The construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal in
1836 brought about the creation of Bridgeport. Irish were amongst the first of
European immigrants to work on the canal, followed by Germans and Norwegians.
Once the canal opened in 1848, lumber yards, manufacturing plants, and packing
houses opened along the river and the canal, making Bridgeport an industrial center.
Later in 1865, most packers relocated to the Union Stock Yards, whose employees
were mostly German and Irish, and were also responsible for the creation of Bubbly
Creek, a contaminated South Fork Chicago River. [1]
Churches played a big role in attracting immigrants to the
area. St. Bridget’s was the first of four Irish Roman Catholic parishes
established in 1850. Germans, who settled north of 31st Street and east of
Halsted Street, had four churches that offered German congregations; the First
Lutheran Church of the Trinity (1863), the Holy Cross Lutheran Church (1886),
St. Anthony Catholic Church (1873), and the Immaculate Conception Catholic
Church (1883). Poles and Lithuanians settled along Morgan Street. Poles established
the St. Mary of Perpetual Help Parish (1886) and St. Barbara’s (1910), while
Lithuanians established the St. George Church (1892). [2]
Bridgeport is perhaps best known for its indirect role in
Chicago’s politics; it’s the birth place of five of Chicago mayors. The first
mayor was Edward Joseph Kelly (1933 to 1947), followed by Martin H. Kennelly (1947
to 1955), then Richard J. Daley (1955 to 1976), Michael A. Bilandic (1976 to
1979), and Richard M. Daley (1989 to 2011). The most notable of those five mayors
was Richard J. Daley. While Daley was not the first mayor to use “machine
politics” (a political group in which one person commands the support of a
group of supporters and businesses and are payed for their efforts to secure
the vote for their candidate), Daley is recognized for his successful use of it.
Among other accomplishments, Daley, or “Dick the builder” as city newspapers
recognized him, launched a massive construction campaign that rejuvenated the
Loop and provided Chicagoans with jobs with the construction of today’s
Eisenhower Expressway, new high-rise apartments, parking garages, public housing
for the poor, and many more projects. And perhaps his most notable building
project was the construction of the O’Hare Airport that brought Chicago
national attention and created thousands of jobs for Chicagoans. [1]
Today Bridgeport is a very diverse neighborhood thanks to
its neighboring neighborhoods of Pilsen and Chinatown; with a population of almost
32,000, Bridgeport’s demographics are 33.7% White, 34.4% Asian, 26.9% Hispanic,
2.4% African-American, 1.6% Mixed, and 1% Other. [3]
 |
| Map 1 - Bridgeport Map |
 |
| Fig.1 - Underpass along S. Archer Ave |
While Bridgeport is near Bronzeville, it was easier for me to take the orange line and get off at the Halsted station. As I exited the station, I walked along S. Archer Ave towards St. Barbara's church. Walking under the underpass gives that part of the neighborhood an unwelcoming image because it feels as though someone's going to jump out from behind the underpass supports and mug you. The grass along the sidewalk is also filled with garbage so it makes the neighborhood look neglected.
 |
| Fig.2 - Boarded up apartment |
 |
| Fig.3 - Boarded up business |
 |
| Fig.4 - Boarded up business |
As I continued down S. Archer Ave I came along a few boarded up buildings. I feel that the challenge the boarded up businesses face in that area is their proximity to the underpass; like I mentioned earlier, walking along their doesn't feel welcoming nor is it attractive, so I think not enough people pass by there.
 |
| Fig.5 - St. Barbara School |
 |
| Fig.7 - St. Barbara Church |
 |
| Fig.8 - St. Barbara Church |
Despite the unwelcoming feeling of the short path along S. Archer Ave, from the Halsted Orange Line station, the streets where St. Barbara's School and Church are located, S. Throop St and S. Quinn St, respectively, the area feels very welcoming. I saw a few Asian senior citizens taking care of their front lawns on the houses in front of St. Barbara's School. According to their school website, the school was found and built in 1910 as part of St. Barbara Parish by Polish immigrants [4]. Up until 2008, the Sisters of St. Joseph, Third Order of St. Francis staffed the school. Polish language class were taught till the 1970's. The school now serves a very diverse demographic of students and is staffed with various certified teachers. St. Barbara's church's land was bought by Pastor Rev. Stanislaus Nawrocki and in 1910, his brother Rev. Anthony Nawrocki served as the first pastor [5]. The church held mass and sacraments in the basement til July 5, 1914 when the construction of the church was finished. The church was designed by Henry Worthmann and J. G. Steinbach, German and Austrian architects, who used a 16th Century European style; they also used the same style on the Lutheran Church of the Trinity located in Bridgeport. St. Barbara had its exterior restored in the 1990's and its interior restored in 2012.
 |
| Fig.9 - First Lutheran Church of the Trinity |
The First Lutheran Church of the Trinity was founded in 1865 and is the first Lutheran church located on Chicago's near south side [6]. It's also the oldest Christian congregation in the Bridgeport neighborhood. The church served German immigrants and was named "Ev. Luth. Dreieinigkeits", which translates to Evangelical Lutheran Trinity. You can see their German name in a bronzed plaque on one side of the steeple. The church was originally built on the southeast corner of 25th Place and S. Canal, but after the railroad took possession of the property, the church was forced to move to its current location at 643 W. 31st Street in the early 20th century. The church now serves a more diverse congregation and welcome all to come join them.
 |
| Fig.10 - St. Mary of Perpetual Help Parish |
Another historic Bridgeport church is St. Mary of the Perpetual Help Parish located at 1039 W. 32nd Street. Its green dome makes the church very easy to find. The church started out as a two-story frame building located at the corner of Farrell and Lyman Streets to serve the increasing Polish immigrants and it also served as a school and convent [7]. By late 1884, land bounded by 32nd Street and Place and Aberdeen and Morgan Street was purchased by Rev. John Radziejewski. Two years later, construction of the current structure began and was finished in 1892. The church officially became the first Polish Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. on October 24, 1903, when Archbishop James E. Quigley consecrated the church. The historic event was commemorated with the addition of 12 brass crosses along the walls in the church and a white marble plaque in the vestibule. The church also constructed two school buildings in 1906 and 1922, but they were closed down in 1986 because of financial reasons and were demolished and converted into much needed parking spaces in 2001. One year later, De La Salle Institute opened an all girls high school there and offers a scholarship program that ensures girls of participating parish families receive a catholic high school education.
 |
| Fig.11 - Holy Cross Lutheran Church |
The Holy Cross Lutheran Church, located at 3121 S. Racine Avenue, is the daughter church of the First Lutheran Church of the Trinity. The church was founded on June 24, 1886, and divine services were conducted in the school building. The church construction was finished on October 17, 1886, and officially consecrated on July 31, 1887. I think the church's design is similar to its mother church because of its one steeple design. The church also served the neighborhoods German immigrants. The church began offering English services, along with its German services, around mid-early 20th century.
 |
| Fig.12 - Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple |
While many churches in Bridgeport were built to serve the early immigrants that settled there, one church or temple I should say, that I found that was built to serve the new Asian community in Bridgeport was the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple located at 1035 W. 31st Street. The building of the temple was originally home of the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church. The building was designed by John Wellborn Root and completed by his partner Daniel Burnham, famous Chicago architect and urban designer, in 1891 [9]. The temple moved into the building in 1992 and is the first Tantric Dharma Buddhist temple in Chicago. The opening of the temple was commemorated by performing the dedication rites and the marrying of Randy Wang and Melissa Liu by the temples head, Master Sheng-Yen Lu [10]. Tantric Dharma Buddhism is the philosophy of mantra chanting and visualization to realize one's true Buddhist nature and escape the cycle of birth, death, and reincarnation for eternal bliss.
 |
| Fig.13 - Palmisano Park |
 |
| Fig.14 - Palmisano Park Walking Path |
 |
Fig.16 - Palmisano Park Fishing Pond
Platform |
 |
| Fig.15 - Palmisano Park Fishing Pond |
 |
| Fig.17 - Palmisano Park Walking Path |
While Bridgeport started off as an industrial center because of the completion of the canal, Bridgeport today has various green spaces to show its beauty; Palmisano Park is Bridgeport's biggest green space with a 27-acre site and 1.7 miles of walking paths. The site of the park was first a corral reef that dates back to the Silurian age 400 million years ago [11]. Dolomite limestone formed there and in the late 1830's the Illinois Stone and Lime Company bought the land and began quarry operations. The quarry was named Stearns Quarry after Marcus Cicero Stearns, a partner to the company who opened a supply store for the workmen blasting out the rocks to build the Illinois Michigan Canal. After operations stopped, the site was used as a landfill. Finally, once dumping ended, the site began its transformation and was officially opened in 2009. According to the park's plaque, the park was named after Henry C. Palmisano, an avid fisherman from Bridgeport who donated fishing equipment to kids and taught them how to fish.
 |
| Fig.18 - View at top of Palmisano Park |
 |
| Fig.19 - View at top of Palmisano Park |
|
 |
| Fig.20 - View at top of Palmisano Park |
|
 |
| Fig.21 - View at top of Palmisano Park |
|
The park is a great place to breathe in fresh air and get some exercise. The one thing I was not fond of were the metal grate walking paths because of how much noise they make when you walk on them; it's a issue of them not being properly secured. The fishing pond has a neat platform for fishing and it's cool that you can still see how that site used to be a quarry. If you continue on the walking path and make it all the way to the top of the park, you get an amazing view of Bridgeport and the Chicago skyline. Fig.18 shows the view of a lot of the residential houses there in Bridgeport as well as some of the tops and steeples of the churches. Fig.19 shows the Chicago skyline behind the residential houses. Fig.20 shows what I think is the Stevenson Expressway and in the background you can see a lot of the industrial side of Bridgeport. Fig.21 shows the view of a few of the new residential houses/apartments in Bridgeport.
 |
| Fig.22 - McGuane Park |
 |
| Fig.23 - McGuane Park |
 |
| Fig.24 - Twisted Tree at McGuane Park |
Palmisano Park is a great place to go for a walk/run, fish, and enjoy the scenery, but besides that, there's not much to do. That's why McGuane Park is right across the street from it. McGuane Park was opened in 1905, but was originally named Mark White Square [12]. It was one of the ten revolutionary parks created to provide Chicagoan's relief from the tenements. It was first named after Mark White, a superintendent of the South Park Commission for 20 years. The park was renamed after John F. McGuane who lived across the street from the park, served in WWI, and served as a member of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners for four years. McGuane Park is the 2nd biggest green space in Bridgeport with 20 acres, an indoor swimming pool, two gymnasiums, an assembly hall, a playground, four outdoor courts/fields, and a field house. One aspect I found interesting about it was this twisted tree in front of the playground.
 |
| Fig.25 - Humbert Park |
 |
| Fig.26 - Bosley Park |
 |
| Fig.27 - Bosley Park |
Bridgeport has a total of eight green spaces. One of the parks I found the most interesting was Bosley Park; it's an ordinary park with a playground, a baseball field, and a basketball court. What stood out was its welcome sign. If you look at Fig.27, you can see that the word "Welcome!" is in a total of seven languages; English, Spanish, Polish, German, Italian, French, and Japanese.
 |
Fig.28 - Fresh Food Market (Asian)
& Cermak Fresh Market (Hispanic) |
 |
| Fig.29 - Hassan Grocery |
 |
| Fig.30 - Veronica Grocery Store |
As diverse as Bridgeport is, so are the grocery stores there. Some of the bigger grocery stores are located along S. Halsted Street like Cermak Fresh Market, which is a great place to find Hispanic groceries, and Fresh Food Market, which seems to serve the Asian community, but from what I saw, Fresh Food Market looks closed because all the windows and glass door are covered up. There are also various smaller grocery stores spread through out Bridgeport such as Veronica Grocery Store located near W. 33rd Street and S. Lituanica Avenue and Hassan Grocery located near W. 32nd Plaza and S. Racine Avenue. It should also be noted that there is a Mariano's located at 3145 S. Ashland Avenue which is just across the South Fork Chicago River.
 |
| Fig.31 - Park View Plaza (Halsted St) |
|
 |
| Fig.32 - Park View Plaza (Halsted St) |
|
 |
| Fig.34 - Store Plaza on 31st Street |
 |
Fig.33 - Chicago Sun-Times
Newspaper Booth |
Bridgeport, like any neighborhood in Chicago, also has your typical stores/businesses like McDonald's or a Walgreen's. You can find these located at the Park View Plaza on S. Halsted Street between W. 30th Street and W. 31st Street. I have never seen a McDonald's squished into a plaza, they usually are by themselves and much bigger. You can also find a smaller store plaza on the corner of W. 31st Street and S. Halsted Street that has stores such as CVS and a Subway. The most interesting business there was this small brown shack outside the plaza that sells Chicago Sun-Times newspapers. I should also note that along the major commercial streets of S. Halsted, 31st, and 35th, you can find various automotive shops/ body shops.
 |
| Fig.35 - Gianni Cigars & Smoke Shop |
 |
Fig.36 - Fabulous Freddies
Italian Eatery |
 |
| Fig.41 - UrbanLab |
One interesting place I found in Bridgeport is UrbanLab located at 3209 S. Morgan Street. The building is very strange looking because I think it's made out of rusted metal; you can't tell that behind the building there is a lot of plants and small green houses. UrbanLab is a collaborative office that practices architecture and urban design [13]. They focus on connecting people and the environment through innovative, environmentally responsible design solutions. Their Morgan Street location functions as a live + work building; the first floor is an office and the second floor is a residence. The building used to be a run-down grocery store and instead of demolishing it, they recycled the demo.
 |
Fig.42 - Mural on the side of the
Co-Prosperity Sphere building |
Another interesting place, that's near UrbanLab on Morgan Street, is the Co-Prosperity Sphere (C-PS) located at 3219 S. Morgan Street. The C-PS is an experimental cultural center with a 2,600 sq. ft. gallery used to showcase artists/performers/cultural workers work, hosts exhibitions, screenings, presentations, installations, festivals, meetings, and performance programs [14]. Based on some of the pictures they have on their website for their showings, the crowd seems to be mostly white and perhaps a bit hipster. It looks like their art is meant to be mostly abstract or doesn't show any influence of the different cultures in Bridgeport.
 |
Fig.43 - Zhou B Art Center
Statue Art |
 |
Fig.44 - Zhou B Art Center
Building |
Another artistic location in Bridgeport is the Zhou B Art Center located at 1029 W. 35th Street. The art center was founded back in 2004 by the Zhou Brothers, internationally acclaimed artists, and serves as a place where local and global art can be exchanged [15]. It provides artist with galleries, studio space, and a community of talented artists and curators. The art center hosts a free exhibition and open studio event every third Friday of each month. Each month the art center changes exhibitions and they can be found on their website; this months exhibitions are "The Water Lily Pond of Life" and "Vitality Rising".
 |
Fig.45 - Bridgeport Art Center &
Chicago Maritime Museum &
Wet Paint Chicago |
Due to the sudden change in weather, from sunny and warm to cloudy and extremely windy, this was the last location in Bridgeport I visited. The building located at 1200 W. 35th Street stores the Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago Maritime Museum, and Wet Paint Chicago. The art center is free every third Friday of every month, but only from 7-10pm [16]; the open studios offer paintings, sculptures, photographs, fashion, and woodwork and also have interactive demonstrations. The art center also has a very nice sculpture garden outside the building going down Racine Street (pictures below). The Chicago Maritime Museum has over 6,000 items like watercraft, models, articles, books, displays, art, images, and artifacts that they've been collecting since 1982 [17]. If you would like to see their collection, you must first become a member; memberships range from $100 to $50,000, depending on how many benefits you'd like access to. Lastly, Wet Paint Chicago is Bridgeport's first wine and paint studio. You are allowed to bring your own beverage and they provide you with all the supplies, music, and artists; there's no membership required, but you must register for an event first on their website.
 |
| Fig.46 - Chrome Horse Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.47 - Rusty Elephant Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.48 - Wire Flame Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.49 - Plant-Like Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.50 - Abstract Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.51 - Atom-Style Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.52 - Assorted Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.53 - Big Person-Chair Sculpture |
 |
| Fig.53 - Screaming Head Statue |
Fig.46 - Fig.53 are all the sculptures for the Bridgeport Art Center Sculpture Garden along Racine Street. My favorite ones were the chrome horse sculpture because its shiny and looks very powerful and the big person-chair sculpture because it reminds me of how Golems in fantasy RPG games would sit and then rise once you got near them.
 |
| Fig.54 - Benton House |
Right across from Bosley Park is Benton House. Benton House is Bridgeport's oldest social service organization. It was founded in 1907 and was used as housing for Japanese families during WWII and as nursery for children during influenza epidemics [19]. It also has a food pantry, opened in 2009, that serves food five days a week and feeds roughly 2000 people a month. Benton house today acts as a safe space for young LGBTQ individuals and minorities. Benton House is now under new management and it's uncertain what that will mean for it's role as a safe space.
 |
Fig.55 - South Side Hackerspace &
MAKE! Chicago |
One very interesting community aspect in Bridgeport I did not get to visit is located at 1048 W. 37th Street. The building is home to two very helpful workshops. The first one is the South Side Hackerspace; they offer workshops, lectures, and free classes for both members and the community [20]. Some examples of what they've done is taught soldering with the Chicago Public Library Maker Lab, applied science lectures with Elizabeth Koprucki (Assistant Director of Fab Lab and Design at the University of Chicago), and many more. The second workshop is MAKE! Chicago and they provide the community with access to tools and specialty equipment as well as classes on topics such as woodworking, refinishing, upholstery, furniture making, metalworking, welding, and many more [21]. While it;s open to the community, you can either become a monthly member and pay $150/month or if you only want to access their workshop once, you can pay $45/day.
There's one thing I should explain about by visit to Bridgeport and that is about the blue ribbons that are tied all around Bridgeport. If you look at Fig.5, you can see the blue ribbons that are tied to the door handles of St. Barbara's School and if you look at Fig.39, you can see a blue ribbon and a picture of who the ribbons honor. The blue ribbons are meant to honor Chicago Police Department Commander Paul Bauer who was shot and killed on February 13th, 2018, confronting a suspect in the Loop. Bauer served for 31 years [22]. His service was held at Nativity of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church and a variety of officials ranging from federal agents and U.S. marshals to Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and former Mayor Richard M. Daley showed up to pay their respect.
 |
| Fig.57 - Newer Apartments |
 |
| Fig.56 - Older Apartments |
Overall, I think Bridgeport is a mostly integrated neighborhood with just a bit of gentrification. Walking through the smaller streets, you see different houses; some old, some new, some show their pride in their culture, like with a flag or through decorating their front lawn. Walking through the bigger streets, like 31st Street, you see a lot of brand new and identical apartment/loft buildings, brand new businesses/stores, but there are still plenty of buildings that have survived. I also saw various faces walking along Bridgeport that shows its diversity, although I think the Asian community there will soon become the majority compared to the White or Hispanic community. Lastly, I think what also makes the neighborhood attractive is the safety aspect; I felt very safe walking around small and big streets, except when walking under the underpass.
Resources:
[1] Spinney, Robert G., City of Big Shoulders: A History of
Chicago, DeKalb, Northern Illinois University Press, 2000, Print.
[3] https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Illinois/Chicago/Bridgeport/Overview
[4]
https://www.stbarbaraschool.org/domain/60
[5]
https://stbarbarachicago.org/history/
[6]
https://firsttrinitychicago.com/history/
[7]
http://www.stmaryofperpetualhelp.com/p/history-of-our-church.html
[8]
http://holycrosschicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/125th-booklet.pdf
[9]
https://openhousechicago.org/sites/site/ling-shen-ching-tze-buddhist-temple/
[10]
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-07-15/news/9407150013_1_temple-dragon-dedication
[11]
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/Palmisano-Park/
[12]
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/mcguane-park/
[13]
http://urbanlab.com/about/index.html
[14]
http://www.coprosperity.org/about/
[15]
http://www.zhoubartcenter.com/about.html
[16]
http://bridgeportart.com/3rd-fridays/
[17]
http://www.chicagomaritimemuseum.org/collection/
[18]
http://wetpaintchicago.com/about/
[19]
https://southsideweekly.com/struggle-future-benton-house-bridgeport/
[20]
https://sshchicago.org/
[21]
http://www.make-chicago.com/about.html
[22]
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-paul-bauer-wake-chicago-20180216-story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment