Norwood Park is one of the 77
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 ...
community areas. It encompasses the smaller
neighborhoods
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. Neighbourh ...
of Big Oaks, Norwood Park East, Norwood Park West, Old Norwood Park, Oriole Park, and Union Ridge.
The community area contains the oldest extant building in Chicago, the
Noble–Seymour–Crippen House, built in 1833 and greatly expanded in 1868. Organized in 1873 as
a township from the adjacent townships of
Jefferson,
Leyden
Leiden ( ; ; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 127,046 (31 January 2023), but the city forms one densely connecte ...
,
Niles, and
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
,
and named after
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
's 1868 novel ''Norwood, or Village Life in New England'' (With the "Park" added to account for
another post office in Illinois with the Norwood name), Norwood Park was incorporated as a village in 1874
and annexed to Chicago on November 7, 1893.
Every
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.
It i ...
since 1922 there has been a parade that runs through Norwood Park.
William Howard Taft High School, best known as the inspiration for the musical ''
Grease'', was completed in 1939 with major additions made in 1959 and 1974.
History
The first inhabitant of European descent in the area was Mark Noble, who arrived in 1833 and constructed
a house
A House were an Irish rock band that where active in Dublin from 1985 to 1997, and recognized for the clever, "often bitter or irony laden lyrics of frontman Dave Couse ... bolstered by the and'sseemingly effortless musicality". The single " En ...
that is still standing as of 2024, the oldest in the Chicago city limits.
English farmers were the main group in the 1830s, although they would later be supplanted by Germans and to a lesser extent Poles and Scandinavians.
In 1853 the Illinois and Wisconsin Railroad, which would eventually become the
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...
and is currently Metra's
Union Pacific / Northwest Line, laid tracks in the area, and in 1868 the Norwood Land and Building Association was formed and purchased the land.
A hotel was constructed shortly thereafter in an attempt to lure tourists from Chicago, although it was ultimately unsuccessful.
The first Post Office and store were built respectively in 1870 and 1871.

Upon its incorporation the Village of Norwood Park prohibited the sale of alcohol.
As of April 2014 there were still eight dry precincts in the community area.
The first liquor store in the area in 50 years opened in 2016, without controversy about its existence but with such restrictions on its operation as early closing hours and a price minimum of $5.99.
During the 1920s such roads as
Foster Avenue,
Milwaukee Avenue,
Devon Avenue,
Northwest Highway, and
Harlem Avenue
Harlem Avenue is a major north–south street located in Chicago and its west, southwest, and northwest suburbs. It stretches from Glenview Road in Glenview to the intersection of East South Street and South Drecksler Road in Peotone, where ...
were improved, further facilitating transportation between Norwood Park and its surroundings.
The fieldhouse of the eponymous Norwood Park was built in 1928.
Between 1930 and 1940 the area added approximately 2,000 residents despite the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
.
The
Kennedy Expressway was constructed nearby in the 1950s although the historic buildings of
Old Norwood were unaffected.
The Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce was incorporated on May 20, 1977.
The City of Chicago recognized the Norwood Park Historical District in 1986 and declared the Noble-Seymour-Crippen House a Chicago Landmark on May 11, 1988. The Noble-Seymour-Crippen House was placed 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 ...
on August 11, 2000.
Neighborhoods
Norwood Park Historical District (Old Norwood)
The Norwood Park Historical District, also known as Old Norwood, was recognized by the City of Chicago in 1986. It contains the Noble-Seymour-Crippen House, Wingert House, Taft High School, and the Norwood Park Public School.
Norwood Park East
Norwood Park East is bounded by
Niles, the north branch of the
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...
, Devon Avenue, Indian Road, Austin Avenue, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Avondale Avenue and
Harlem Avenue
Harlem Avenue is a major north–south street located in Chicago and its west, southwest, and northwest suburbs. It stretches from Glenview Road in Glenview to the intersection of East South Street and South Drecksler Road in Peotone, where ...
. The Roden branch of 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 ...
system is located in the neighborhood. The public school that is located in the central part of the area and that the area is mostly zoned to is William J. Onahan Public School, located on West Raven Street. Rufus M. Hitch Public School, located on North McVicker Avenue, is in the area and zoned to as well. The neighborhood is also home to St. Thecla Catholic School and Parish.
Norwood Park West
Norwood Park West is bounded by Devon Avenue, Harlem Avenue, the
Kennedy Expressway and Canfield Road. It is home to Edison Park Elementary School, despite the name implying a location in
Edison Park. It is also home to Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Resurrection Medical Center and Resurrection High School.
Big Oaks
Big Oaks is bounded by Foster Avenue to the north, Nagle Avenue to the east, Gunnison Street to the south, and Harlem Avenue to the west. Opposite of the neighborhood's southern border at Gunnison Street is the suburb of
Harwood Heights and an unincorporated area housing
Ridgemoor Country Club. Many of the city's police officers live in
Big Oaks, and in recent years the area has seen an increase in the number of Polish immigrants.
At one time, the area was dominated by a large golf course called Big Oaks Golf Course. In the early 1950s, the golf course was demolished, and hundreds of homes replaced it.
The neighborhood contains three schools: Daniel Carter Beard Elementary School, located on West Strong Avenue, John W. Garvy Elementary School, located on West Foster Avenue, and St. Monica Academy, located on North Mont Clare Avenue.
Oriole Park
Oriole Park is bordered by the
Kennedy Expressway to the north, Foster Ave to the south, Harlem Avenue to the east, and Cumberland Avenue to the west.
The area is home to Oriole Park, which is located in the center of the neighborhood south of Bryn Mawr Avenue. The park covers over of land. The park is a
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 ...
facility.
The Oriole Park Library is located on Balmoral Avenue next to Oriole Park Elementary School. It operates under the Chicago Public Library.
The neighborhood contains two schools: Oriole Park Elementary School, located on Oketo and Balmoral Avenues, and St. Eugene Catholic School, located on Foster and Canfield Avenues.
Due to its proximity on the edge of Chicago and its suburban feel, Oriole Park residents are primarily city workers, such as teachers, police officers, union workers and firefighters.
Union Ridge
Union Ridge, one of the highest points of Cook County,
is bounded by Bryn Mawr, Foster, Nagle, and Harlem Avenues. Union Ridge contains no schools.
Union Ridge Cemetery is located on Higgins and Talcott Avenues.
Demographics
As of 2015, the median household income of the community area was $71,282 and the median age was 44.3. 80.1% of the population was White, 0.9% was Black, 4.2% was Asian, and 2.2% was Other. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 11.8% of the population.
This is a marked change from
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, when Whites were 92.7% of the population and Hispanics or Latinos were 6.4%.
Although predominantly Irish, the Norwood Park neighborhood has a substantial
Serbian-American community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
, centered on Serbian Road and the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. There is a K-8 Serbian-American School, Saint Sava Academy, and an annual Serbian festival "Serb Fest" which takes place on Serbian Road. During 1990-1999 more than 500 Serbian families from Croatia and another 700 from Bosnia became settled refugees in Norwood Park. Although many have since moved into Edison Park, Park Ridge, Harwood Heights, and Schiller Park, Norwood Park remains the hub of Serbian migrants in Chicago.
Politics
Local
The community area is split between the 39th, 41st, and 45th wards of the
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...
, where it is represented by Democrat
Samantha Nugent, Independent
Anthony Napolitano, and Democrat
Jim Gardiner respectively.
In the
Cook County Board of Commissioners
The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, which includes the City ...
the large majority of the area is in the 9th district, represented by Republican
Peter N. Silvestri, while the eastern parts of Norwood Park East, Union Ridge, and Big Oaks are in the 10th district, represented by Democrat
Bridget Gainer.
As of 2018 Silvestri is the only Republican County Commissioner representing a part of the City of Chicago.
State
In the
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...
the majority of the community area is located within District 20, represented by Republican
Michael P. McAuliffe, while most of Union Ridge and Big Oaks is in District 19, represented by Democrat
Robert Martwick
Robert F. Martwick Jr. is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 10th District since June 28, 2019. The district, includes Chicago’s northwest side and some of its surrounding suburbs. Pri ...
, and a tiny fraction in the northeast is part of District 15, represented by Democrat
John D'Amico.
In the
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...
the vast majority of the community area is located within District 10, represented by Democrat
John G. Mulroe, while a tiny part in the northeast is part of District 8, represented by Democrat
Ira I. Silverstein.
Federal
In the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
it is split between
Illinois's 5th and
Illinois's 9th congressional districts, where it is respectively represented by Democrats
Mike Quigley and
Jan Schakowsky
Janice Schakowsky ( ; née Danoff; born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 1999, and she previously served as a member of the Illinois House of Re ...
.
Norwood Park has supported the
Democratic nominee for
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 ...
in the past two presidential elections. In the
2016 presidential election, Norwood Park cast 9,894 votes (51.81%) 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 8,280 votes (43.36%) 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 ...
. In the
2012 presidential election, Norwood Park cast 8,441 votes (54.19%) 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 6,833 votes (43.86%) 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 ...
.
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 List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
serves Norwood Park, as the aforementioned schools are located in and serve the area.
Taft High School is in Norwood Park, serving the entire community area for public education, while for secondary education Luther North and Resurrection High Schools are also in the area.
Relation to ''Grease'' Musical
''Grease'' creator
Jim Jacobs
Jim Jacobs (born October 7, 1942) is an American actor, composer, lyricist, and writer for the theatre, long associated with the Chicago theater scene.
Jacobs is best known for creating the book, storyline, characters, and lyrics for the 1971 m ...
attended Taft High School, which was used as the backdrop to Grease. Much of what is in the play is based on his experience growing up in Norwood Park during the 1950s and 1960s. He has stated that the characters of Grease were based on actual people he attended school with. A 2011 reproduction of the original ''
Grease'' musical by American Theater Company in Chicago revisited Norwood Park's influence on the production. During the reproduction, many Chicago references were put in, including references to the characters living on "Chicago's Northwest side" as middle class first-generation Americans with parents who worked in local factories. Also mentioned were local favorites, including the hot dog restaurant
Superdawg.
Notable residents
*
Ral Donner (1943–1984), early American rock and roll musician and singer.
*
Robert Hanssen
Robert Philip Hanssen (April 18, 1944 – June 5, 2023) was an American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States periodically from 1979 to 2001. His espionage w ...
(1944–2023), former
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agent who spied for
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001.
*
Jim Jacobs
Jim Jacobs (born October 7, 1942) is an American actor, composer, lyricist, and writer for the theatre, long associated with the Chicago theater scene.
Jacobs is best known for creating the book, storyline, characters, and lyrics for the 1971 m ...
(born 1942), creator of the musical ''
Grease''. He was raised in Norwood Park.
*
Terry Kath
Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist and singer who is best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played lead guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singl ...
(1946–1978), guitarist, founding member of the band
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 ...
*
Edward Stanley Michael (1918–1994), pilot in the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
and awardee of the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. He was raised at 6616 West Schreiber Avenue.
*
Louise Schaaf (1906–2020),
supercentenarian
A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until short ...
notable for being, at the time of her death, the oldest person in Illinois and the oldest known person born in Germany. She resided in Norwood Park from 1959 until her death in 2020
*
Joseph Sikora (born 1976), actor known for his portrayal of Tommy Egan in ''
Power''. He was a childhood resident of Norwood Park.
*
Jack Suwinski (born 1998), professional baseball player playing for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
in the MLB. Suwinski was born and lived in Norwood Park for his childhood.
References
External links
Grease gets its grit back, Chicago Tribune ArticleOfficial City of Chicago Norwood Park Community Map* Chicago landmarks
*
*
* Chicago Park District
*
Norwood Park*
Oriole Park
{{Chicago
Community areas of Chicago
Former municipalities in Illinois
Former populated places in Illinois
North Side, Chicago
Populated places established in 1872
Serbian-American culture in Illinois
1872 establishments in Illinois
Polish-American culture in Chicago
Italian-American culture in Chicago