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{{Short description|Community area in Chicago, Illinois}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Other places|Lower West Side (disambiguation){{!}}Lower West Side}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Lower West Side
|official_name = Community Area 31 - Lower West Side
|other_name = Pilsen, Heart of Chicago
|settlement_type = {{nowrap|[[Community areas of Chicago|Community area]]}}
|image_skyline =Architecture in Pilsen Neighborhood - Chicago - Illinois - USA - 03.jpg
|imagesize =
|image_caption =Victorian solid brick homes in the Pilsen neighborhood.
|nickname =
|motto =
<!-- images and maps -->
|image_map = US-IL-Chicago-CA31.svg
|mapsize =
|map_caption = Location within the city of Chicago
|image_map1 =
|mapsize1 =
|map_caption1 =
|pushpin_map =
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_mapsize =
<!-- Location -->
|pushpin_map_caption =
|coordinates = {{coord|41|51|15|N|87|39|56|W|region:US-IL|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes = <ref name="gnis97">{{cite gnis|id=1737769|name=Lower West Side|entry-date=15 May 1997}}</ref>
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_type3 = City
|subdivision_name1 = Illinois
|subdivision_name2 = [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook]]
|subdivision_name3 = Chicago
|parts_type = [[Neighborhoods of Chicago|Neighborhoods]]
|parts_style=list
|parts =
|p1 = [[#Heart of Chicago|Heart of Chicago]]
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 =7.25
|population_total = 33,279
|population_as_of = 2023
|population_footnotes = <ref name="cmap">{{cite web|title=Community Data Snapshot - Lower West Side|url=http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Lower+West+Side.pdf|website=cmap.illinois.gov|publisher=[[Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning]]|access-date=August 10, 2025}}</ref>
|population_density_km2 = auto
|population_note =
|demographics_type1 =[[Demographics of the United States|Demographics]] 2023<ref name="cmap" />
|demographics1_footnotes =
|demographics1_title1 =[[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|White]]
|demographics1_info1 = 22.0%
|demographics1_title2 =Black
|demographics1_info2 = 3.3%
|demographics1_title3 =Hispanic
|demographics1_info3 = 68.4%
|demographics1_title4 =Asian
|demographics1_info4 = 3.6%
|demographics1_title5 =Other
|demographics1_info5 = 2.7%
<!-- General information -->
|postal_code_type = [[Zip code|ZIP Codes]]
|postal_code = parts of 60608 and 60616
|area_code =
|website =
|footnotes = Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services
|p2 = [[#Pilsen|Pilsen]]
|p3 = [[#East Pilsen|East Pilsen]]
|p4 = [[#Heart of Italy|Heart of Italy]]
|p7 = [[#South Loop|South Loop]]
<!-- Area -->
|elevation_footnotes = <ref name="gnis97"/>
|elevation_ft = 594
|timezone = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|CST]]
|utc_offset = -6
|timezone_DST = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|CDT]]
|utc_offset_DST = -5
|blank_name =[[Household income in the United States|Median household income]] (2023)
|blank_info = $71,735<ref name="cmap" />
}}
'''Lower West Side''' is a [[Community areas of Chicago|community area]] on the [[West Side, Chicago|West Side]] of [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States. It is three miles southwest of the [[Chicago Loop]] and its main neighborhood is [[Pilsen Historic District|Pilsen]] ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪ|l|s|ᵻ|n}} {{respell|PIL|sin}}). The '''Heart of Chicago''' is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the Lower West Side.
==History==
In the late 19th century, it was inhabited by [[Germans|German]], [[Polish people|Polish]], [[Italians|Italian]], and [[Czechs|Czech]] immigrants. Czech immigrants were the most prominent and named the district after '''Pilsen''' (German for [[Plzeň]]), the fourth largest city of the [[Czech Republic]]. They replaced the [[German American|Germans]] and [[Irish American|Irish]] who had settled there before them, in the mid-nineteenth century. These German and Irish residents lived in poor conditions throughout the 1850s and ‘60s. The Pilsen area was overcrowded and suffered from flooding, lack of indoor plumbing, and illness. A [[cholera]] outbreak that killed hundreds, eventually led the German and Irish residents to move in search of better living conditions.<ref name="History of Pilsen">{{Cite news |url=http://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/history|title=History of Pilsen|date=April 12, 2017 |work=WTTW Chicago Public Media - Television and Interactive|access-date=November 3, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> The population also included smaller numbers of other ethnic groups from the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], such as [[Slovaks]], [[Slovenes]], [[Croats]] and [[Austrians]], as well as immigrants of [[Polish people|Polish]] and [[Lithuania]]n heritage. Many of the immigrants worked in the [[Feedlot|stockyards]] and surrounding factories. Like many early 20th century American urban neighborhoods, however, Pilsen was home to both wealthy professionals and the [[working class]], with the whole area knitted together based on the ethnicities, mostly of Slavic descent, who were not readily welcome in other areas of the city.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2477.html |title=Pilsen |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Chicago |access-date=March 3, 2016 }}</ref>
Although there was some increase in the [[Hispanic]] presence in the late 1930s, it was until the late 1960s that there was a great spurt in the numbers of [[Latino American|Latinos]] in Pilsen.<ref name="History of Pilsen"/> This was due to the displacement of Latinos from the neighborhood [[University of Illinois at Chicago|UIC]] currently occupies,<ref name=Alvarezp83>{{cite journal |last=Alvarez |first=René Luis |title=A Community that Would Not Take 'No' for an Answer: Mexican Americans, the Chicago Public Schools, and the Founding of Benito Juarez High School |journal=[[Journal of Illinois History]] |year=2014 |volume=17 |number=1 |page=83 }}</ref> south of [[Hull House]],<ref name=ArredondoVaillant>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Arredondo |first1=Gabriela F. |first2=Derek |last2=Vaillant |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/824.html |title=Mexicans |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527062710/http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/824.html |archive-date=May 27, 2014 |url-status=live |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Chicago]] |access-date=April 24, 2014 }}</ref> and from other urban revitalization projects.<ref name=Alvarezp83/> In 1970, Latinos became the majority population in Pilsen, with about 25,000 people out of the community's 43,341 people surpassing the population of people of [[Eastern Europe]]an descent. In particular, Mexicans made up about 36% of the residents of Pilsen in 1973.<ref name=Alvarezp84>{{cite journal |last=Alvarez |first=René Luis |title=A Community that Would Not Take 'No' for an Answer: Mexican Americans, the Chicago Public Schools, and the Founding of Benito Juarez High School |journal=[[Journal of Illinois History]] |year=2014 |volume=17 |number=1 |page=84 }}</ref>
In the 1980s, the Mexican-origin population grew. During that decade 95% of the people in Pilsen had some Mexican descent, and 80% of the overall population of Pilsen were first or second generation immigrants from Mexico and Mexican-Americans. Mexican growth continued into the 1990s. During that decade 40% of the Mexican-origin population in Pilsen had migrated directly there from Mexico, and about 33%<!--one third--> of the Mexican-origin population in the Chicago area lived in Pilsen.<ref name=Alvarezp84/>
As of 2005, many of the newer residents of the neighborhood were not Latino, and it is projected that the neighborhood will continue to become more diversified in the years ahead.<ref name=2005PilsenGentri>{{cite web |url=http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/voorheesctr/Publications/Gentrification%20before%20Gentrification.pdf |title=Gentrification before Gentrification? The Plight of Pilsen in Chicago |first=John|last=Betancur|year=2005|publisher=[[University of Illinois at Chicago]]|access-date=June 16, 2012}}</ref> The non-Latino population in Pilsen is still a minority as of the [[2020 United States census|2020 Census]].
The [[Chicago Housing Authority]]'s plan for [[urban renewal|transformation]] of the [[ABLA]] projects has spilled over into Pilsen proper, with the now nearly complete Chantico Loft development, Union Row Townhomes, as well as the defunct Centro 18 on 18th Street in East Pilsen. [[Infill]] construction of condominiums and single-family homes is now in full force on the east side of the neighborhood, as Pilsen becomes one of the next major development areas for infill construction.<ref>{{cite journal |jstor=i40006201 |title=Mexican Immigrants in Illinois History: Across Generations and Borders|volume=98 |number=3 |date=Autumn 2005 |journal=Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society |language=en}}</ref> Some local [[advocacy group]]s have formed, urging the neighborhood's alderman to curtail [[gentrification]] to preserve the [[Mexican-American]] culture.
==Neighborhoods and sub-areas==
The Lower West Side includes two neighborhoods; Pilsen and Heart of Chicago. It also contains several areas considered to have historic significance including the Schoenhofen Brewery Historic District, part of the Cermak Road Bridge Historic District, and part of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Historic District, and the [[South Water Market]].<ref name="Chicago 77">{{cite book|last=Zangs|first=Mary|date=July 1, 2014|title=The Chicago 77: A Community Area Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1625851464|___location=[[Stroud|Stroud, Gloucestershire, England]]|publisher=[[The History Press]]|isbn=978-1626196124}}</ref><ref name="Keating Neighborhoods">{{cite book|last=Arredondo|first=Gabriela F.|editor-last=Durkin Keating|editor-first=Ann|date=November 15, 2008|chapter=31. Lower West Side|title=Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0226428834|___location=[[Chicago, Illinois]]|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|isbn=978-0226428833}}</ref>
===Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Historic District===
The [[Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal|'''Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Historic District''']] is part of the Illinois Waterway Navigation System Facilities [[multiple property submission]]; extends through [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Cook County, Illinois|Cook County west of Chicago]], [[National Register of Historic Places listings in DuPage County, Illinois|DuPage County]] and [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Will County, Illinois|Will County]] to [[Lockport, Illinois|Lockport]]
===Cermak Road Bridge Historic District===
The '''[[Cermak Road Bridge Historic District]]''' was added to the N.R.H.P. in May 2012. It consists of Cermak Road and the South Branch of the Chicago River.
===Heart of Chicago===
According to the results of a 1978 survey which asked residents the name of their neighborhood and its boundaries, the approximate borders for the Heart of Chicago neighborhood are the [[BNSF Railway]] to the north, South [[Ashland Avenue]] to the east, [[Interstate 55]] to the south, and South [[Western Avenue (Chicago)|Western Avenue]] to the west.<ref name="1978 Boundary Survey">{{cite web|publisher=City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development|title=Chicago Neighborhoods Passed by City Council in 1993|year=1993|access-date=July 5, 2018|url=http://chicago.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=f00e99da0f3d4aaf8bd6fcba0d0643ba}}</ref>
Along Oakley Boulevard, from 24th Street to 25th Street, is found a group of restaurants which remain as a residue of a previously large pocket of Northern Italians. In 1890, the McCormick Reaper factory at Western Avenue and the south branch of the river recruited skilled machine operators from Northern Provinces of Italy (Tuscany, Torino, Milano), offering them salaries twice that available in Italy and a paid transatlantic ship ticket. The community grew as workers paid for relatives to join them. St. Michael's parish on 25th street was their community center. The archdiocese closed that parish in 2000.<ref>source: oral history of Franco the owner of La Fontanella, age ~75, taken 2019</ref> Restaurants opened by these families that remain, as of 2019, include on Oakley Boulevard: Bruna's (1933), Bacchanalia's (1971), La Fontanella (closed in 2020), Ignotz's (1999) and on Western Avenue Il Vicinato (closed in 2024).
===Pilsen===
{{See also|Pilsen Historic District}}
The Pilsen neighborhood is a historically [[working-class]], residential neighborhood. Initially settled by [[Czech Americans]], it became a largely Mexican neighborhood in the 1960’s. According to the results of a 1978 survey which asked residents the name of their neighborhood and its boundaries, the approximate borders for Pilsen neighborhood are West 16th Street to the north, the [[Dan Ryan Expressway]] to the east, the [[Interstate 55 in Illinois|Stevenson Expressway]] to the south, and South Ashland Avenue to the west.<ref name="1978 Boundary Survey"/> In 2006, [[Pilsen Historic District]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].
===Schoenhofen Brewery District===
The '''[[Schoenhofen Brewery Historic District]]''' is centered on the former site of the [[Schoenhofen Brewing Company|Peter Schoenhofen Brewing Company]] at 18th and Canalport Avenue. Seventeen buildings once occupied the site when the brewery reached maximum capacity in 1910 at 1,200,000 barrels a year.<ref name="haer">{{cite web |last=Gregerson|first=Charles E.|title=Schoenhofen Brewing Company|url=http://loc.gov/pictures/item/il0068/|work=[[Historic American Engineering Record]]|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=August 1, 2010|date=June 24, 1983}}</ref> Two of the remaining buildings demonstrate the change in architectural styles that occurred at the turn of the century in the United States. The facility also manufactured [[Green River (soft drink)|Green River]]. The brewery district was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on December 27, 1978, and the Administration Building and Powerhouse were later designated [[Chicago Landmark]]s on July 13, 1988.<ref>{{NRISref|2007a|dateform=mdy |access-date=May 6, 2021|refnum=78001128|name=Schoenhofen Brewery Historic District}}</ref>
===South Water Market===
The '''[[South Water Market]]''' relocated to the Lower West Side in 1925. As of 2014, the five block facility had been redeveloped into the University Commons condominiums.<ref name="Chicago 77"/>
==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1930=66198
|1940=57908
|1950=53991
|1960=48448
|1970=44535
|1980=44951
|1990=45654
|2000=44031
|2010=35769
|2020=33751
|footnote=<ref name="cmap" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Paral |first=Rob |title=Chicago Community Areas Historical Data |url=http://www.robparal.com/downloads/ACS0509/HistoricalData/Chicago%20Community%20Areas%20Historical%20Data.htm |access-date=2 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318055428/http://www.robparal.com/downloads/ACS0509/HistoricalData/Chicago%20Community%20Areas%20Historical%20Data.htm |archive-date=18 March 2013 }}</ref>
}}
According to a 2015 analysis by the [[Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning]], there were 34,410 people and 11,958 households on the Lower West Side. The racial makeup of the area was 13.4% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3.2% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.7% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.1% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]]. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 80.5% of the population.
In the area, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 19, 30.8% from 20 to 34, 20.6% from 35 to 49, 12.9% from 50 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was ~30 years which is younger than the citywide median of ~34 years.<ref name="CMAP 2016">{{cite web|editor-last=Hallas|editor-first=Jon|url=http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Lower+West+Side.pdf|publisher=[[Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning]]|access-date=June 26, 2018|title=Community Demographic Snapshot: Lower West Side|date=June 30, 2017}}</ref>
Figures from the [[United States Census Bureau]] demonstrate a level of [[gentrification]] from 2000 to 2010. The Mexican American population, constant between 1970 and 1999, decreased significantly from 2000 to 2010. This loss was primarily in the Pilsen neighborhood. This change corresponded with a simultaneous decline of families and an increase in one person households. Families decreased by 20.4% and families with children decreased 40.9%. During the same period, single person households increased 17.8%<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Betancur and Youngjun|first=John and Kim|access-date=October 6, 2017|title=The Trajectory and Impact of Ongoing Gentrification in Pilsen|url=https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/992726_c04d492b373541cdbbec88c1223d1245.pdf|journal=Natalie P. Voorhees Center|via=[[University of Illinois at Chicago]]}}</ref>
==Layout==
The east side of the neighborhood, along [[Halsted Street]], is one of Chicago's largest art districts, and the neighborhood is also home to the [[National Museum of Mexican Art]]. [[St. Adalbert's in Chicago|St. Adalbert's]] dominates the skyline with the opulence typical of churches in the [[Polish Cathedral style]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
Pilsen is home to a multitude of murals and other forms of [[street art]]. With an initiative from the Chicago Urban Art Society and support from the [[National Museum of Mexican Art]] artists have been able to construct murals around the Pilsen neighborhood, adding to the history, culture, and community of the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.onthegrid.city/chicago/pilsen/pilsen-murals/|title=On the Grid {{!}} Pilsen Murals|website=On the Grid|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://frugalfrolicker.com/street-art-pilsen/|title=Street Art in Pilsen: Murals in Chicago's Mexican Neighborhood {{!}} Frugal Frolicker|date=2014-09-07|work=Frugal Frolicker|access-date=2017-03-31|language=en-US}}</ref>
West 18th Street is an active commercial corridor, with Mexican bakeries, restaurants, and groceries, though the principal district for Mexican shopping is W 26th Street in Little Village, Chicago's other formerly majority Pan-Slavic community.
The [[United States Postal Service]] operates the Pilsen Post Office on 1859 S Ashland Avenue.<ref name=postoffice>{{cite web|url= http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/9219?p=4&s=IL&service_name=post_office&z=Cicero|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120717222624/http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/9219?p=4&s=IL&service_name=post_office&z=Cicero|url-status= dead|archive-date= July 17, 2012|title= PILSEN Post Office Location|publisher= [[United States Postal Service]]|access-date= April 17, 2009}}</ref>
The [[National Museum of Mexican Art]] is located in the Pilsen neighborhood.
Podmajersky incorporated is a major property owner in the Pilsen area{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}.
== Street art ==
[[File:Dancing for the Marathon Runners (281799120).jpg|thumb|right|[[Folk dance of Mexico|Mexican dancers]] in Pilsen in 2006]]
The Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago has become a hub for muralists and street artists to convey their identity, passion, and activism. Murals are historically connected to [[Maya civilization|Mayan]] and [[Aztec]] cultures which have influenced Mexican artists from the 1920s-present day.<ref name="interactive.wttw.com">{{Cite news|url=http://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/art-as-activism|title=Pilsen Murals Blend Art and Activism|date=April 17, 2017 |work=WTTW |access-date=November 3, 2017}}</ref>
Mario Castillo painted ''Peace or Metafisico'' in 1968. This piece was the first Mexican and anti-Vietnam War murals in Pilsen. In 1969, he painted ''The Wall of Brotherhood'' which was inspired by an artwork located in the [[Douglas, Chicago#Bronzeville|Bronzeville]] neighborhood.<ref name="interactive.wttw.com"/>
Some murals have remained the same or have been updated throughout the years and others have been modified to portray current events. In 1980, [[Marcos Raya]] created ''Fallen Dictator'' which portrays an anti-war and anti-imperialist message. This particular mural has been redone three times. The most recent update has images of [[Donald Trump]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] drawn as snakes and battling each other.<ref name="interactive.wttw.com"/>
In 2016, Sam Kirk and Sandra Atongiori created ''Weaving Cultures'' to highlight women of different backgrounds. The mural paints five different women, including a [[transgender]] Latina, with the goal of representing women of all demographics and promote acceptance of others.<ref name="interactive.wttw.com"/>
==Cuisine==
[[Robb Walsh]] of the ''[[Houston Press]]'' wrote that the Mexican restaurants in Pilsen are "unconsciously authentic" to original [[Mexican cuisine]]. According to [[Rick Bayless]], the [[chef]] and owner of [[Frontera Grill]], this is because Mexican-Americans in Chicago do not encounter a substantial [[Chicano]] community in the United States that prefers a [[Tex Mex]]-style of cuisine, so the immigrants use the same frame of reference that they had in Mexico.<ref name=Mexauthenticity>{{cite web|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/2000-10-26/dining/the-authenticity-myth/full |title=The Authenticity Myth: The Mex Mex Issue|first=Robb|last=Walsh|date=October 26, 2000|work=[[Houston Press]]|access-date=November 16, 2009}}</ref>
==Transportation==
[[File:18 Bus.jpg|thumb|right|A retired 4400-series TMC RTS bus in the Pilsen neighborhood in May 2008]]
Public transit on the Lower West Side is provided by the [[Chicago Transit Authority]] and [[Metra]]. The [[Pink Line (CTA)|Pink Line]], part of the CTA's [[Chicago "L"]] train system, has three stops on the Lower West Side; the [[Western station (CTA Pink Line)|Western station]], the [[Damen station (CTA Pink Line)|Damen station]], and the [[18th station|18th Street station]]. The [[Orange Line (CTA)|Orange Line]] has a single station, [[Ashland station (CTA Orange Line)|Ashland station]], on the Lower West Side, but its ridership is primarily from neighboring [[Bridgeport, Chicago|Bridgeport]] and [[McKinley Park, Chicago|McKinley Park]]. The [[BNSF Railway (Metra)|BNSF Railway]] has two stations on the Lower West Side; [[Halsted Street station|Halsted Street/U.I.C. station]] and [[Western Avenue station (BNSF Railway)|Western Avenue station]]. The CTA also operates 8 bus routes that go through the neighborhood; 9 Ashland, X9 Ashland express, 18 16th/18th, 21 Cermak, 50 Damen, 49 Western, X49 Western Express, and 60 Blue Island/26th. Routes 8 Halsted and 12 Roosevelt skirt the neighborhood too.
The [[Interstate 55 in Illinois|Stevenson Expressway]] has exits at Damen Avenue and Ashland Avenue on the Lower West Side. The [[Canal Street railroad bridge]], a Chicago landmark, is located on the Lower West Side. There are also [[Cycling in Chicago|bikeways]] on Blue Island Avenue, 18th, and Halsted Streets.<ref name=bikemap>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofchicago.org/cityinfo/cdot/bikemap/keymap.html|title=Chicago Bike Map|publisher=[[City of Chicago]]|access-date=June 16, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613230643/http://www.cityofchicago.org/cityinfo/cdot/bikemap/keymap.html|archive-date=June 13, 2012}}</ref>
==Politics==
In the [[United States presidential election in Illinois, 2016|2016 presidential election]], the Lower West Side cast 9,792 votes for Democrat [[Hillary Clinton]] and cast 715 votes for Republican [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Ali|first=Tanveer|title=How Every Chicago Neighborhood Voted In The 2016 Presidential Election|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois|date=November 9, 2016|publisher=[[DNAinfo.com]]|___location=[[Chicago, Illinois]]|access-date=March 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317144802/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois|archive-date=March 17, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in Illinois, 2012|2012 presidential election]], the Lower West Side cast 14,028 votes for Democrat [[Barack Obama]] and 4,989 votes for Republican [[Mitt Romney]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Ali|first=Tanveer|title=How Every Chicago Neighborhood Voted In The 2012 Presidential Election|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/obama-romney-president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-2012-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois|date=November 7, 2012|publisher=[[DNAinfo.com]]|___location=[[Chicago, Illinois]]|access-date=March 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317233235/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/numbers/obama-romney-president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-2012-election-results-voting-general-primary-illinois|archive-date=March 17, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> At the local level, the Lower West Side is located in the 25th ward, which is represented on the [[Chicago City Council]] by Alderman [[Daniel Solis]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Connolly|first=Colleen|title=Get to Know Your Ward: 10th Ward|date=February 6, 2015|work=Ward Room|publisher=[[WMAQ-TV]]|access-date=December 27, 2017|url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Get-to-Know-Your-Ward-10th-Ward-289974521.html}}</ref> Solis is also the ward's [[Committeemen and Committeewomen (Cook County, Illinois)|Democratic Committeemen]].<ref>{{cite web|title=25th Ward Regular Democratic Organization Political Party Committee|date=March 31, 2018|access-date=June 20, 2018|publisher=Illinois Sunshine|url=https://illinoissunshine.org/committees/15421/}}</ref> His Republican counterpart is Martin Ozinga.<ref>{{cite web|title=25th Ward Republican Committee Political Party Committee|date=March 31, 2018|access-date=June 20, 2018|publisher=Illinois Sunshine|url=https://illinoissunshine.org/committees/25th-ward-republican-committee-32305/}}</ref>
In the [[United States House of Representatives]], the Lower West Side is located in [[Illinois's 4th congressional district]] represented by Democrat [[Chuy García]]. In the [[Illinois General Assembly]], the Lower West Side is in the 1st Legislative District, represented by Democrat Tony Munoz in the [[Illinois Senate]], and the 2nd House district, represented by Democrat [[Theresa Mah]] in the [[Illinois House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ilhousedems.com/redistricting/2011-maps/Legislative_Districts_Public_Act/LD1.pdf|title=PA 97-0006 Legislative District 1|date=May 18, 2011|access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>
==Education==
Residents are zoned to [[Chicago Public Schools]]. [[Benito Juarez Community Academy]], located in the Lower West Side, serves much of it. Other parts are zoned to [[Thomas Kelly High School]].<ref>"[http://web.archive.org/web/20130517084022/http://www.cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/Zone%20maps/HS_West_Central_South.pdf West/Central/South High Schools]" (). [[Chicago Public Schools]]. May 17, 2013. Retrieved on May 25, 2015.</ref>
Lower West Side is home to the following educational institutions:
*Josiah L. Pickard Elementary School
*Jungman Elementary School
*Irma C. Ruiz Elementary School
*Jose Clemente Orozco Community Academy
*Peter Cooper Duo Language Academy
*[[Cristo Rey Jesuit High School (Chicago)|Cristo Rey Jesuit High School]] – private, Jesuit 9-12 school of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago]]
*[[Gads Hill Center]] – nonprofit youth and adult education center
*[[Rudy Lozano]] Library – [[Chicago Public Library]] branch
* Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy – charter high school
* Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy – alternative high school
* St. Ann School - Catholic, pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school
* St. Pius V School - Catholic, pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school
* St. Procopius School – Catholic, dual language elementary school
* Whittier Dual Language Community School – pre-kindergarten through 8 school
* John A. Walsh Elementary School
===History of education===
Prior to the 1970s, Pilsen residents attended Jungman Elementary School for grades 1–6; Cooper School, adjacent to Jungman, for grades 7–8; Froebel School for grades 9-10<!--Misttated as "tenth and eleventh" because the same source says 11-12th graders went to Harrison-->, and [[Harrison Technical High School]] in [[South Lawndale]] for grades 11–12.<ref name=Alvarezp88>{{cite journal |last=Alvarez |first=René Luis |title=A Community that Would Not Take 'No' for an Answer: Mexican Americans, the Chicago Public Schools, and the Founding of Benito Juarez High School |journal=[[Journal of Illinois History]] |year=2014 |volume=17 |number=1 |page=88 }}</ref>
Jungman opened in 1903. In 1914 an addition was installed. The building was converted into a junior high school in 1933 due to a decision by the [[Chicago Board of Education]]. It later became a branch of Harrison Tech, and then in 1947 a branch of Walsh Elementary.<ref name=Alvarezp88/>
Froebel served as a branch for Harrison Tech due to overcrowding on the main campus; it was originally an elementary school.<ref name=Alvarezp88/>
[[Teresa Fraga]], Mary Gonzales and Raquel Guerrero are the three founding mothers of [[Benito Juarez Community High School]]. In the late 1960s, the three mothers shared concerns for their own children when the only public high school available was Harrison High school. Harrison High School was located in a neighborhood plagued with gang violence and racial tension between African Americans and Mexican Americans. The mothers wanted a safe and conducive school for Spanish speaking students. The school was proposed to Chicago's Board of Education multiple times but ultimately rejected. This led to protests and boycotts from many Mexican students and families. Finally, in June 1974, Chicago's Board of Education approved $8.9 million in funding to build a high school in Pilsen. Benito Juarez Community Academy opened in 1977 and now has a 94 percent Latino student body. The school is decorated with [[mural]]s and statues that portray [[Mexico|Mexican]] culture and famous leaders such as [[Benito Juárez]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/founding-mothers-built-a-high-school |title=How Pilsen's Founding Mothers Built a High School|date=October 13, 2017 |work=WTTW Chicago Public Media - Television and Interactive|access-date=November 3, 2017 |language=en}}</ref>
==Notable residents==
* [[Anton Cermak]], 34th [[Mayor of Chicago]] (1931–1933)<ref name="Pero's Pilsen Book"/>
* [[Stuart Dybek]], short fiction writer and poet.<ref name="Pero's Pilsen Book"/>
* [[James Foley (journalist)|James Foley]], journalist and first American killed by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|I.S.I.L.]] He lived in Pilsen while attending the [[Medill School of Journalism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141024/pilsen/james-foley-slain-by-isis-honored-with-pilsen-mural|title=James Foley, Slain by ISIS, Honored With Pilsen Mural|website=DNAinfo Chicago|access-date=11 September 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912055439/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141024/pilsen/james-foley-slain-by-isis-honored-with-pilsen-mural|archive-date=12 September 2017}}</ref>
* [[George Halas]], coach and owner of the [[Chicago Bears]]. He was raised in Pilsen and attended Peter Cooper School.<ref name="Pero's Pilsen Book">{{cite book|first=Peter N.|last=Pero|title=Chicago's Pilsen Neighborhood|publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]]|___location=[[Charleston, South Carolina]]|page=25|year=2011|access-date=June 25, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0738583340}}</ref>
* [[James Chico Hernandez]], First sambo champion to be featured on a box of [[Wheaties]] Energy Crunch.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jon |last=Dahms|url=http://www.army.mil/usar/news/2002/05may/chico.html |title=Army Reservist selected as Wheaties Everyday Champion |publisher=Public Affairs and Liaison Directorate Office, Army Reserve|website=army.mil|access-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020812173838/http://www.army.mil/usar/news/2002/05may/chico.html|archive-date=12 August 2002}}</ref> He was raised in Pilsen.
* [[Otto Kerner Jr.]], 33rd Governor of Illinois (1961–1968). He was raised in Pilsen.<ref name="Pero's Pilsen Book"/>
* [[Otto Kerner Sr.]], 28th [[Illinois Attorney General]] (1932–1938) and Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]]. He resided in Pilsen.<ref name="Pero's Pilsen Book"/>
*Abigail Beasley
* [[Jake Allex|Jake Allex Mandusich]] (1887–1959), soldier who received the [[Medal of Honor]] for his service in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War I]]. In 1951, he resided at 1915 South Loomis Avenue.<ref>{{cite news|title=SLATE 4 HOUR NIGHT PAGEANT FOR M'ARTHUR: Hero Will Be Center of Spectacle|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=April 25, 1951}}</ref>
* [[Daniel Solis]], member of the [[Chicago City Council]] from the 25th ward (1996–2019). He resides on the Lower West Side.<ref>{{cite book|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|___location=[[London]]|title=Constructing Transnational Political Spaces: The Multifaceted Political of Mexican Migrants|page=124|first=Stephanie|last=Schütze|year=2016|access-date=June 25, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1137558547|isbn=9781137558534}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[H. Kramer and Company]]
* [[Mexicans in Chicago]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Chicago/Pilsen}}
* [http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/doit/general/GIS/Chicago_Maps/Community_Areas/CA_LOWER_WEST_SIDE.pdf Official City of Chicago Lower West Side Map]
* [http://www.
* [http://
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070213073200/http://www.pilsenneighbors.org/org_history.html Pilsen Neighbors Community Council]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/travel/a-chicago-neighborhood-follows-a-latin-beat.html?_r=1 Pilsen, ''New York Times'' (1/28/15)]
{{Geographic ___location
| Center = Lower West Side, Chicago
| North = [[Near West Side, Chicago]]
| Northeast = [[Near South Side, Chicago]]
| East = [[Armour Square, Chicago]]
| Southeast = [[Bridgeport, Chicago]]
| South = [[McKinley Park, Chicago]]
| Southwest = [[Brighton Park, Chicago]]
| West = [[South Lawndale, Chicago]]
| Northwest = [[North Lawndale, Chicago]]
}}
{{Lower West Side, Chicago}}
{{Community areas of Chicago}}
{{Neighborhoods in Chicago}}
{{Chicago}}
{{Portal bar|Chicago|Latino and Hispanic
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Community areas of Chicago]]
[[Category:Lower West Side, Chicago| ]]
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