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There were/is Italian enclaves in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, Baltimore, Providence, New Orleans, Wilmington (DE), and I think Milwaukee.
DC used to have quite a few Italian enclaves believe it or not.
I'm pretty sure there are Italian enclaves in basically every major city in the country.
There are certainly not. I can't even think of a solid one that exists in Chicago (though I could be mistaken) even though Chicago has a huge Italian population and a history with the mob.
NYC
Boston
Philadelphia
Baltimore
San Francisco
Hartford
Providence
other CT cities / NJ towns
Cleveland
Buffalo?
Pittsburgh?
STL?
KCMO?
Honestly, this is all I can think of when conjuring up actual Italian enclaves/neighborhoods...SF would be it for the west, I don't think there are any in the South, limited in the Midwest, and a string up and down the NE, but not in every city (like, does DC have one?).
There are certainly not. I can't even think of a solid one that exists in Chicago (though I could be mistaken) even though Chicago has a huge Italian population and a history with the mob.
NYC
Boston
Philadelphia
Baltimore
San Francisco
Hartford
Providence
other CT cities / NJ towns
Cleveland
Buffalo?
Pittsburgh?
STL?
KCMO?
Honestly, this is all I can think of when conjuring up actual Italian enclaves/neighborhoods...SF would be it for the west, I don't think there are any in the South, limited in the Midwest, and a string up and down the NE, but not in every city (like, does DC have one?).
You're right. Chicago does have a Little Italy (Taylor Street/Little Italy), but it isn't really an Italian enclave. The Italians in Chicago are kind of scattered, and actually I believe that some of the suburbs are where you find some of the true enclaves.
Also interestingly, although Chicago is like #3 (or definitely top 5) in terms of total Italian American population by total numbers; when it comes to percentage it is much lower on the list.
I'm not sure about a lot of the cities that you listed, but I definitely wouldn't consider Baltimore as having an actual Italian enclave. I've lived there and am from Maryland, and it is no different than Chicago's Little Italy (actually smaller). I've been to sections of Philly, NYC, Jersey, and Buffalo that felt like true Italian enclaves, and there's no doubt that they exist in Boston, Hartford, Providence,and other parts of the Northeast. The true enclaves feel a lot different than the "Little Italy's" that some cities have. I've been to some of the other cities on your list but haven't experienced the Italian sections, so I can't really comment.
Pittsburgh's original little Italy, now mostly forgotten, is Larimer, which is currently a blighted African-American neighborhood seeing some reinvestment.
The well-known neighborhood, considered Pittsburgh's little Italy is Bloomfield. It still has an Italian grocer, and several (bad) red sauce joints along Liberty Avenue. However, it's become a popular place for 20 somethings to live in the last decade, so the actual Italian population is much diminished.
My current neighborhood, Morningside, has the most Italians per-capita in the city. Many moved here from Bloomfield in the 1950s and 1960s as they got more money. Still, ten years ago it was a bit under 30% Italian, and I think it's even less today. The business district is pretty lame, but it has two Italian-American clubs, along with a bocce court.
Pittsburgh's original little Italy, now mostly forgotten, is Larimer, which is currently a blighted African-American neighborhood seeing some reinvestment.
The well-known neighborhood, considered Pittsburgh's little Italy is Bloomfield. It still has an Italian grocer, and several (bad) red sauce joints along Liberty Avenue. However, it's become a popular place for 20 somethings to live in the last decade, so the actual Italian population is much diminished.
My current neighborhood, Morningside, has the most Italians per-capita in the city. Many moved here from Bloomfield in the 1950s and 1960s as they got more money. Still, ten years ago it was a bit under 30% Italian, and I think it's even less today. The business district is pretty lame, but it has two Italian-American clubs, along with a bocce court.
When you look at the Top 500 zip codes for Italian ancestry, New York, Philadelphia and Boston are the only major cities included on the list. Most of the Top 500 are in the suburbs of these three cities anyway.
There are certainly not. I can't even think of a solid one that exists in Chicago (though I could be mistaken) even though Chicago has a huge Italian population and a history with the mob.
NYC
Boston
Philadelphia
Baltimore
San Francisco
Hartford
Providence
other CT cities / NJ towns
Cleveland
Buffalo?
Pittsburgh?
STL?
KCMO?
Honestly, this is all I can think of when conjuring up actual Italian enclaves/neighborhoods...SF would be it for the west, I don't think there are any in the South, limited in the Midwest, and a string up and down the NE, but not in every city (like, does DC have one?).
It used to had quite a few of them but not anymore.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 06-17-2015 at 08:40 AM..
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