Jackson Park Highlands District

The Jackson Park Highlands District is a historic district in the South Shore community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The district was built in 1905 by various architects. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 25, 1989. It is often dubbed as one of the "big three" South Side upper-middle to upper class neighborhoods, along with Hyde Park to the direct north and Beverly, a little ways southwest.

Boundaries

The neighborhood is roughly bounded by East 67th Street to the north, East 71st Street to the south, Cregier (Named for former Chicago mayor) to the west and Euclid (named for the famed mathematician) to the east. Directly north of the neighborhood lies the 18-hole Jackson Park Golf Course, a part of the Chicago Park District's Jackson Park, the third largest park in the city and home of the 1893 Columbian World Exposition. To the south lies the former Illinois Central Railroad tracks, now operated by Metra rail's Electric Line of trains. To the east lies Jeffrey Boulevard and across that is the larger neighborhood of South Shore. To the west lies a series of residential streets terminated by Stony Island Avenue.

History

The neighborhood was commissioned in the early 20th century. Its initial purpose was as a collection of model homes that would overlook the prized Jackson Park, which had hosted the World's Fair less than a decade prior. The neighborhood featured (and is still present) some of the most innovative concepts of the time, including large front yard setbacks, 50-foot lot widths, underground utilities, and no alleys. When Chicago annexed Hyde Park just in time for the 1890 census (to beat out Philadelphia as the second largest metro-area in the nation), the Highlands were left under governship of the South Shore area. This remains one of the most disputed events in South Side real estate -- which neighborhood does it belong to. This issue and its location as being surrounded by the two neighborhoods is often compared to the positioning of Washington, DC, as it too is sandwiched between two different governing bodies.

At the time of the Second World War, the neighborhood saw huge loss in residence and a destruction of the area was suggested. With the arrival of the 1970s, the neighborhood again began to rise as a major thoroughfare of South Side luxury. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 25, 1989. Houses now range from the $300,00 mark upwards to about $1.5 million.

Famous Residents

Famous residents have included members of the Whitehall Family, Jesse Jackson, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Enrico Fermi, Gayle Sayers and Jim Montgomery.

[cite web|url=http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/J/JacksonPark.html|title=Jackson Park Highlands District|publisher=City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division|date=2003|accessdate=2007-06-26]

References