It’s not really a fair name for the huge part of the city spanning from the western portion of Englewood to Midway airport, but the area dubbed the Southwest Side has changed so much so quickly and in such different directions over the last century that the gloss is understandably common. Until the late 1880s, Chicago’s Southwest Side was little more than cow pasture sprinkled with farmsteads. The turn of the century, however, brought a slew of European immigrants including Poles, Lithuanians, and Bohemians with the advent of industrialization, as well as efficient public transportation and the establishment of the Union Stockyards.
Marquette Park
Sandwiches of the South Side: In search of three local culinary creations
by Chloe Wilcox •
Inspired by a recent article in Dining Chicago on the city’s lesser-known signature sandwiches, I set out last week to find and consume three that are native to the South Side: the big baby, the Freddy and the mother-in-law. My…
Best of the South Side 2009: Southwest Side
by Chicago Weekly Staff •
The story of Chicago’s Southwest Side is a classically American one. Immigrants–Poles, Lithuanians, Italians, Germans, Czechs–flocked to the area in the early 20th century after the extension of streetcar lines made it an easy commute. Railroads and stockyards–including the famous…
Partners in Crime: Chicago’s gritty South Side is home to the writers and characters of crime fiction
by Elly Fishman •
The dirtied brick of the abandoned steel mills on Chicago’s South Side mark years past. Long rows of windows, which once filled large, open rooms with light, are now boarded and permanently shut. At night the alleyways, littered with trash,…
Garifuna Gastronomy: A new restaurant brings Belizean bites to Marquette Park
by Helenmary Sheridan •
The bold black-and-white awning above Garifuna Flava at 63rd Street and Western Avenue beckoned us to “Taste the Flava,” and the food inside did not disappoint. The menu at Garifuna Flava reflects the cooking of the Garifuna people in Belize…