West Ridge

• Author(s): Jacque E. Day, Jamie Wirsbinski Santoro,
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Pages: 127
• ISBN_10: 0738561509
  ISBN_13: 9780738561509
  
• Language: en
• Categories: History / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI) ,

Description:... While West Ridge residents often disagree about what to call their neighborhoodaWest Rogers Park to some, North Town to othersathe people of this north side community share a common commitment to the American dream. Drawn by inexpensive land 10 miles north of the burgeoning city of Chicago, European immigrants settled here in the 1830s along the high grounds west of a glacial ridge known today as Ridge Boulevard. Dubbed aCabbage Headsa by their Rogers Park neighbors, the citizens of West Ridge boldly incorporated as a village in 1890, remaining independent until its 1893 annexation to Chicago. Over time, West Ridge blossomed from sparsely populated farmland into a dynamic neighborhood with Devon Avenue at its core. Now home to one of the Midwestas largest Jewish communities, a hub of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi culture, and a haven for newcomers from Russia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, West Ridge remains a port of entry for immigrants and a place where cultures coalesce. In West Ridge, one can play bridge or cricket, worship at mass or the mosque, eat kosher or curryaall within a few city blocks.