Little Italy/ University Village Emily Caldwell Nathan KubikNathalie KacikDemetri BairaktarisAaron Koopman

History

Developed in the late 19th century when Italians

developed a social group in the near West

region outside the loop.

Oldest Italian village

The University of Illinois is within the area -

approximately 25,000 students

Established first The Italian Socialist Federation in

1908

Over 150 Italian organizations within area

Demographics

Current Population: 7,111

90% Black or African-American

6% White

4% Other

55% Female

2.95 Persons per household

Median household income: $48,173

21% below poverty level

How to…

1. Get on Red Line stop at Loyola towards 95th/

Dan Ryan

2. Switch to Blue Line at Jackson Stop

3. Get off at Racine

4. Walk right out of the station down Racine Street

until you reach Taylor St.

5. In both directions you will find the main

attractions

Our Adventure

Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii

Established in 1911, is a community center open to people of all

religions and faith. It is one of the main churches located in the

area.

Arrigo Park Located right in the center of the Little Italy village. It is an open park,

with its main attraction being a Christopher Columbus statue. The park is

named after Victor Arrigo, an Italian American who served as Illinois

State Representative. The Christopher Columbus statue was built to

stand at the opening of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition.

Piazza DiMaggioBuilt in 1998, and was a gift from Chicago to the people of Little Italy. It has a fountain and two monuments dedicated to Joe DiMaggio, son of an Italian immigrant, and famous baseball player.

National Italian American

Sports Hall of Fame

Founded in 1977 in

Elmwood Park, was later

relocated to Chicago. It

is described as being

“dedicated to

preserving and

promoting the history

and heritage of Italian

Americans in sports.”

Famous Eateries

Famous Eateries

Different Cultures

Arrivederci!

Works Cited

Cipriani, Lisi. Italians in Chicago and the Selected

Directory of the Italians in Chicago. 1933.

DeRosa, Tina. Paper Fish. 1980.

Holli, Melvin G., and Peter A. Jones, eds. Ethnic

Chicago: A Multicultural Portrait. 1995.

"United States Census Bureau." University Park

(village) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau.

N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.

Nathan’s Reflection Visiting Little Italy was a great experience for me because it showed me more of Chicago. Rather than being isolated to Rogers Park and the Loop, I was able to go outside of my usual boundaries and visit a different community. Upon arriving to Little Italy, I was expecting is to be much more “Italian”. But the truth was that you really had to look for the Italian aspects of the community. They were not hard to find in the long run though. There are many honorary streets named after Italian people, multiple bakeries, pizzerias and restaurants, and statues in honor of Christopher Columbus and Joe DiMaggio. These were some of the great Italian features that we found throughout Little Italy. My curiosity was sparked by a man who told us that Little Italy was the home to some of the original Mafia families in Chicago. I was also intrigued by how tranquil and calm the community was. At arrival, it no longer felt like I was in the city of Chicago. The people, cars and interactions were sparse and the atmosphere was very relaxing. This experience opened my eyes to all that Chicago has to offer. It showed me that there are not only many different neighborhoods in Chicago, but there are locations that can make you feel as if you have left Chicago all together. Little Italy was truly a taste of another culture, right here in Chicago.

Emily’s Reflection

The excursion to Little Italy/ University Park reminded me to be open-minded to new experiences. Chicago is a multicultural and diverse area where there are different communities living together. I think that we went into the neighborhood with a certain expectation. I thought that we would be encompassed with a specific heritage, but we discovered that Chicago is a multicultural and diverse area where there are different communities living together. Although the town is known as Little Italy or University Park, the Italian culture is not as prevalent throughout the area. Social aspects are changing where there are a multitude of cultures sharing the same area. This assignment has reminded me that there are other areas beside Michigan Ave. and Rodgers Park. Although they might be comfortable areas to me, stepping outside my comfort level will be the best way to learn, grow, and gain experience.

Aaron’s ReflectionIn our group’s adventure we went to explore University Village. During our adventure we found several thing interesting about our time here. First, we went to explore what was called “Little Italy”. Here we discovered many small restaurants that held the Italian theme. However, to our surprise it was not as big or elaborate as we had anticipated. It mainly consisted of one street. Even within this street, however, there were American, Thai, and Chinese restaurants sprinkled throughout our walk. Certainly the majority of places to eat were Italian, but prior I think the our group as a whole had an image of literally Italy in Chicago with bread getting sold on streets and people with thick Italian accents roaming the streets. This is not at all what we came across. It really felt like another neighborhood with a few Italian restaurants. I do not think I would personally recommend this spot to anyone looking for a taste of Italy.

The University of Illinois – Chicago is also located in this neighborhood and where it gets its name. The college certainly sets a college feel in the neighborhood, which really makes it fun to explore. There are a lot of kids our ages roaming the streets. We walked the campus just briefly and I discovered I would not of liked to go there. The campus is so much morespread out there than here at home. It really does not feel like a very close and welcoming community like I found here at Loyola. Going to see the campus made me personally feel like I made the right decision to attend Loyola.

Demetri’s Reflections

Visiting Little Italy was very interesting. I was

expecting there to be an Italian dominance in the

culture there, and although there may have been

more pizza places than an average area, I was sort of surprised to see it just for the diverse

neighborhood that it was. There were many other

types of restaurants that had Tai food and Chinese.

The town contained many UIC students because it

was right by the campus. I would probably go

back.

Nathalie’s ReflectionLittle Italy was a great experience for me. Even though I live relatively close to Chicago and have been to UIC before, I never knew about the existence of the Italian village. My favorite part of the village were the different Italian restaurants, the majority of which were located on Taylor St. Walking by them made it appear as if I were walking down a street in Italy, and the smell of pizza in the air solidified that feeling. There were multiple Italian flags and street names, which showed the nationalism and pride of the people living there. Going to Little Italy made me realize how many different cultures and immigrants live in the Chicago area, not far from Loyola. Walking through these different villages and towns makes it appear as if it were a taste of a different country. Exploring this area was a great opportunity to get out and visit a cultural district so close to Loyola, which most of us were probably not aware of. We were surprised to see that the different Italian restaurants and attractions so far from each other. In order to find something new, we had to walk a few blocks. We became curious to know when the Italian immigrants arrived here, and if the amount of Italian residents and businesses in the area decreased over the years. I am glad that we were able to visit Little Italy, its different attractions, and even talk to an Italian from the area, who offered us directions on new sights to see.