Community

Chicago, IL

Most cities pale in comparison to this urban enclave whose stunning skyline erupts from the western shores of Lake Michigan.  Chicago is host to a world of ethnic and religious diversity, world-class educational institutions and shopping, plus commerce and industry.  All are enveloped within incomparable architecture.

The Windy City has always prided itself on being a center for culture.  All year round, there are festivals, exhibitions, parades and full programs of theater, dance, art and all types of music, including a world-class symphony.  The famous Art Institute is home to an extraordinary collection of French Impressionists, as well as American artist Grant Wood’s classic work, American Gothic.

Works by René Magritte and Andy Warhol can be found at the Museum of Contemporary Art.  The city’s most recent contribution to architecture and art is Millennium Park.  The park is the setting for the works of Frank Gehry, Jaume Plensa and Anish Kapoor.

The modern city focuses on the area known as the Loop, where the raised metropolitan railway (known as the ‘El’ or ‘L’) circles the central Downtown business and shopping district.  The east side of the city edges on to Lake Michigan.  Chicago is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.  Over 50 languages are spoken here.  The city’s multitude of cultures can be gauged just by checking its list of annual ethnic parades and festivals.

Humboldt Park is located in the near west side of Chicago and boasts one of Chicago's largest parks; 207 acres with a beach, an outdoor swimming pool, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, playgrounds, and bike paths.  The Humboldt Park Avenue also has an assembly area, ice skating in winter, 10 picnic areas and a field house with two gyms.

Named for German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (a statue of whom stands near the park's boathouse), Humboldt Park officially became part of Chicago in 1869, and remains today much as it was then; a working-class neighborhood filled with older frame and bricks houses, flats, courtyard buildings and somewhat newer brick bungalows.  Humboldt Park's residents are a fairly balanced blend of many ethnicities, and there is a strong sense of community, with ongoing beautification and improvement projects in the works.

Humboldt Park is one of many Chicago neighborhoods benefitting from the growth and redevelopment within the city as a whole. The neighborhood has a diverse population and is home to a high concentration of Puerto Ricans. 

The Division Street Corridor (also known as Paseo Boricua) is host to the annual Puerto Rican Peoples Parade in June and the Fiesta Boricua, a Puerto Rican Pride festival, in September.  This festival attracts over 160,000 people each year.