Washington Heights, Chicago
Washington Heights is the 73rd of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far south side. Washington Heights is considered part of the Blue Island Ridge, along with the nearby community areas of Beverly Hills, Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood, and the village of Blue Island. It contains a neighborhood also known as Washington Heights, as well as the neighborhoods of Brainerd and Fernwood., Washington Heights had 27,453 inhabitants.
Named for the heights which are now part of the adjacent Beverly Hills, the area was settled in the late 19th century at the intersection of two railroad lines. It was incorporated as a village in 1874, and was annexed by Chicago in 1890. During most of the 20th century, Washington Heights was primarily inhabited by Irish, Germans and Swedes; after late-20th-century white flight, it has been mainly inhabited by African-Americans. The area largely retained its middle-class character during its racial transition, declining somewhat in recent years.
Historically influenced by transit, Washington Heights includes the original site of the former Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. The Brainerd Bungalow Historic District and the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, home of the largest collection of African-American history in the midwestern United States, are in the area.
History
Etymology
The area was named "Washington Heights" in honor of George Washington when a post office was established in 1869. The eponymous heights split off and became Beverly by 1900. Brainerd was named for E. L. Brainerd, who built a train station at 89th and Loomis Streets in 1887. Washington Heights was also known as Blue Island Ridge, Campbell's Woods, Dummy Junction, and North Blue Island.19th century
What is now Washington Heights was primarily inhabited by farmers from the 1830s to the 1860s. The earliest known non-indigenous settlers in the area were DeWitt Lane in 1832, and Norman Rexford and Jefferson Gardner in 1834. Gardner established a tavern in 1836, which was acquired by William Wilcox in 1844. Wilcox had well water on his farm, which he served to travellers on the Vincennes Trail to Indiana; his tavern was popular, since nearby Beverly prohibited the sale of alcohol. John Blackstone purchased the land bordered by modern-day Halsted Street, Western Avenue, 91st and 115th Streets in 1839. Potawatami Indians remained in the area until they were expelled by treaty and settled in modern-day Kansas and Oklahoma in 1844. That year, Blackstone sold his land to Thomas Morgan of Surrey for $5,450.Irish, Germans, and native-born Americans settled the intersection of modern-day 103rd Street and Vincennes Avenue in 1860. The incorporation of Calumet Township in 1862 accelerated settlement of the area. Railroad workers began to settle in 1864 and 1865, beginning the dominance of railroads. In 1866, Willis M. Hitt and Laurin P. Hilliard subdivided land in the vicinity; this was followed three years later by the Blue Island Land and Building Company. Settlers and speculators were attracted to the area, which was at the intersection of the Rock Island Railroad and Panhandle Lines; both had been built in 1852. The Blue Island Land and Building Company was led by Frederick Hampden Winston, and among its stockholders was Rock Island Railroad president John F. Tracy. A Washington Heights post office was established in 1869, and Washington Heights was incorporated as a village in 1874. The village was annexed by Chicago in 1890.
The modern community area is a conglomeration of early settlements, particularly the former Brainerd and Fernwood. Fernwood was established in 1883, southeast of Washington Heights. Growth was rapid, and it had over 185 houses by 1885. Brainerd was settled in 1880, northwest of Washington Heights; unlike Fernwood, it grew slowly due to a lack of transportation. Brainerd was annexed by Chicago at the same time as Washington Heights; Fernwood followed in 1891, and was incorporated into Washington Heights. Brainerd and Fernwood continue as neighborhoods.
20th century
The Men's Club of Brainerd was formed in 1902, and was renamed the Brainerd Improvement Club in 1903 to admit women. Gas lines were run in 1905, and telephones were installed in 1907. Streetcars were extended into the area in 1912. Loomis Street was paved in 1913, but the remaining roads north of the Rock Island Railroad tracks remained unpaved until 1925; the roads south of the tracks were paved in 1927. Electric streetlights were installed in 1928 and 1929. Brick bungalows were built between 1920 and 1950. Growth slowed during the Great Depression, but rebounded in the 1940s.Washington Heights was one of the 75 community areas defined by the University of Chicago during the 1920s. The area's residents at this time were predominantly Irish, German and Swedish workers, who had moved from Englewood and Greater Grand Crossing. In 1940, foreign-born whites were 12.5 percent of the population; the top five nationalities were German, Irish, Swedish, Canadian, and English.
African-Americans began moving into the area east of Halsted Street during the 1950s; they had been restricted to certain areas of the city, and expanded into others in search of better homes and jobs. The African-American proportion of the population increased from 12 to 75 percent between 1960 and 1970, a trend encouraged by blockbusting. Despite fears by many whites of decreasing property values, the economic status of the new residents differed little; Washington Heights remained middle-class. Interstate 57 was built through the area, opening in 1967 and forcing many residents to move. The only highway in the city without a nickname, a portion of it was named for the Tuskegee Airmen in 2012.
21st century
Median household income declined somewhat during the 2000s; it was $2,000 less than the citywide median, and had been $6,000 above the citywide median in 1989.The site of the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company foundry became a development of single-family homes. Known as the Renaissance at Beverly Ridge, the original development plan for the site failed due to lack of funds during a housing-market crash after about 25 homes were built. An alderman's wife was responsible for selling the development and received money from tax increment financing, and a new developer stepped to finish the project. This developer, who had close relations to alderman Carrie Austin, also failed to meet expectations, being unable to produce the promised 91 houses by June 2019 and leading to the city cutting off public funds to the project that December. The project continued during the early 2020s without incident, except on a single block that was beleaguered by problems in home construction and delays in contract closing. Attempts by residents on that block to fix the problems were fruitless until Austin's office was contacted. Given that the block expected to be renamed in honor of the new developer, a white man, and the neighborhood is majority black was also the source of controversy given the issues.
Geography and neighborhoods
Washington Heights is community area #73. It is on Chicago's far south side, from the Loop. Its northern border is the railroad tracks at 89th Street, and its southern border is West 107th Street. At several points its eastern border is Eggleston and Halsted, and its western border is Beverly Avenue until 103rd Street. The area contains the neighborhoods of Brainerd, Washington Heights, and Fernwood, and covers an area of. It is geographically divided by the Metra Rock Island Line tracks and Interstate 57.Washington Heights, Morgan Park, Beverly, Mount Greenwood, and Blue Island are considered part of the Blue Island Ridge. The ridge is a glacial bluff which was named for its color, due to atmospheric conditions or its blue wildflowers. the area had of single-family housing, of multifamily housing, of commercial development, of industrial development, of institutional development, and of mixed-use development. An additional was defined as transportation and other.
About three-quarters of the housing stock, 74.3 percent, in Washington Heights of single-family detached homes. Most of the houses were built between 1940 and 1969. The median number of rooms in an area house is 6.4, compared to 4.8 rooms citywide. 88.6 percent of the housing units were occupied, compared to a 90.1-percent occupancy rate. Of the total number of units, 67.7 percent were owner-occupied and 32.3 percent were renter-occupied, compared to 69.5 percent and 30.5 percent. Between 51 and 100 multifamily buildings in the area were considered affordable.