Chatham Facts

Location: About 11 miles south of the Loop
Boundaries: 75th Street to the north, Cottage Grove Avenue to the east, 87th Street to the south and the Dan Ryan Expressway to the west Bordering Neighborhoods: Park Manor, West Chatham, West Chesterfield, Burnside, Avalon Park.

Chatham has been a stronghold of Chicago's African American middle class. Defined by a jagged boundary lying within 79th and 95th Streets, the Illinois Central Railroad and the Dan Ryan Expressway, Chatham contains one of the most solidly middle-class African American populations in the city, and is home to several of the most successful black businesses in the country. The area features dozens of restaurants, takeout places, and neighborhood bars line the street. Rounding our local area dining are a good selection of clothing stores and unique boutiques.

History

The land was mostly used for hunting and some farming was done to the west, but all in all, Chatham's beginnings were rather swampy and uninviting to residents for many years. Things improved in the 1860s and '70s when railroad tracks came in nearby. Industrial plants and began popping up alongside the new train route. Employment opportunities were plenty. As innovative drainage programs made the marshy territory more livable, Italian stonemasons began to build houses in the neighborhood in the 1880s. In addition to immigrants from Italy, the newly established Chatham community saw an influx of Hungarians and Irish, who came to the area mainly to work on nearby railroad construction sites. By the year 1889, Chatham was annexed into Chicago.

The 1920s brought dramatic increases in both property values and the population of Chatham. As new residents of mostly Swedish, Irish, and Hungarian American origin took occupancy in numerous bungalows, the population swelled from 9,774 to 36,228 by the end of the decade, and the community evolved from working class to middle class. Another boom started in Chatham toward the end of the Great Depression with the development of the Chatham Park housing complex in 1941, which stimulated the growth of Cottage Grove Avenue as a shopping district. By 1959, the mostly Jewish occupants of Chatham Park converted the complex into what was claimed to be the first cooperative rental property in Illinois.

As in many other neighborhoods in Chicago, racial transition occurred in Chatham quite rapidly. In 1950 the African American residency of Chatham was less than 1 percent. By 1960 it had jumped to 63.7 percent. Unlike many other neighborhoods, however, Chatham's experienced a relatively uncontested racial transition. Several area churches, for example, welcomed blacks into their congregations, and the Chatham–Avalon Park Community Council began in 1955 to include African American residents in their organization. Owing partly to the scare tactics of some real-estate agents, however, whites left Chatham in large numbers in the 1950s and 1960s. The 1990 census reported 99 percent of Chatham's residents as African American.

Chatham has the distinction of being perhaps the only neighborhood in Chicago that developed from a European American middle-class community into one composed of middle-class African Americans. Middle-class African Americans were, in fact, drawn to the area precisely because of its strict property standards, high levels of community organization, and good schools. When the racial changeover was completed, African American Chathamites worked diligently to maintain the middle-class character of their community.

Some of the most successful black businesses have been located in Chatham, including the Johnson Products Company (Ultra Sheen Hair Products), the Independence Bank of Chicago, Seaway National Bank of Chicago, and a branch of the Illinois Service Federal Savings and Loan Association. Independence Bank of Chicago was one of the nation's largest black-owned banks until 1995, when it was acquired by another corporation. Chatham was also home to Chatham Food Center, the only black owned full line grocery in Chicago land area.

Parks & Recreation

While Chatham has been built up with a respectable amount of commercial and residential development, the neighborhood does not lack sufficient recreational parks that give residents plenty of outdoor space for recreation.

The largest of Chatham's public parks occupies a full neighborhood block in the southern half of the community and has been there since 1961. Nat King Cole Park offers a running track and a spray pool as well as a club for area teens. The park's namesake had roots in Chatham, having grown up in the area - not far from where the current park stands. His father was also a pastor in a neighborhood church. In later years, Cole would go on to earn 28 gold records during his career and be the first African American to host a television show on a major network.

Also located on the Chatham's south side, Brown Memorial Park is a very small plot of recreational space, but still has a baseball diamond and tennis courts available for the neighborhood's sports enthusiasts. Brown Memorial was constructed in 1967 as a tribute to local firefighter Sidney Brown who was the first African American Chicago firefighter to die in the line of duty after he entered a burning building in the attempt to save three children.

Brown Memorial Park - 634 E 86th St - (312) 747-6063
Nat King Cole Park - 361 E 85th St - (312) 747-6063

Real Estate

The majority of Chatham's residences are single-family homes, with a handful of residential buildings here and there. A good mix of one- and two-story houses occupies the neighborhood blocks of small green lots, bordered by well-maintained sidewalks and long-established plant life and mature trees. Many of the properties in Chatham are lovely frame homes, although the community also hosts a significant number of red brick bungalows, the Chicago staple. Most of these adorable bungalows, sporting shady front porches and second floor dormer windows, remain solid and in good condition after 80 or more years of standing. They boast beautiful exterior stone ornamentation and exquisite masonry work that is so hard to find in newer brick homes.

Local Schools

Given its fairly sizeable population, the Chatham neighborhood has numerous schools where parents can to choose to send their children to class, or take their pick of countless other reputable Chicago area schools.

Neil Elementary School - 8555 S Michigan Ave - (773) 535-3000
Pirie Elementary School - 650 E 85th St - (773) 535-3435
Rescue Missionary Christian Church and School - 7956 S King Dr - (773) 224-9539
Ruggles Elementary School - 7831 S Prairie Ave - (773) 535-3085
St Dorothy's School - 7740 S Eberhart Ave - (773) 783-0555

Dining

From stellar vegetarian to barbecue, a dazzling myriad of dining choices abound in Chatham. Not many places serve Senegalese fare. Lucky for fans of northwest African cuisine, Chatham has a restaurant the dishes out some of the best this side of the Atlantic.

Yassa African Restaurant - 716 E 79th St - (773) 488-5599
Army and Lou's Restaurant- 422 E. 75th St. 773-483-3100
Captain Curt's BBQ - 8210 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 487-6550
Captain's Hard Times Dining - 438 E 79th St - (773) 487-2900
Captain Hook's Fish & Chicken - 8550 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 483-4600
Captain Smith Seafood - 353 E 79th St - (773) 488-5000
Chatham Pancake House - 700 E 87th St - (773) 874-0010
Izola's Restaurant - 522 E 79th St - (773) 846-1484
Lem's Bar B Que - 311 E 75th St - (773) 994-2428
Mather Cafe - 33 E 83rd St - (773) 488-2756
Queen of the Sea - 8154 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 723-5520
Rib Joint, Inc. - 432 E 87th St - (773) 651-4108

Asian Cuisine

New China Express - 718 E 87th St - (773) 488-3838
Yung's Chop Suey - 119 E 79th St - (773) 224-6666

Carribean Cuisine

Cafe Trinidad - 557 E 75th St - (773) 846-8081
Tropical Island Jerk Chicken - 419 E 79th St - (773) 224-7766

Mexican Cuisine

Pepe's Mexican Restaurant - 131 E 79th St - (773) 994-1525

Vegetarian

Soul Vegetarian East - 205 E 75th St - (773) 224-0104

Nightlife/Bars

Buckwheat's Lounge - 511 E 79th St - (773) 783-8383
Duke's Lounge - 121 E 79th St - (773) 874-6343
Red Pepper's Masquerade Lounge - 428 E 87th St - (773) 873-5700

Asian Cuisine

New China Express - 718 E 87th St - (773) 488-3838
Yung's Chop Suey - 119 E 79th St - (773) 224-6666

Carribean Cuisine

Cafe Trinidad - 557 E 75th St - (773) 846-8081
Tropical Island Jerk Chicken - 419 E 79th St - (773) 224-7766

Pizza

Jamie's Italian Beef & Pizza - 130 E 79th St - (773) 994-4000

Shopping

Family-owned shops alternate with popular nationwide chains in Chatham's commercial districts, where all the locals go for their everyday essentials and the occasional weekend shopping spree.

Alissons la Parisienne - 8834 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 994-8975
Ashley Stewart - 8658 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 994-1256
The Athlete's Foot - 750 E 79th St - (773) 994-7211
The Collection Clothing - 711 E 79th St - (773) 874-8887
Great Choice, Inc. - 759 E 79th St - (773) 892-1192
Jake's for Men - 704 E 83rd St - (773) 723-9380
La Leak Shoes - 610 E 79th St - (773) 723-9311
Lane Bryant - 712 E 87th St - (773) 874-0003
New Boutique Africa - 213 E 75th St - (773) 488-9755
Newell Apparel - 724 E 79th St - (773) 488-5364
Payless Shoe Source - 8552 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 483-8475
Raggs - 7943 S King Dr - (773) 783-8303
Serioux Store for Men - 416 E 87th St - (773) 723-8900
Target - 8560 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 371-8555

Grocery Stores

Chatham Food Market - 327 E 79th St - (773) 783-2880

Pharmacies

Cottage Clinic Pharmacy - 8055 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 651-3535
Target Pharmacy - 8560 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 371-8555
Walgreens - 8628 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 874-5500

Post Office

US Post Offices - 7740 S Cottage Grove Ave - (773) 483-1207