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Armour Square is a Chicago neighborhood on the city's South Side, as well as a larger, officially defined community area, which also includes
Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austr ...
and the CHA Wentworth Gardens housing project. Armour Square is bordered by
Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...
to the west, Pilsen to the northwest,
Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...
and Grand Boulevard to the east and southeast, and with the Near South Side bordering the area to the north, and Fuller Park bordering its southernmost boundary, along Pershing Road.


Armour Square neighborhood

Bounded by 18th Street to the north, Pershing Road to the south, the Union Pacific railroad tracks on the west and the
Dan Ryan Expressway The Dan Ryan Expressway is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near Downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both I-90 and I-94 south to 66th Street, ...
to the east, Armour Square has historically been a predominantly white, working-class neighborhood with a particularly significant population of both Italian-Americans and Croatian-Americans. With its location being immediately south of Chinatown, today the neighborhood also has a large Asian population as well. Armour Square's most recognizable landmarks are the historic
Armour Square Park Armour Square Park, also known as Armour Square or Park No. 3, is a park in Chicago, Illinois featuring Beaux Arts architecture, designed by D.H. Burnham and the Olmsted Brothers. The park was opened in March 1905, at a cost of $220,000. It was ...
and nearby Guaranteed Rate Field, which sits at the southeast corner of W.35th and Shields Avenue, on the neighborhood's southernmost end. Guaranteed Rate is home to the Major League Baseball franchise, the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
. There are three
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
parishes in Armour Square: Santa Lucia, St. Therese Catholic Community at 218 W. Alexander St., and St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church. The southernmost
census tract A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist ...
in the area (3406) is 99% black or African American. Historical images of Armour Square can be found i
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archives, libraries and other cultural institutions in the city.


Chicago White Sox

In 1900,
Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...
moved his St. Paul Saints to Chicago, where they became the team now known as the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
. They began play at the
South Side Park South Side Park was the name used for three different baseball parks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois, at different times, and whose sites were all just a few blocks away from each other. South Side Park I (1884) The first South Side ...
on 39th Street in Armour Square, and have remained in the neighborhood ever since. No other major professional sports franchise has played in the same neighborhood longer than the White Sox. In 1910,
Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 Chicago White Sox s ...
opened just 4 blocks north of South Side Park on a site that was formerly a junkyard. The Park remained the home of the Sox until 1990, when it was the oldest park in Major League Baseball. The new Comiskey Park, currently known as Guaranteed Rate Field, opened in 1991 across 35th Street from the old ballpark. Comiskey Park was then demolished in 1991 and converted into a parking lot. A
plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pla ...
embedded in the asphalt marks the spot where home plate was on the original field.


Chinatown

Chinatown is in the near South Side (located in the Armour Square community area), centered on and around Cermak and Wentworth Avenues, and is an example of an American
Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austr ...
, or ethnic-Chinese neighborhood. It is not to be confused with an area sometimes called " New Chinatown", which is on the North Side around Argyle Street, and which has a larger number of Southeast Asians.


Politics

The Armour Square community area has supported the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...
in the past two presidential elections. In the 2016 presidential election, Armour Square cast 2,892 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 761 votes for Donald Trump (76.67% to 20.17%). In the
2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...
, Armour Square cast 2,581 votes for
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and cast 575 votes for Mitt Romney (81.01% to 18.05%).


Mass transit stations

Armour Square is served by the Dan Ryan branch of the
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , or ...
's Red Line, with stops at Cermak-Chinatown and Sox-35th. It is also served by Metra on the
Rock Island Line "Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it appeared as a folk song as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummin ...
via the
35th Street station Jones/Bronzeville, also known as 35th Street, is a station on Metra's Rock Island District line. It is located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was named in honor of Lovana Jones who was an Illinois St ...
.


Education

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...
serves residents of the community area.
K-8 schools K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * AMD K8, the internal designation for the ...
serving Armour Square include Haines and J. Ward. Residents are zoned to
Phillips Academy High School Wendell Phillips Academy High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Phillips is part of the Chicago Public Schools district and is managed by the Aca ...
.West/Central/South High Schools
." ''
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...
''. Retrieved on April 7, 2009.


References


External links


Official City of Chicago Armour Square Community Map
{{authority control Community areas of Chicago Italian-American culture in Chicago Little Italys in the United States Neighborhoods in Chicago South Side, Chicago