Flash Back

From its birth in 1850, Hyde Park has represented a thoughtful getaway to the Chicago scene. What else would you expect from a developer like Paul Cornell, who logically organized the streets and neighborhoods to a master plan from the get go? Such sophistication attracted the upper crust of society, so it’s no wonder famous names like Clarence Darrow (lawyer), Harold Washington (Chicago’s first black mayor), Carl Sandberg (poet), Steve Allen (entertainer), Mel Torme (entertainer), Gwendolyn Brooks (poet), and Muhammed Ali (boxer) listed Hyde Park as their mailing address over the years. According to the South East Chicago Commission, this city boasts more Nobel Prize winners and entries in Who’s Who than any other community in America.

The city’s charm landed the Columbian Exposition (a.k.a. the World’s Fair) in 1893, bringing it to the attention of entrepreneurs, inventors and other progressive dreamers captured by the idea of making this Chicago’s first suburb its home. Before the turn of the century, the city was annexed into Chicago, but it will continue to retain its individuality into the next millennium.

Book Reviews
For an in-depth look at our city’s rich history, check out:

Hyde Park, Illinois by Max Grinnell

Chicago’s Southeast Side Revisited (Images of America), by Rod Sellers

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