History
In 1950, there were only 255 Puerto Ricans living in Chicago. Ten years later, that number tipped 32,000. Arriving mostly as contract laborers looking for opportunity and better lives for their children, Chicago's earliest Puerto Ricans took jobs in the city's steel mills and along crude oil pipelines.
Under the guise of "urban renewal", 1960s gentrification forced first and second generation Puerto Ricans from their homes in Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, and Logan Square with many uprooted families ending up in Humboldt Park. On June 12, 1966, a young Puerto Rican was shot by a white police officer, and Humboldt Park's Division Street erupted as the site of the first Puerto Rican uprising in the United States. The resulting 3-day resistance brought nationwide attention to the discrimination, police brutality and unlivable housing conditions endured by Humboldt Park's residents.
In the decades that followed, Puerto Ricans came together (at times, in solidarity with their African American and Mexican neighbors) to fight for better quality schools, improved housing and other community resources. Puerto Rican leaders, community development organizations, cultural institutions and alternative schools emerged, breathing new life into the blighted neighborhood.
Since the riots of '66, Humboldt Park has seen uplifting transformation. Second and third generation Puerto Ricans continue to make important contributions to the progress of Humboldt. Advocating for Puerto Rican rights, social justice and mass media alternatives, their efforts foster a tremendous sense of community and culture. However, pockets of the community are still plagued by gangs, drugs and violence. Schools struggle to improve academic achievement, families worry about rapidly rising rents and local businesses feel the strain of skyrocketing property taxes.
Pushing groups of people from neighborhood to neighborhood, gentrification makes it incredibly difficult to establish solid, lasting communities. That's why Chicago's Puerto Rican community works so hard to procure and develop Humboldt Park. As the last vestige of Chicago's Puertorriqueñidad (Puerto Rican identity), Humboldt Park offers its residents a strong sense of community and a rich cultural history.
Alexander von Humboldt Park, opened in 1877
Humboldt Park offers 207 acres of beautiful park side, lakes and athletic fields. Architecture at North & Kedzie, Humboldt Park Boat House Pavilion, Jens Jensen prairie landscape lagoons.
