Brighton Park is a community area located on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois. It is number 58 of the 77community areas of Chicago. Brighton Park is bordered on the north by the former Illinois & Michigan Canal and the current Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, on the east by Western Avenue, on the south by 49th Street, and on the west by Drake Ave. The neighborhood is a mix of residential areas, commercial zones, industrial works and transportation facilities. It is relatively peaceful, according to Chicago Police Department statistics.
History
Brighton Park took its name from the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, which was famed for its cattle market. Brighton Park was incorporated as a village in 1851 and annexed into the city of Chicago in 1889. It was formed originally near the intersection of the Blue Island Plank Road, now Western Avenue, and the old portage trail between the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River, a trail that eventually evolved into Archer Road, now Archer Avenue, which is now the main thoroughfare through Brighton Park. In 1855, Chicago mayor "Long" John Wentworth built the Brighton Park horse racetrack directly east of the village, in what is now the Chicago Park District's McKinley Park. By 1871, the year of the Great Chicago Fire, Brighton Park was served by the Archer Avenue horsecar and the Alton Railroad.. The railroad built a roundhouse in the neighborhood, and various factories were built. Later the streetcar was electrified and extended and interurban electric railway service was provided by the Chicago and Joliet Electric Railway until 1934. Most of the residential buildings now in Brighton Park were built in the early part of the 20th century, between 1905 and 1925, after more electric streetcar lines had been extended into the neighborhood, providing cheap & quick transport to work. By the turn of the century, Brighton Park was becoming a destination for many European immigrants, particularly those arriving from Italy, Poland and Lithuania. The neighborhood's Polish identity was evidenced along Archer Avenue, which became the neighborhood's main street for Polish owned businesses.
Transportation
's role as transportation gateway has always been a major influence on the demographics and economy of Brighton Park. Two major railroad landmarks exist in Brighton Park. The Corwith Intermodal freight facility, once known as Corwith Yards, covering nearly a square mile, is one of the major industrial features of Brighton Park. Brighton Park crossing, near Western Avenue and Archer Avenue, is a major Chicago railroad junction and the former site of Brighton Park's railway station. Access to, property values, and economic growth in the neighborhood have been improved by the 1964 opening of the Stevenson Expressway, Interstate 55, the 1993 opening of the Orange Linerapid transit line, and the revitalization of the nearby Midway International Airport.
operate the following public schools: Burroughs School, CPS Brighton Park School, Calmeca Academy, Columbia Explorers School, N. Davis School, Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy, Shields Elementary, and Shields Middle School. The United Neighborhood Organization operates the Sandra Cisneros School, UNO Brighton Park School and the Officer Donald J. Marquez School in Brighton Park.
