It contains the neighborhoods of canaryville and back of the yards. But before he even had the chance to finish seventh grade, a. Since the turn of the century, sociologists and social workers from neighboring hyde parks university of chicago have invaded the back of the yards. Back of the yards newspaper collection chicago public. History of back of the yards reviving an industrial center. Slaytons back of the yards is one of the finest accounts i have ever read on. Only with the founding of the community organization called the back of the yards neighborhood council in 1939 did the neighborhood west and south of the meat packinghouses start being called the back of the yards.
It consisted of 185 delegate organizations involving residents, business owners, churches, parks, schools, and social clubs that worked to advocate. Slaytons back of the yards is one of the finest accounts i have ever read on an urban, workingclass. Part of the town of lake until annexation by chicago in 1889, back of the yards was settled by skilled irish and german butchers, joined in the 1870s and. Organized crime to folk and people street gangs chicago. News reached newly elected council bluffs mayor james f. This book is the history of the back of the yards neighborhood from the very. Located in the geographic center of chicago, mckinley park is less than five miles from chicagos loop. Chicago mayors office, fifth third bank, vacation races, amazon prime video, big ten network, international latino cultural center, nike run club, forest preserve district of cook county, av anthonys, pink pastel, murals from the yards, chela libre, chicagolife, web is jericho, bella luna banquets, alyssa milano, chicagoland alliance of. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. In chicagos back of the yards, a new generation of. The total number of households is 20,603 with 3 people per household on average. Data is extracted from the chicago police departments clear citizen law enforcement analysis and reporting system. There were questions about whether government should really get involved in buying and selling real estate, and in planning a neighborhood. Back of the yards is an industrial and residential neighborhood so named because it was near the former union stock yards, which employed thousands of european immigrants in the early 20th century.
The back of the yards neighborhood council was founded in 1939 by. It consisted of 185 delegate organizations involving residents, business owners, churches, parks, schools, and social clubs that worked to advocate improvements. Free fair 47th and damen avenue presented by the back of. Discovering the history of your house and your neighborhood.
The mural will pay homage to the diversity and history of the back of the yards community by engaging local artists and youth. The national capital planning commission defined shaw as the area serviced by the shaw junior high school and those borders stretched to north capitol street. Life in this neighborhood was explored in upton sinclairs 1906 novel the jungle. As a community based organization, the bync was created to. The new city neighborhood is the second site of extreme chicago poverty and extreme gang activity that dates all the way back to the 19 th century, second behind the south west quadrant of the near north side neighborhood the area was first platted and settled in the year 1865 when the construction of the union stock yards began that opened on christmas day of that year. Also included is a microfilm reel of scrapbooks kept by the back of the yards council from betwee. The group also championed social causes, such as school lunch programs.
Back of the yards neighborhood council creating a better. Back of the yards local and regional history books. Jan 04, 2017 the first iaf organizationstarted by its founder, saul d. The area was home to the famous union stock yards that were on chicagos south side. Navy returned 55 acres along the anacostia river to the general services administration. Jan 14, 2015 the city council wasnt on board right away. Is it a sign of success that the bync can get support and sponsorship for events from powerful multinational corporations. Problems of municipal finance, design standards, and public vs. Just as things were looking up, a greaser invasion began with some of the meanest and toughest greasers the city would ever see as they went as far as committing murder. The back of the yards neighborhood council bync founded in 1938 by joseph meegan, saul alinsky, and bishop bernard j. See how to search special collections and university archives finding aids for search tips.
The concentration of railroads in the midnineteenth century, the establishment of the union stock yard in 1865, and the perfection of the refrigerated boxcar by 1880 led to a giant expansion of meatpacking in the neighborhood. In 1894, mary mcdowell started the university of chicago settlement. Atlanta has a long, rich history, some of which is touched upon on this page. The back of the yards neighborhood council bync is one of the oldest community organizations in america still functioning. She published several popular plan books that emphasized her status as a southerner and a woman. The back of the yards neighborhood council was founded in 1939 by joseph meegan, saul alinsky, supporting clergy, business owners, union officials, and residents, the back of the yards neighborhood council bync, located at 1751 w. The collection contains issues and clippings of back of the yards journal, the paper that worked closely with the back of the yards neighborhood council bync, along with journal news, city newshound and a selection of. Its focus on family, politics, and worklife is penetrating and its conclusions reinforce an emerging scholarly picture of ordinary people exercising unique forms of power. The back of the yards neighborhood council was founded in 1939 by joseph meegan, saul alinsky, and bishop bernard sheil and is americas oldest notforprofit communitybased organization. Zillow has 101 homes for sale in back of the yards chicago matching. Feb 19, 2002 george washingtons estate was comprised of 8,000 acres and although much of the land is now occupied by residential developments, the neighborhood friends of historic mt. The back of the yards neighborhood council bync was located on chicagos southwest side near the former.
See 1 photo from visitors to back of the yards neighborhood council. Aug, 2014 free fair 47th and damen avenue presented by the back of the yards neighborhood council stay safe and healthy. The back of the yards neighborhood council, which was founded in 1939 by community organizers joseph meegan and saul alinsky, claims to be among the oldest notforprofit community groups in the united states. The bync still exists, one of the longeststanding organizations of its kind. The almighty saints is a street gang founded in the early 1960s by polish youth at davis square park in the back of the yards neighborhood of chicago, but later was largely made up of hispanics due to the change in the communitys ethnic makeup. Back of the yards is an area in southwest side chicago,chicago,cook county,illinois with a population of 61,495. There are 30,270 male residents living in back of the yards and 31,225 female residents. The first iaf organizationstarted by its founder, saul d. This dataset reflects reported incidents of crime with the exception of murders where data exists for each victim that occurred in the city of chicago from 2001 to present, minus the most recent seven days. Calling for nothing less than a backyard revolution in cities across the country, alinsky was a catalyst in the citys budding communityorganizing movement and founder of the nations oldest communitybased organization, back of yards neighborhood council.
Step right on to main street at any point in history, and be immersed in the wonder and unique flavor of life in your town, or any town in america. Free fair 47th and damen avenue presented by the back of the. Back of the yards neighborhood council how is back of. In the 1930s, the settlement house reestablished itself as the back of the yards neighborhood council, taking on issues of labor and housing rehabilitation under the leadership of organizers saul alinsky and joseph meegan. The back of the yards council has tried many things but still needs help. Jul 26, 2016 in 1938, ijr assigned alinsky to study chicagos back of the yards area, the immigrant neighborhood of about 90,000 made famous in upton sinclairs novel the jungle. In the 1930s saul alinsky worked together with the priests and protesant clergy of the back ofthe yards community in chicago to form a powerful political organization called the back of the yards council. Through these plan books, she influenced neighborhood design throughout the southeast during the 1920s.
Josephs catholic church in chicagos back of the yards neighborhood. She traces the history of that enormous area stretching from the lake on the. Even though the history of the neighborhood is as old as the capital city itself, the borders of shaw are a 1960s construct. Father edward plawinski played a critical role in the back of the yards neighborhood council bync in the 1940s. Back of the yards book chicago public library bibliocommons. We have a variety of activities, programs and services that are provided to our constituents. Back of the yards neighborhood council, chicago, il. Download original report pdf sidewalks typify the difficulties that beset suburban residential developments. Mckinley park is a thriving workingclass neighborhood on chicagos southwest side, nestled between pilsen, bridgeport, back of the yards, and brighton park. Roosevelt presidential library and museum, liberals united, women of denver, the good liars, 2nd chance colorado, cup of jane, the great courses, theaterhound, the longmont theatre company, andy kerr for jeffco, lewistownarea chamber. You can use this system to discover resources in special collections and university archives by searching for your topic or by browsing popular topics. Wades book takes the form of a story whose heroes are clearly the. In south chicago, stephen bubacz led the russell square community committee throughout its history 19381968. Friends of back of the yards is raising funds for back of the yards mural.
An important reason for the success of alinsky and the back of the yards council was the strong support of the roman catholic diocese of chicago, with its. Back of the yards neighborhood council by robert a. Back of the yards community collection chicago public. The significance of the back of the yards neighborhood council, other than the improvements it brought to this chicago neighborhood and the sense of empowerment it brought to the neighborhood residents, was its influence in obtaining acclaim for alinsky, and serving as the main showpiece in his establishment of the industrial areas foundation. The louisville zoo had a football fieldsized problem back in march when a sinkhole formed in an undeveloped area. The back of the yards neighborhood council is americas oldest community based nonprofit.
And it shows in back of the yards eclectic mix of residents, artfully crafted parks, dozens of schools, wide ranging architecture, and inexpensive real estate prices. Wilburn designed and built a home in the neighborhood where she lived with her widowed mother and younger siblings. The council had great success in stabilizing the backoftheyards neighborhood and restoring the morale of local residents. Chicago public library, harold washington library center, special collections, neighborhood history research collection. Alinsky, in 1939was called the back of the yards council. It is full of useful suggestions and examples for finding past information on the land, the buildings, as well as the people that owned or may have lived in or on the property. Chicago is considered the birthplace of community organizing. An examination of chicagos back of the yards neighborhood through urban historical geography by molly myers chicago history comes in layers. Map of back of the yards neighborhood council chicago, il. Back of the yards neighborhood council how is back of the yards neighborhood council abbreviated. Slaytons back of the yards is one of the finest accounts i have ever read on an urban, workingclass neighborhood in twentiethcentury america. Cultural center in chicago, il foursquare uses cookies to provide you with an optimal experience, to personalize ads that you may see, and to help advertisers measure the results of their ad campaigns. In back of the yards, about 30 percent of its population lives below the poverty line, according to a 20 analysis.
Shaw is a very large neighborhood in washington, d. In the 1930s saul alinsky worked together with the priests and protesant clergy of the back of the yards community in chicago to form a powerful political organization called the back of the yards council. He did this himself, creating a back of the yards neighborhood council to bring together unions, religious leaders, and other leaders in. Back of the yards neighborhood council home facebook. Back of the yards images of america and millions of other books are. Betsys book is a well written, helpful resource book for tracking down the history of your house. May 03, 2016 back of the yards leonardo betancourt was a military history buff who dreamt of traveling the world with the navy, his family said. Back of the yards newspaper collection chicago public library. Back of the yards by jeannette swist overdrive rakuten. It was a name that the residents proudly claimed as their own. Back of the yards neighborhood council listed as bync. Founded in new city on the near south side in 1939 by saul alinsky and joseph meegan, the council was dedicated to their motto, we the people will work out our own destiny. Back of the yards community collection chicago public library.
And, as slayton says in his final paragraph, the seeds of the councils. The median age of the current population is 32 with 17,785 people being married and. Back of the yards leonardo betancourt was a military history buff who dreamt of traveling the world with the navy, his family said. For a hundred years, the back of the yards area on the south side of chicago. Sheil remains an important force in the neighborhood to this day. His back of the yards neighborhood council successfully fought for major civic improvements and stands as a landmark success in the history of alinskys organizing. Permeated by an unforgettable smell, back of the yards was a melting pot of immigrants, many who worked in the stockyards. Local history and social history back of the yards jstor.
The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a centralized processing area. Jan 08, 2016 the story behind the current spurt of development dates back to 1963, when the u. The council had great success in stabilizing the back of the yards neighborhood and restoring the morale of local residents. Sep 02, 2016 the back of the yards became a better neighborhood in the 1940s after being a rotting cesspool from the 1860s to 1940. Polish priests and lay people played crucial roles in their development. Chicago on a recent friday afternoon, the aroma of birria, a spicy mexican stew, filled the basement of st.
The hole was approximately 50 yards wide, 85 yards long and 50 feet deep. Alinsky spent most of his time with leaders of the packinghouse workers union, who were trying to organize employees of the major meatpacking firms that dominated the area. As one of the original communities of the american industrial revolution, this chicago neighborhood is all about change, progress and diversity. Arcadia publishing local and regional history books. Jul 20, 2016 he did this himself, creating a back of the yards neighborhood council to bring together unions, religious leaders, and other leaders in chicago in the 1930s. Part of the town of lake until annexation by chicago in 1889, back of the yards was settled by skilled irish and german butchers, joined in the 1870s and 1880s by czechs. With this success behind him, alinsky in 1939 with funds from the marshall field foundation established the industrial areas foundation with himself as executive director to bring his method of reform to other declining. Hillary haters fixation on saul alinsky the american prospect. It included representatives of several of the sixteen roman catholic parishes that served a oncedense neighborhood of poles, lithuanians, germans, czechs, and others. Homespun stories of the king, journalist, latrobe resident, and accidental palmer insider chris rodell draws upon over 100 interviews with the golf great conducted over 20 years, providing an intimate, charming, and at times irreverent glimpse at the icon outside the spotlight. Mike mcmullin, back of the yards neighborhood council program director ssa hougard megan, chicago public schools miguel moreno, back of the yards neighborhood council program director ssa 39 cynthia munoz, back of the yards neighborhood council ssa 39 assistant gisela nevarez, back of the yards neighborhood council special events coordinator. This book is the history of the back of the yards neighborhood from the very beginning of settlement in the area and also contains the.
May 31, 2018 mckinley park is a thriving workingclass neighborhood on chicagos southwest side, nestled between pilsen, bridgeport, back of the yards, and brighton park. The neighborhood is part of the new city community, where about a. Without its industry, the back of the yards population decreased from about 87,000 in 1930 to about 44,000 in 2010 according to the u. Back of yards sept crime city of chicago data portal. By the 1890s, the railroad money behind the union stockyards was vanderbilt money. Back of the yards association narrative chicago, il new. The back of the yards neighborhood, located in back of the union stockyards and composed of packingtown, town of lake, and new city, was the setting of upton sinclairs classic 1906 novel, the jungle. The main point of it all is that much of back of the yardss basic industry has packed up and left. Penned by local experts, each images of america book weaves the history of a community in stories and rare photos, from its beginnings to today. In the 1930s saul alinsky worked together with the priests and protesant clergy of the backoftheyards community in chicago to form a powerful political organization called the back of the yards council. In the encyclopedia of chicago history, edited by james grossman, ann durkin keating, and janice reift, 38889, 75354. Also included is a microfilm reel of scrapbooks kept by the back of the yards council from between july 1939 and february 1967. It included representatives of several of the sixteen roman catholic parishes that served a oncedense neighborhood of.
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