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History Of Irving Park
The Old Irving Park neighborhood is bordered by Montrose, Addison, Pulaski and the Milwaukee District North Line railroad tracks. Following is a brief background of how the area evolved.
Irving Park was open prairie and woodlands in the mid 19th century, criss-crossed by Indian trails that later became Milwaukee Avenue and Irving Park Road. The Chicago and North Western Railway laid tracks through the area in the 1850s, but the first permanent suburban settlement did not occur until 1869, when the Stephen A. Race family decided to subdivide their farm when the railroad agreed to build a station at Irving Park Road.
The new subdivision was named after the American writer Washington Irving, and “Irving Park” began to draw residents from nearby Chicago. The Race family built the ltalianate-style house at 3945 N. Tripp in 1874 and, by the following year, there were some 60 homes in the fashionable suburb. Several of these early residences remain, including ones at 3800 and 4132 N. Keeler and 3812 N. Tripp.
Other small settlements in the area also grew up around railroad stations. To the southwest, John Gray built the frame ltalianate-style house at 4362 W. Grace about 1869, and then subdivided his farm in 1873 to create Grayland, located near the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway station of the same name. The following year, the 80-acre suburb of Montrose (now Mayfair) was subdivided at the intersection of the C & NW and the C, M & St. P railroads, near Cicero and Montrose avenues.
All three communities became part of the city of Chicago in 1889 and quickly merged into one continuous neighborhood. The ltalianate-style houses at 3740 and 3746 N. Keeler and the Queen Anne style residences at 3935 N. Kilbourn and 3808, 3833, and 3926 N. Keeler are representative of the area’s development during the 1880s-90s.
Irving Park experienced a boom between 1900 and 1920. Indicative of this is the Villa neighborhood, a Chicago Landmark District of brick and stucco bungalows located in the triangular area defined by Addison, Pulaski, and Avondale. Between 1907 and 1925, Prairie and Craftsman style houses were constructed in the Villa, with overhanging porches and slightly sloping gable roofs. Hatzfeld & Knox produced many of the better examples, including 3738 N. Springfield, 3655 and 3700 N. Harding, and 3646 N. Avers.
The Prairie School had a strong effect on Irving Park architecture. Walter Burley Griffin designed the handsome, stucco clad house at 4731 N. Knox in 1906. Three years later, Dwight Perkins was the architect for Grover Cleveland Public School at 3832 N. Albany. This was followed by Carl Schurz High School at 3601 N. Milwaukee in 1910.
By the 1920s, Irving Park was largely built up, although the area east of Kedzie - known as California Park - remained sparsely settled. Retail streets, such as Irving Park and Milwaukee, filled with new buildings, including the Art Deco-style store and flats at 4025 N. Pulaski. Meanwhile, modern apartment buildings, such as 4128 N. Keystone began to fill the residential streets.
After World War II, a manufacturing area grew up along Addison, from the C & NW railroad tracks east to Kedzie, Then construction of the Kennedy Expressway and the O’Hare rapid transit Blue Line in the 1950s and 1960s destroyed some of the areas oldest buildings, but also brought additional transportation options to the community’s residents.
This information is courtesy of the 1996 Chicago Historic Resources Survey produced by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, and the City of Chicago.
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The history of our neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of the residents. Whether you have just come to call Old Irving Park home or are a long time resident, there are many ways to learn more about our community. This web site is a great start. Also, the following organizations are an excellent source of history and current events: The Irving Park Historical Society and the Old Irving Park Association. Click on the Businesses / Services / Organizations / Places link on the left to contact these groups. You will find them under Community Service.
