Chicago Meeting Planners Guide 2009 - (Page 19) Pilsen Home to one of the largest populations of Mexican-Americans, this West Side neighborhood celebrates its heritage with the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, lively festivals and vibrantly colored murals and outdoor artwork. Pilsen was originally settled by Czech immigrants and was named for a Czech town where the Pilsner brewing process began. Today it’s also a big draw for artists of all sorts, with numerous galleries and studios forming the Chicago Arts District. Near South Side Chicago was the destination of another mass migration in American history, that of African-Americans who came from the South in search of a better life. African-American commerce and culture thrived in the area known as Bronzeville, now designated a Historic Landmark District. Also on the Near South Side are Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, and the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, with many buildings designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the 1940s. Chinatown, one of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods, is full of traditional Chinese architecture. ©Weaver/Denise Chambers Prairie Avenue Historic District Designated a Chicago landmark in 1979, this storied avenue was once lined with opulent Victorian mansions and was the fashionable address of such prominent businessmen as George Pullman and Marshall Field. Today, visitors can tour the stately Glessner and Clarke houses and see a stunning collection of 19th-century decorative arts and home furnishings. Nearby is a museum that pays tribute to another era of American history, the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, displaying work by Americans who served in the war. Chinatown Migrating from California to Chicago in the 1870s, the Chinese soon established a vibrant community near Clark and Van Buren. Around 1910, the expanding Chinese population formed a second Chinatown at its current location on Chicago’s south side, in the area of Cermak Road and Greektown “Opaa!” One-time destination for Greek immigrants, this section of the city still retains its cultural charm, not to mention its patch of lively restaurants, coffee shops and stores selling traditional Hellenic vestments, candles and books. The United Center, home to the Bulls and the Blackhawks, lies about two miles west on Madison. Little Italy Although Chicago boasts several enclaves of Italian-Americans, such as North Harlem and the area near 24th and Oakley, the original Little Italy lies on the streets of Morgan, Taylor, Ashland and Harrison. Dating to the mid-1800s, the neighborhood was settled by southern Italians and Sicilians who clung to their Italian heritage and became a force in Chicago’s history. ©Weaver/Denise Chambers choosechicago.com 19 YOUR CHICAGO VISIT Authentic Italian eateries and merchants continue to make this ethnic area teem with vitality. The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame opened here recently. Wentworth Avenue. Today the neighborhood is an authentic, bustling collection of shops, restaurants, pagodas and exotic emporia. Step through the dramatic Chinatown Gate and visit the Chinatown Square retail complex. http://www.choosechicago.com
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