Favorite "Italian" neighborhood in Chicago? (Cicero, Oak Park: moving, suburbs)

[homenj]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

homenj, thanks for sharing. By any chance, are you familiar with any of the Little Italy sections of Chicago, as well? If so, I'd happily your descriptions/ ratings of them.

Sorry, I wish I could.

Unfortunately, I never been to Chicago so personally can't rate.

Are Chicago Italians from the north or south? Most NYC Italians are Sicilans and from the south.

So it may be one similarity they each have in terms of Italian neighborhoods.

[Master Jay]

homenj, I'm from Milwaukee. But would go to Chicago on weekends. But I'm an explorer, and a reader. And from what I have seen myself, or read, the Sicilians reside in Armour Square, and settled on Taylor Street ( and in the past settled near Cabrini Green's former area). Those from Bari settled on Grand Avenue. The northerners from Tuscany settled by 24th and Oakley. .... Anyone can add to this?

[homenj]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

homenj, I'm from Milwaukee. But would go to Chicago on weekends. But I'm an explorer, and a reader. And from what I have seen myself, or read, the Sicilians reside in Armour Square, and settled on Taylor Street ( and in the past settled near Cabrini Green's former area). Those from Bari settled on Grand Avenue. The northerners from Tuscany settled by 24th and Oakley. .... Anyone can add to this?

In the NYC forum, I put up a post that mentioned Arthur Ave in the Bronx.

This, in my opinion, is the most authentic Little Italy in NYC.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/new-...xs-little.html

I don't know if anything like this exists in Chicago, though.

[tonyp22]

I don’t think there’s anything like Arthur Ave. left anywhere in the country. I grew up a stone’s throw from there in the Bronx. Even 9th Street here in Philly is a pale shadow of once was (I lived down this way in the mid-70’s). While Arther Ave. has changed, it’s still ground zero for actual Italian fare.

[Master Jay]

In terms of numbers of Italian restaurants and delis, closer together in proximity, and also with SOME presence of Italian residents, Chicago's best examples, then, would be: Taylor Street, Harlem Avenue, and Grand Avenue.... Pales to what maybe you might see in New York, but it's the best we could offer someone visiting that wanted to see Chicago's closest comparison.... that said, the restaurants, the delis and the PEOPLE living and working in any of the "6" I mentioned, would make for a great experience! If it wasn't so, I wouldn't have come back so many times

[Dorian22]

A lot of the Italians on Grand also came from Little Hell/Little Sicily in what is now Cabrini Green even though most went to Harlem Ave! I feel like Taylor Street, while mainly southern Italian, also has a lot of Northern Italians. But overshadowed by people of Southern Italian background.

[Master Jay]

Dorian22, oh I'm sure there has always been a mixture. I had read that Grand Avenue had quite a Barese population in its day. I'm sure you have seen the Bari Deli on Grand? I have never gone, but have heard some nice reviews about it!

Same as Harlem Avenue: I have driven by and even went for bicycle rides in that area and have not stopped in any delis there, yet. 2020 it SHALL be done! As soon as I can come back to Illinois, that is!

And if my memory serves correctly, on the east end of Taylor Street (north side of the street) there is a restaurant called Tuscany.

And somewhere in my studies (the source escapes me), 24th and Oakley, although heavily Tuscan-regioned Italians, did have a couple of Sicilians living in that area.

Man I would LOVE to have seen these neighborhoods, 10, 20...50 years ago!

[Nearwest]

Last year, I posted in the Chicago forum which inquired about European ethnics, and where that once lived in the city.

I will recap my posting about Italians in Chicago. I listed 5 areas in Chicago in which Italians were concentrated at the end of World War II.

Starting north of downtown, and going counter -clockwise, they are

1) Near North Side. This area was known as 'Little Hell'. Most Italians were from Sicily or northern Italy. The Near North Side later became the nucleus of Cabrini-Green.

2) Near Northwest Side. The Italians here were concentrated along Grand Ave. between Halsted St. and Western Ave, Many of them were from Bari, an area of Italy along the Adriatic Sea.

3) Near West Side. This was the largest and most diverse of the old Italian neighborhoods. The Italians in this area were a mixture of people from Calabria, Naples, and Sicily. This is the area which was decimated 'urban renewal.' with the construction of UIC campus on its east end and the Medical District on its west. It's a textbook case of urban renewal (people removal) at its worst.

4) Near Southwest Side. This area, known as 'Heart of Chicago', is a subset of Pilsen. It's anchored by Oakley Ave. Most of the Italians were from northern Italy, mainly Tuscany.

5) Near South Side. This area is now Chinatown. But, there are some long-term Italian families living on its residential side streets. The Italians in this area were mainly Sicilians or from Ricigiliano, which is near Naples. They were referred to as 'Ridgies' by other Italians.

[personone]

Originally Posted by Nearwest

Last year, I posted in the Chicago forum which inquired about European ethnics, and where that once lived in the city.

I will recap my posting about Italians in Chicago. I listed 5 areas in Chicago in which Italians were concentrated at the end of World War II.

Starting north of downtown, and going counter -clockwise, they are

1) Near North Side. This area was known as 'Little Hell'. Most Italians were from Sicily or northern Italy. The Near North Side later became the nucleus of Cabrini-Green.

2) Near Northwest Side. The Italians here were concentrated along Grand Ave. between Halsted St. and Western Ave, Many of them were from Bari, an area of Italy along the Adriatic Sea.

3) Near West Side. This was the largest and most diverse of the old Italian neighborhoods. The Italians in this area were a mixture of people from Calabria, Naples, and Sicily. This is the area which was decimated 'urban renewal.' with the construction of UIC campus on its east end and the Medical District on its west. It's a textbook case of urban renewal (people removal) at its worst.

4) Near Southwest Side. This area, known as 'Heart of Chicago', is a subset of Pilsen. It's anchored by Oakley Ave. Most of the Italians were from northern Italy, mainly Tuscany.

5) Near South Side. This area is now Chinatown. But, there are some long-term Italian families living on its residential side streets. The Italians in this area were mainly Sicilians or from Ricigiliano, which is near Naples. They were referred to as 'Ridgies' by other Italians.

Great review. It goes to show how great and rich Chicago's Italian history is. It (people who self-identify as Italian-decent) is still one of the largest in the country (top 5) terms of "total population" (not percentage though); although, they are scattered throughout Chicago and not really concentrated in an "Italian neighborhood" anymore. This mimics major cities in the rest of the country. As you have shared, historically, Chicago has a rich history.

[Master Jay]

It makes me wonder. When/why did so many Italian places choose the area near Oliphant and Northwest Avenue, in Edison Park? There is Tony's Deli, on the other side of the block there WAS an Italian Gelato place, and there are about 5 Italian restaurants. And that is the same thing as you may find in any of the other 5 Little Italies listed. Hence, I called it the 6th " Little Italy."