Chicago's South Side
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The story of the South Side of Chicago is a story of immigrants and of migrants, of workers and unions, of political dynasties and sports legacies, art and commerce, progress and struggle.
Host Geoffrey Baer
It is a story of Irish, German, Italian, Polish, Chinese, Lithuanian, Croatian, Slovakian, Mexican and African Americans, of blue collars and brownfields, of White Sox and Black Sox – and of one Red Bridge.
Above all, the story of Chicago’s South Side is a story of neighborhoods – a rich patchwork quilt of neighborhoods, each with its own origin story, identity, culture, and heroes. And while some South Side neighborhoods might seem defined by how much things stay the same, most demonstrate how much in Chicago continuously evolves.
Explore some of the South Side’s neighborhoods and their stories.
Pictured above, clockwise: (1) Wanda Kurek, Bridgeport, Stanley’s Tavern; (2) Geoffrey Baer with Micah Prochaska and Lindsey Strieter, Hyde Park Quadrangle, Hyde Park; (3) Kids playing, I Grow Chicago’s Peace House Yoga, Englewood; (4) Diane Lakiter, Kids Off the Block Memorial, Roseland. Photos by Erica Gunderson.
Chicago’s South Side is made possible by: BMO Harris Bank; ITW; the Russell & Josephine Kott Memorial Charitable Trust, a partner of the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation; and Carl Buddig & Co. Major funding is also provided by: Peter Kelliher II, Millennium Properties R/E, and Ariel Investments. View all funders.
