Goose Island (Chicago)

Infobox Islands
name = Goose Island


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location = Chicago, Illinois USA
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total islands = 1
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area = 160 acres
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country =USA

Goose Island is the only island on the Chicago River in Illinois. It is separated from the mainland by the North Branch of the Chicago River on the west and the North Branch Canal on the east. The island is about one and a half miles long and one-half mile wide at its widest point.Hill, Libby (2000). "The Chicago River: A Natural and Unnatural History", pp. 85-86. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press. ISBN 189312102X.]

Acquiring the island

In 1853, the Chicago Land Company purchased canal land for industrial purposes at a bend in the river between what was to become North Avenue on the north and Chicago Avenue on the south. By 1857 the Company's workers had created a channel, known as the North Branch Canal, that became a shortcut up the North Branch, thus forming the island. Chicago's first mayor, William B. Ogden, was a trustee of the Company, and the channel also became known as Ogden's Canal. Similarly, the island has at times been called William B. Ogden Island.Fact|date=July 2007

Immigration

After Irish immigrants moved to the island, it took on the name Goose Island as well as Kilgubbin, which was the immigrants' original home in Ireland. The Goose Island Brewery makes Kilgubbin Red Ale in honor of this name. [cite web | url = http://www.gapersblock.com/airbags/archives/goose_island/ | title = Ask the Librarian: Goose Island | first = Alice | last = Maggio | work = Gapers Block | date = 2005-05-26 | accessdate = 2007-05-17 ]

When the Irish moved their settlement northwards to the present-day Goose Island, they took the island's name with them. The settlers were eventually joined by Polish and German immigrants to the city. For most of the residents, daily life hovered between rural and urban, with many raising livestock while also working in nearby factories. Over 100 units of housing were built in a three-block area to accommodate the new residents. Various taverns and bars also opened, which became the center of activity for the island's residents.Fact|date=July 2007 There was no bridge to the island until after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

Peoples Gas

During the late 1800s Peoples Gas, Light & Coke Co. purchased land at the east of the island for industrial plants. The area was nicknamed "Little Hell" because of the smoke produced by the plants. By 1887 there were two grain elevators, eleven coal yards, and a railroad among other industrial institutions. By the turn of the century many residents began to move off the island. Many business also deserted the island.

Access

The only east–west road that crosses both the North Branch Canal and the Chicago River is Division Street. Halsted Avenue runs north–south across the southeast portion of the island.cite web |url=http://maps.google.com |title=Google Maps |author=Google |accessdate=2008-07-17]

Recent updates

No more than three families lived on Goose Island during the 1970s, and by 1985 only one house remained on the island.Fact|date=July 2007 Goose Island had ended a second round of settlement, with most of the housing on its three residential streets destroyed. Despite the demise of worker housing, however, the area reemerged as a potential site for more affluent residents by the late 1980s. Just as developers eyed prime riverfront property closer to downtown, the empty lots on Goose Island began to attract interest, and a vigorous debate on the future of Goose Island ensued.

One Near North residential developer commented: "Dirty industrial uses do not belong. As the city has changed over the years, it has become desirable that the heavy industry not be in the core of the city. It affects the quality of life for everybody. Although I don't think it should be legislated out of existence, it seems to me that over time it will be natural for it to move out."Fact|date=July 2007

One longtime Goose Island resident disagreed, arguing for new industries to come to the island: "If it's a choice between industry or the new development residential, I'd prefer the industry because it would be better for my business [restaurant and tavern.] "Fact|date=July 2007 In May 1990, Mayor Richard M. Daley backed the designation of Goose Island as a Planned Manufacturing District (PMD), which was supported by the local alderman. Daley commented that "the proposed district would help the industries on the island to expand and to retain jobs."fact|date=May 2008 By late 1997, virtually all the land in one of the resulting industrial parks had been filled.

References

External links

[http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/300045.html Goose Island at the Encyclopedia of Chicago]