Humboldt Park
On the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, there are 77 recognized community areas, one of which being Humboldt Park.
The area of Humboldt Park is renowned for its rapid shift in social and racial demographics over time. Since the 1970s,
the Puerto Rican community has developed a strong sense of identity with the locale. In addition, a 207-acre (0.8 km2) park next to the neighborhood is
known by the name Humboldt Park.
Buena Park is located immediately east of Graceland Cemetery and is surrounded on the north by Montrose Avenue and the south by Irving Park Road, extending to the lakefront on the east. The primary
north-south routes through the area are Sheridan Road, Marine Drive, Broadway, and Clarendon Avenues.
The train tracks between Kostner and Cicero are to the west, Bloomingdale Avenue is to the north, the Union Pacific railroad tracks are to the south, and
the actual boundaries of Humboldt Park are to the east (to the East side of California Ave).
The Humboldt Park Neighborhood's boundaries are Western Avenue to the east, Pulaski Road to the west, North Avenue to the north, and the Union Pacific
tracks to the south, as opposed to the Humboldt Park Official Community Area. The neighborhood area also includes the railyards to the southeast of Grand
and Sacramento. The neighborhood of Humboldt Park is split into two distinct areas by Sacramento Boulevard: East Humboldt Park (in the West Town Community Area)
and West Humboldt Park (in the Humboldt Park Community Area).
Sacramento Boulevard, Western Avenue, North Avenue, and Division Street all abut East Humboldt Park. Although it is formally a part of the West Town community
area, it is seen as a component of the Humboldt Park neighborhood. From the 1970s until the 2000s, the region was well known for its Puerto Rican working class
and lower middle class population. Due to the gentrification process, the area has experienced a significant influx of White middle-class and upper middle-class
people, despite the fact that some areas of the neighborhood are still underdeveloped and have a history of high crime and gang activity. In the past, the
region was home to the Midwest's greatest middle-class Puerto Rican population.
A section of Division Street known as Paseo Boricua is home to two sixty-foot Puerto Rican flags as well as numerous social service organizations, bars,
restaurants, cafes, and businesses. Von Humboldt Elementary, De Duprey Elementary, and Lafayette Elementary were all shut down as a result of Mayor Rahm
Emanuel's extensive school closures, leaving no local elementary schools in the region.
The region west of Sacramento Boulevard is known as West Humboldt Park. On this side of Humboldt Park, a large portion of the population is working-class
and low-income. Although, according to standard definitions, the Humboldt Park neighborhood is located between Chicago Avenue, North Avenue, Western Avenue,
and Pulaski Road. West Humboldt Park also includes the area from Kenton Avenue west of Pulaski.