious in the city.