East Chicago boasts the beautiful Calumet Park on Lake Michigan and its very own forest preserve. A smattering of commercial development and a suburban-like residential atmosphere provides the groundwork for a solid neighborhood in the process of growing its economic base. In classic Chicago style, the East Chicago community embraces its vintage bungalows and small frame houses which afford good, sturdy homes and comfortable living space. A hearty restaurant corridor includes all the essentials with a concentration of Mexican taquerias, pizzerias and fast food favorites.
The East Chicago community first developed in the 1870s and was a center of industry and manufacturing because of its proximity to Lake Michigan, the Calumet River and railroad transportation. Today, industry is sparse, making this a quiet, almost suburban residential destination within the far reaches of Chicago city limits.
Ethnic diversity was a mainstay of East Chicago, merging immigrants from Germany, Sweden, Serbia, Croatia and Italy; all drawn to the employment opportunities created by the bustling steel industry on the south side. Neighboring South Chicago offered jobs at South Works, a huge steel factory, and in East Chicago, Republic Steel was a specialty plant that employed many residents of the area.
Steelworkers had a hard life; they plugged away 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Over the course of time, the frustrated laborers came together, despite ethnic differences, in order to better their plight. One of the most famous, and tragic, events connected with the steelworkers’ attempts to organize and form a union was the Memorial Day Massacre. In 1937, employees marched to Republic Steel and tried to form a picket line. Police waited at the gates and ordered them to stop. As people turned around, police shot at the strikers, killing 10 people and wounding many more. Even after that incident, it took several years for the steelworkers to form a union (United Steelworkers 1942) and achieve some of their goals. As for Republic Steel, it finally went bankrupt in 1986 but by then many laborers had already lost their jobs.
East Chicago neighborhood may not be the bastion of steel production that it was for most of the 20th century, but the residual effects of a prosperous industry has left the community with a sampling of commercial businesses sprinkled about a semi-suburban setting on Chicago’s far south side.
East Chicago facts
Location: 17 miles south of the Loop Bordering Neighborhoods:South Chicago, South Deering, Irondale Boundaries: 95th Street to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, 118th Street to the south and the Calumet River to the west Crime Statistics: Go to CLEARMap to search specific streets and areas for crime incidents
East Chicago transportation
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East Chicago Real Estate
Set away from the active lifestyle of Chicago’s busy downtown streets, the atmosphere in East Chicago neighborhood is more that of a suburban locale where folks slow down just enough to take in the scenery and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
A wide variety of housing styles line the residential blocks of this south side community, from vintage Chicago bungalows that are over 100 years old to Cape Cods built in the 1950s. Small frame houses are tightly packed into rows along the neighborhood’s long side streets with towering trees shading the rooftops from the harsh sunrays. While there are quite a few single-family homes in East Chicago listed in the low- to mid-$100,000s, there are a good number of properties valued between $225,000 and $335,000 that are brand new, or in quite nice shape and offer homeowners are bit more space. The average price for a two- or three-bedroom detached single-family home in East Chicago is $155,000, but a three-bedroom, two-bath place might cost closer to $200,000.
If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll even have a forest in your backyard, as some homes are across the street from Eggers Woods Forest Preserve. Most East Chicago homes also have the added advantage of off-street or garage parking. With a good number of duplexes in this Chicago neighborhood, you can also try your hand at being a landlord: live in one unit and rent out the other. Not a bad way to pay for the mortgage.
The average sale price of a home in East Chicago is represented by the chart to the right. The red line indicates the average price based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window. The blue line indicates the average sale price for the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on East Chicago sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The average number of days a home in East Chicago spends listed for sale is represented by the chart to the right. The red line indicates the average number of days based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window. The blue line indicates the average number of days a home spent on market during the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on average market listing times in East Chicago sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The average sale price of a home compared to its listing price in East Chicago is represented by the chart to the right. The black line indicates the baseline listing price for homes during the time frame selected in the drop-down. The red line indicates the difference between the average listing price and the average sale price during the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on East Chicago sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The total number of listings in East Chicago is represented in the chart to the right. The red line represents average number of days based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window The blue bar represents the current number of listings during the particular month of that time frame. For more detailed information on East Chicago sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
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