what are chicago's italian neighborhoods?? (Bolingbrook, Oak Park: middle-class, crime, school)

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by cap1717

That could have been it. . .sounds familiar. . . was too long ago for me to remember clearly, as our parish was St. Brendans.

St Brendans doesn't ring a bell with me. St Sabina does because I would accompany my Irish Catholic friends over there when they had to go to confession. I waited outside on the church steps while they went through the massive oak doors to get to confession. The process seemed full of mystique to me. When they were finished, they walked outside where I was waiting. Sometimes a Priest would come out and I thought it was neat when they called him 'Father'. You see, I wasn't Catholic but a young Lutheran.

[cap1717]

St. Brendans was an Irish parish located at the corner of Marquette and Racine (the church), just across the street from Ogden Park, with the convent and school around the corner on Elizabeth. The church is long gone. . . School is still standing however. . . has "St. Brendans" carved in stone over the main doorway. . . . go to google streetview to see what it looks like now. Don't know exactly when the church / parish went bye bye, but it's been awhile. Englewood / west Englewood was a much different place in those days. . Irish, Appalacian and German 2nd generation immigrants. Some 1st gen immigrants, like my grandma, but mostly rural white folk from the south come to Chicago for good jobs. They were nice folks. . . and if they were racist, I had no clue about that. . . The Catholic school did have some black kids, and no one objected when a black girlfriend would come home with me after school. In fact, with my black hair and dark olive skin, I would tan so easily that my mother told me she was sometimes asked "who is that little black girl" when I was out playing, in the summer! One thing the families that I knew well were adamant about (especially the women, I think some of the men were just too smart to object) was non-discrimination. . . .these folks had had hard lives, and they did all that they could to make the world a better place for others. My own mother was an advocate of Native American rights when I was a kid, and she made sure that we understood that any kind of discrimination was not only innapropriate, but probably evil.

[Southside Shrek]

cap1717
Thank you for your reflections on your old neighborhood. You're right about the South Side still being pretty strong with a good work ethic back in the 1950s. St Brendan's was a beautiful church at Marquette Rd. and Racine Ave. It reminds me a little of St. Sabina which was the closest Catholic church to where I once lived by Foster Park. Here's a postcard of St. Brendan's circa 1940 now long gone.


My memories of the South Side growing up in the Auburn-Gresham district are still favorable. I don't recall any violent crimes there back then and it was generally viewed as a safe area. We had Irish, German, Greek, and some Italian families living there. It was a white working class area with some doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, teachers, policemen and others living there. I don't recall any black families living west of Halsted back in those days. In fact, Halsted was consdered more or less a dividing line.

[cap1717]

Originally Posted by Southside Shrek

cap1717
Thank you for your reflections on your old neighborhood. You're right about the South Side still being pretty strong with a good work ethic back in the 1950s. St Brendan's was a beautiful church at Marquette Rd. and Racine Ave. It reminds me a little of St. Sabina which was the closest Catholic church to where I once lived by Foster Park. Here's a postcard of St. Brendan's circa 1940 now long gone.


My memories of the South Side growing up in the Auburn-Gresham district are still favorable. I don't recall any violent crimes there back then and it was generally viewed as a safe area. We had Irish, German, Greek, and some Italian families living there. It was a white working class area with some doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, teachers, policemen and others living there. I don't recall any black families living west of Halsted back in those days. In fact, Halsted was consdered more or less a dividing line.

Many Many Thanks for the picture postcard! I would love to find one like that, but the picture is sufficient. Yes, the "old neighborhood" was a great place to grow up. . . safety was just not an issue, the local merchants knew us kids, and which family we belonged to. . .and then, when we were a little older, we had the entire cultural amenities of the city easily available. I spent most of my weekends at the Art Institute, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, etc., when in H. S. (Harper), and absolutly hated it when my folks moved out to the suburbs. . . couldn't understand why anyone would want to live in such a sterile and boring community. . . in fact, I still don't understand that.

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by cap1717

Many Many Thanks for the picture postcard! I would love to find one like that, but the picture is sufficient. Yes, the "old neighborhood" was a great place to grow up. . . safety was just not an issue, the local merchants knew us kids, and which family we belonged to. . .and then, when we were a little older, we had the entire cultural amenities of the city easily available. I spent most of my weekends at the Art Institute, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, etc., when in H. S. (Harper), and absolutly hated it when my folks moved out to the suburbs. . . couldn't understand why anyone would want to live in such a sterile and boring community. . . in fact, I still don't understand that.

I loved to go downtown as a kid and getting there was relatively easy. All we had to do is take a bus down Ashland Ave. and then hop on the El at 63rd Street. Riding the El downtown was relatively safe and we didn't encounter a problem except once when some young thugs confonted us and tried to take some of our things.

Spent a lot of time at the Art Institute falling in love with famous French Impressionist paintings. Some of my French friends in France want to travel all the way to Chicago just to see them.

I too felt a sense of loss when my parents decided to move to the suburbs which seemed like moving to the country back then.

[cap1717]

Originally Posted by Southside Shrek

I loved to go downtown as a kid and getting there was relatively easy. All we had to do is take a bus down Ashland Ave. and then hop on the El at 63rd Street. Riding the El downtown was relatively safe and we didn't encounter a problem except once when some young thugs confonted us and tried to take some of our things.

Spent a lot of time at the Art Institute falling in love with famous French Impressionist paintings. Some of my French friends in France want to travel all the way to Chicago just to see them.

I too felt a sense of loss when my parents decided to move to the suburbs which seemed like moving to the country back then.

Sounds very much like we may have encountered each other, either on the El, or downtown, somewhere. . . .life is so strange. I sure hope you also had a "family" of other kids to grow up with, like I did. . . we had a great time.

[Mister Mappy]

FYI: The Italian Catholic church in Englewood was St. Mary of Mount Carmel. It was on Marquette & Hermitage, just west of Ashland. It closed sometime in the 70's.

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

FYI: The Italian Catholic church in Englewood was St. Mary of Mount Carmel. It was on Marquette & Hermitage, just west of Ashland. It closed sometime in the 70's.

Voila!!!! Thanks Mister Mappy. That just corroborates that Italians once inhabited the neighorhood on West 63rd Street between Ashland and Wood. My mother drove down to 63rd and Ashland to go to the Italian Deli there. That was about the only place around to buy genuine Italian sausage. One time she drove down there, pulled over to park in front of the Italian Deli on West 63rd, opened up her door and the door went flying down 63rd. Another car had come speeding by to remove her door.

[Mister Mappy]

You're welcome.


It's Mister Mappy, not Happy!

[Southside Shrek]

Sorry about that. You map things out very well and will make a friend happy who had Italian relatives who once lived there.

"St Mary of Mount Carmel. 6722 S Hermitage (west Englewood) Most original parishoners came from Salerno. Now a Protestant church. Original church was woodframe 1891-1976."


http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=4854999