LITTLE ITALY 

Dajana Mrkajic, Allison Kozuch, & Jazmyn Trinos 

LOCATED ON THE NEAR WEST SIDE OF CHICAGO (BORDERS PILSEN AND UNIVERSITY VILLAGE) 

Location

-START AT THE LOYOLA STATION- TAKE THE RED LINE INBOUND TOWARD THE

95TH - GET OFF ON JACKSON 

-TRANSFER TO THE BLUE LINE UNDERGROUND- TAKE THE BLUE LINE OUTBOUND TOWARD

FOREST PARK - GET OFF AT RACINE 

- GO TOWARD LOOMIS STREET 

How To Get There 

•  TAYLOR STREET, THE PORT-OF-CALL FOR CHICAGO'S ITALIAN AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS, INHERITED THE TITLE OF CHICAGO'S "LITTLE ITALY." TAYLOR STREET'S LITTLE ITALY IS PART OF A LARGER COMMUNITY— CHICAGO'S NEAR WEST SIDE.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS GIVEN ITS NAME DUE TO THE STRONG INFLUENCE OF ITALIANS AND ITALIAN CULTURE ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD THROUGHOUT THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY. THE ITALIAN POPULATION, PEAKING DURING THE DECADES OF THE 1950S AND '60S, BEGAN DECLINING SHORTLY AFTER THE DECISION TO BUILD THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS IN THE AREA WAS FINALIZED IN 1963.

THE IMMIGRATION OF ITALIANS ACCELERATED THROUGHOUT THE LATE 19TH CENTURY AND INTO THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY. CHICAGO'S FOREIGN-BORN ITALIAN POPULATION WAS 16,008 IN 1900 AND PEAKED AT 73,960 IN 1930.

History

- POPULATION:5237 (MALE: 2566; FEMALE:2671)-MEDIAN INCOME ($60,500) CHICAGO ($47,099)- 25 % OF PEOPLE ARE FOREIGN BORN RESIDENTS- 27.9% IS UNDER POVERTY LINE - MOST PEOPLE BETWEEN THE AGE OF 20-25  

Demographic 

UIC MEDICAL CENTER IS PART OF THE LARGEST MEDICAL DISTRICT IN CHICAGO; IT ALSO INCLUDES RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER AND RUSH-PRESBYTERIAN-ST. LUKE’S HOSPITAL, THE ILLINOIS MEDICAL CENTER, COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL, MIDWEST ORTHOPEDICS, AND THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL. RUSH HOSPITAL IS RANKED #2 IN THE STATE  UIC MEDICAL CENTER IS RANKED #3 IN THE STATE 

Health Services and Statistics

NATIONAL MUSEUMS AND ATTRACTIONS

THE NATIONAL ITALIAN AMERICAN SPORTS , FOUNDED IN 1977, IS “DEDICATED TO PRESERVING AND PROMOTING THE HISTORY AND HERITAGE OF ITALIAN AMERICANS IN SPORTS.”

ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE HALL OF FAME IS THE PIAZZA DIMAGGIO, BUILT IN 1998 AS A GIFT FROM THE CITY OF CHICAGO TO THE LITTLE ITALY AREA. IN THE PIAZZA IS A MUCH-PHOTOGRAPHED SCULPTURE OF JOE DIMAGGIO.

NEARBY IS ARRIGO PARK , A 6-ACRE PARK WHOSE MAIN ATTRACTION IS A LARGE SCULPTURE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. NAMED FOR VICTOR ARRIGO, AN ITALIAN AMERICAN WHO SERVED AS ILLINOIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE.

Group Experience

LITTLE ITALY WAS VERY INTERESTING TO US BECAUSE OF ITS UNIQUE ARCHITECTURE AND CITY MONUMENTS. THE TOWN SPARKED OUR ATTENTION BY HOW THEY HONORED THEIR ITALIAN PRIDE WITH FLAGS, RESTAURANTS, AND MUSEUMS. ALTHOUGH LITTLE ITALY IS IN THE CITY, IT WAS VERY NICE TO WALK THROUGH THE INNER, SIDE STREETS THAT DID NOT REMIND US OF THE CITY. MANY PARKS AND OPEN AREAS SHOWED THE SMALL SIDE OF THE "SECOND CITY".

GROUP REFLECTION

Here is What We Saw 

- WE GOT TO SEE THE FILMING SET OF CHICAGO FIRE

- WE WALKED THE LONG WAY...  WE REALIZED WE MADE A HUGE CIRCLE WALKING BACK TO THE TRAIN INSTEAD OF JUST WALKING DOWN A STREET NEAR BY 

Outside of the Project 

1."LITTLE ITALY NEIGHBORHOOD IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (IL), 60607         DETAILED PROFILE." LITTLE ITALY NEIGHBORHOOD IN CHICAGO,          ILLINOIS (IL), 60607 SUBDIVISION PROFILE. N.P., N.D. WEB. 15 NOV.                      2016.2."LITTLE ITALY, A CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD VISITOR GUIDE FROM           CHICAGO TRAVELER." LITTLE ITALY, A CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD           VISITOR GUIDE FROM CHICAGO TRAVELER. CHICAGO TRAVELER, 4          MAR. 2016. WEB. 15 NOV. 20163. "THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICAL CENTER." RATE LIMITED          GRAPHIQ INC, 2013. WEB. 15 NOV. 2016.4. "RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER IN CHICAGO" RATE LIMITED           GRAPHIQ INC, 2013. WEB. 15 NOV. 2016.

Citations