Jefferson Park is one of the 77

community areas of Chicago The city of Chicago is divided into 77 community areas for statistical and planning purposes. United States Census, Census data and other statistics are tied to the areas, which serve as the basis for a variety of urban planning initiatives on ...

, located on the northwest side of the city. The

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

of Jefferson Park occupies a larger swath of territory. Jefferson Park is bordered by the community areas of Norwood Park to the northwest, Forest Glen to the northeast, Portage Park to the south, and the suburb of Harwood Heights to the west. The Guatemalan consulate is located in Jefferson Park at 5559 North Elston Avenue.

History

Settlement in the vicinity of Jefferson Park began in the 1830s with John Kinzie Clark and Elijah Wentworth, whose claim was near what is now the Jefferson Park Metra Station, where he operated a tavern and inn. The tiny settlement of traders, hunters, and farmers consisted of simple one and two room log cabins until Abram Gale, for whom Gale Street is named, built the first frame house in Jefferson. Jefferson Park became the hub of an independent

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

that was incorporated at the nearby Dickinson Tavern as Jefferson Township in 1850 until annexed by the city of Chicago in 1889. The area was once home to a significant population of

Volga Germans The Volga Germans (, ; ) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov and close to Ukraine nearer to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the ...

, and one of the area's one time local landmarks was a local apartment building in the vicinity of the park along Higgins Avenue known by locals as "the Russian Hotel"''.'' Jefferson Park is also home to th
Northwest Chicago Historical Society
which is dedicated to preserve the area's rich history as well as most historical events and lectures. On January 21, 2021 a Boutique Air Pilatus PC-12 was landing at the

Chicago O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...

when its left main tire separated from the aircraft and landed in Jefferson Park. Police reported the tire, along with several small parts were found on a sidewalk near Leland Avenue. The tire hit two houses before coming to a rest on the sidewalk.

Jefferson Park (Chicago Park District)

Jefferson Park is a park operated by the

Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...

. The park, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

is located on the site of the Esdohr Farm.

Education

Jefferson Park residents are served by

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 List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

, which includes neighborhood and citywide options for students. There are also a number of private parochial schools run by

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

congregations in the area. The

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...

operates the Jefferson Park branch for neighborhood residents.

Politics

The Jefferson Park community area has supported the Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections. In the 2016 presidential election, Jefferson Park cast 6,693 votes for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

and cast 3,490 votes for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

(62.65% to 32.67%). In the 2012 presidential election, Jefferson Park cast 6,019 votes for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and cast 3,129 votes for

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

(64.42% to 33.49%).

Culture

Jefferson Park is the home of the historic former Gateway Theatre

Movie Palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is a large, elaborately decorated movie theater built from the 1910s to the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930. Wi ...

that is now only part of the Copernicus Center. The Copernicus Center and former Gateway Theatre (renamed the Mitchell P Kobelinski theater) still serve the community as a

performing arts center Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is usually a complex housing performance spaces for various performing arts, including dance, music, and theatre. In some cases it refers to a single multi-use s ...

, hosting numerous music concerts, theatrical performances, classes, seminars, community meetings, and cultural events throughout the year. The Copernicus Center is also a voting location for Jefferson Park residents. The Copernicus Center "Annex," which includes both an event space and offices, houses the Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce office. Jefferson Park is also home to the award-winning Gift Theatre Company, a professional theatre company located at 4802 N. Milwaukee co-founded by Jeff Park native Michael Patrick Thornton. The neighborhood holds two large festivals annually: Jeff Fest in June, and Taste of Polonia over

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

weekend. Christina Madonna of "Chicago All Stars" fame is a native of Jefferson Park. The Taste of Polonia has brought some of the nation's most prominent political figures to Jefferson Park to woo the support of Chicago's Polish community.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

hosted the festival in 1992 and in 2000, future

Vice-President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

as well as

Tipper Gore Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American social issues advocate. She was the second lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 through her marriage to the 45th vice president, Al Gore in 1970, from who ...

, and Hadassah Lieberman made an appearance. Vice-President Cheney's presence was particularly notorious with coverage in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' of his lively antics which included dancing the

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

, serving attendees

kielbasa Kielbasa (, ; from Polish ) is any type of meat sausage from Poland and a staple of Polish cuisine. In American English, it is typically a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of meat, which closely resembles the ''Wiejska'' ''sausage'' ...

with stuffed cabbage and addressing a cheering crowd by shouting the Polish phrase Sto Lat.

Transportation

Jefferson Park has long been one of Chicago's transportation hubs, earning the neighborhood the nickname as "The Gateway to Chicago". The neighborhood is served by a Blue Line station in the median of the Kennedy Expressway at the intersection of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and Gale Street, less than three blocks away from the Copernicus Center and the historic Jefferson Park Congregational Church. The Union Pacific / Northwest Line also provides service to Jefferson Park. In 2005, a monument to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

was placed along the station's entrance along Milwaukee Avenue.

Neighborhoods

Jefferson Park

Jefferson Park is a predominantly middle-class neighborhood of people coming from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Like many neighborhoods on the Northwest Side of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

the neighborhood has a heavy

Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

presence, and is home to the Copernicus Foundation, the Polish parish of St. Constance, as well as a host of other Polish-American organizations, institutions and businesses. Jefferson Park is also known for having a very high number of resident city and county workers. The area is filled with the homes of

Chicago Public School Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

teachers and staff,

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...

Chicago Fire Department The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides firefighting services along with emergency medical response services, hazardous materials mitigation services, and technical rescue response services in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, un ...

as well as

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

officers and staff. Boundaries are Austin Ave, Chicago River, Railway, Elston Ave, Foster Ave, Edens Expy, Cicero Ave, Montrose Ave, Narraganset Ave, Nagle Ave, Bryn Mawr Ave, Northwest Hwy, Milwaukee Ave.

Indian Woods Community

Boundaries are Indian Rd, Central Ave, Ardmore Ave. http://www.indianwoods.org/ Originally part of the Forest Glen Community. Also part of the South Edgebrook Neighborhood.

Gladstone Park

Gladstone Park is a neighborhood in the northern section of the Jefferson Park community area of

. It is centered at the large and confusing intersection of Northwest Highway and Central,

, and Foster Avenues. The Kennedy Expressway runs nearby as well and has an entrance from Foster Avenue. The park for which the neighborhood is named is located a few blocks to the northwest between Northwest Highway and

, on Menard Avenue. The numerous examples of homes in the Dutch Colonial style has led to the area's nickname as "Little Rotterdam", an allusion to the Dutch city of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. Gladstone Park has its own stop on the Union Pacific / Northwest Line.

References

External links

Official City of Chicago Jefferson Park Community MapThe Jefferson Park Historical Society's official website
* Chicago Park District *
Jefferson Park
*
Gladstone Park
*
Foster Austin Park
*
Roberts Square PlaylotThe Jefferson Park Free PressCopernicus CenterTaste of Polonia
{{Authority control Community areas of Chicago North Side, Chicago Polish-American culture in Chicago Populated places established in 1850