12th Ward

12th Ward Map

The 12th Ward , like much of the City of Chicago is made up of many dynamic and unique communites, Brighton Park, Back of the Yards, Mckinley Park and Little Village.

Brighton Park

Community Area 58, 6 miles SW of the Loop. Brighton Park takes its name from the Brighton livestock market in England and is bounded roughly by the Stevenson Expressway and 48th, Western, and Kimball Streets. The community  has long since remained largely residential, there is a growing commercial section. The community maintains monuments to European connections, including the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture and the Polish Highlander Alliance. By 2000 the population had grown to 44,912, 69 percent of Mexican origin.

Click on Brighton Park to learn more about your community.

Back of the Yards

Situated in a heavily industrialized location, populated by successive generations of immigrant people, and animated by some of the most dramatic social conflicts of modern times, Back of the Yards focused the attention of novelists, activists, and social scientists alike for most of the twentieth century. Located in the community area of New City, the neighborhood extends from 39th to 55th Streets between Halsted and the railroad tracks along Leavitt Street, just south and west of the former Union Stock Yard and adjacent packing plants, a giant sprawl that was until the 1950s the largest livestock yards and meatpacking center in the country.

As the meatpacking industry diminished  by the 1960s, Back of the Yards faced serious problems of economic decline and physical deterioration. At the end of the twentieth century,  the city continues to work to develop a new manufacturing district on the site of the old Union Stock Yard, the newer residents continue  maintain a strong community.

Click on Back of the Yards to learn more about your community.

Mckinley Park

Throughout it's history, McKinley Park has been a working-class area . This tradition began around 1836 when Irish workers on the Illinois & Michigan Canal took squatter's rights to small tracts of land. By the 1840s, a few farmers had purchased and drained land and sent the Irish squatters packing. One of the first attempts at town building, “Canalport,” died stillborn, but Brighton was platted in 1840 and incorporated in 1851.

After years of declining populations, during the 1990s the population grew from 13,297 to 15,962, with Mexicans joining the ethnic mix. Well-kept two- and four-flat buildings dominate the landscape, but new infill housing has begun to appear. Two stops on the CTA Orange Line rapid transit have boosted property values and spurred development of a new restaurant, shopping mall, and drugstore.

Click on Mckinley Park to learn more about your community.

Little Village

Known by its residents as the “Mexico of the Midwest,” Little Village, officially a part of the South Lawndale Community Area, has over the past 35 years joined Pilsen as a point of entry for Latino immigrants to Chicago. A gateway on 26th Street proclaims “Bienvenidos a Little Village.” Neighborhood organizations like the United Neighborhood Organization have sought to curb gang violence and foster a sense of community solidarity. Little Village hosts the largest annual Latino parade in Chicago, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators each September.

Click on Little Village to learn more about your community.

In order to assist you in familiarizing yourself to the 12th Ward. You can click on the interactive map mapping system Chicago Maps