Greater Grand Crossing, Chicago

Greater Grand Crossing
Community area
Community Area 69—Greater Grand Crossing
Lem's Bar-B-Q restaurant on Grand Crossing's 75th Street business district.
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates:41°45.6′N87°36.6′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	List Grand Crossing Greater Grand Crossing Park Manor Winneconna Parkway
Area
• Total	3.56 sq mi (9.22 km2)
Population (2020)
• Total	31,471
• Density	8,800/sq mi (3,400/km2)
Demographics(2015)
•Black	96.07%
• White	1.44%
• Hispanic	1.11%
• Asian	0.01%
• Other	1.36%
Time zone	UTC-6(CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5(CDT)
ZIP Codes	parts of 60619, 60620, 60621 and 60637
Median income	$26,515
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Greater Grand Crossingis one of the 77community areasofChicago, Illinois.It is located on the city'sSouth Side.

History

1902 view of crossing, beforegrade separation

1912 view of crossing, aftergrade separation

Etymology

The name "Grand Crossing" comes from an 1853 right-of-wayfeudbetween theLake Shore and Michigan Southern Railwayand theIllinois Central Railroadthat led to afrog warand acrash that killed 18 people.The crash was the result ofRoswell B. Mason(later to serve as mayor of Chicago) illegally constructing railroad tracks, on behalf of the Illinois Central, across another railroad company's tracks. Due to the lack of safety at the crossing, trains made complete stops here and therefore industry developed around the area to cater to the railroad workers.

Nineteenth century

The area was developed byPaul Cornell,the developer of what is nowHyde Park, Chicago,throughout the 1870s. Grade separation did not occur at the rail crossing until 1912.Greater Grand Crossing was historically a railroad suburb made up of five, independently developed, older ethnic neighborhoods. The Grand Crossing and Brookline neighborhoods were predominantly made up of German immigrant craftsmen, farmers and factory workers; Essex had residents of English, Irish and Scottish immigrants who worked for the railroads; Brookdale was settled mostly by Chicago-born residents employed in the building trades and by the railroads; and Park Manor, the last of these smaller neighborhoods to develop, had residents who were predominantly of east-coast Yankee stock.

Twentieth century

At the start of the twentieth century, portions of Greater Grand Crossing like other neighborhoods in Chicago made the transition from open space and farmland tobungalow neighborhood.

Demographics

By the 1930s, the railroad workers residing in the neighborhood were joined by Swedes and Italians. Throughout the next two decades, African Americans began moving into the neighborhood from the overcrowded Black Belt and that's when Grand Crossing's White residents began to move out of the neighborhood. During the 1950s, the Black population of the neighborhood rose from 6% to 86%.

According to data from the 2014-2018American Community Surveycompiled by theChicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning,there were 30,805 people and 12,230 households in Greater Grand Crossing. The racial makeup of the area was 1.1%White,96.2%African American,and 1.5% fromother races.HispanicorLatinoof any race were 1.2% of the population.

In the area, the population was spread out, with 32.4% under the age of 19, 17.6% from 20 to 34, 18.6% from 35 to 49, 19.5% from 50 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.2 years compared to 34.3 years.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1930	60,007		—
1940	61,554		2.6%
1950	61,753		0.3%
1960	63,169		2.3%
1970	54,414		−13.9%
1980	45,218		−16.9%
1990	38,644		−14.5%
2000	38,619		−0.1%
2010	37,465		−3.0%
2020	31,471		−16.0%

Transportation

The CTA'sRed Lineprovides 24/7 service to Grand Crossing at the69th Streetand79th Streetstations. Additionally, theMetra Electricline provides commuter rail service at the75th Street stationat the intersection of East 75th Street and South Chicago Avenue; the railroad crossing that gave the neighborhood its name.

Politics

The Greater Grand Crossing community area has supported theDemocratic Partyin the past two presidential elections. In the2016 presidential election,the Greater Grand Crossing cast 12,647 votes forHillary Clintonand cast 233 votes forDonald Trump(96.68% to 1.78%). Despite Clinton's 94.60% margin of victory, it was only her 16th best finish in the City of Chicago.In the2012 presidential election,Greater Grand Crossing cast 15,408 votes forBarack Obamaand cast 89 votes forMitt Romney(99.23% to 0.57%). Despite Obama's 98.66% margin of victory, it was only his 11th best finish in the City of Chicago.

Notable people

• King Von(1994–2020), rapper and songwriter. He was a resident ofParkway Gardens.
• Gwendolyn Brooks(1917–2000), poet, author, and teacher who won the 1950Pulitzer Prize for PoetryforAnnie Allen.She resided at 7428 South Evans Avenue from 1953 until 1994.
• Al Capone(1899–1947), Capone purchased a residence at 7244 SouthPrairie Avenuein 1923, but shortly after moved toCicero, Illinois.
• Chief Keef,rapper and record producer, he was a resident of Parkway Gardens.
• Gary Comer(1927–2006), businessman and philanthropist who foundedLand's End.He was a childhood resident of Grand Crossing.
• Robert Cooley(born 1943), Mafia attorney turned government informant and author of"When Corruption Was King".He was a childhood resident raised at 74th & Vernon.
• Shani Davis(born 1982), first African American athlete to win a gold medal in an individual event at theOlympic Winter Games.He lived in Greater Grand Crossing until the age of 6 when his family moved toRogers Park.
• Wilton Daniel Gregory(born 1947),prelateof the Catholic Church and the first African-Americancardinal.He was raised at 217 West 72nd Street.
• Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew(1906–1995), blues pianist credited with making Chicago a center of the genre after World War II. He resided for a time at 368 East 69th Street in the 1970s.
• Michelle Obama(born 1964), 51stFirst Lady of the United States(2009-2017). She was a childhood resident of theParkway Garden Homes.The family moved toSouth Shorewhen she was two years old.
• Leroy Orange(born 1950), victim ofpolice tortureand one of four recipients of a pardon at the start ofGeorge Ryan'slarge-scale death penalty moratorium. He resided at 803 East 75th Street at the time of his conviction.
• Craig Robinson(born 1962), college basketball coach, basketball executive, and broadcaster. The brother ofMichelle Obama,he was a childhood resident of Parkway Garden Homes. The family moved to South Shore when he was four years old.

Features

TheOak Woods Cemetery,established in 1854, is located in Greater Grand Crossing.

Since 2006, ArtistTheaster Gateshas redeveloped several buildings in Grand Crossing as art and community centers.

The community has since been redeveloped in slow progression and will be an historic landmark for future generations.

References

• Paral, Rob."Chicago Community Areas Historical Data".Archived fromthe originalon March 18, 2013.RetrievedAugust 29,2012.
• Profile: Greater Grand Crossing by Jeanette AlmadaChicago Tribune(October 7, 1998)

External links

• Official City of Chicago Greater Grand Crossing Community Map