History

The first inhabitants, the Native Americans, loved this area and respected the lake, trees, animals and nature in general. The Pottawattomie and other regional tribes used two famous trails, known today as Rogers Avenue and Ridge Avenue. Phillip Rogers was a pioneer who bought many acres of trackless land. The first residents of Rogers Park were from predominantly Luxemburg, Germany, but also included immigrants from Ireland and England. Much of this immigration occurred between the 1830 and 1850. The majority of the land was set aside for farming. Many things were cultivated including hay and pickles. At the time, the price of land was approximately $1.25 an acre. Rogers Park annexed to Chicago in 1893.

In 1893, a ìHome-Made Transfer Warî took place in which residents protested against what they believed to be an overpriced mass transportation system. At this time most of the saloons operated without a legal license because of the Four Mile Limit law. This law stated that alcohol could not be served within four miles of a university. The farmers banded together to abolish this rule. The famous Golden Pheasants in Lincoln Park are originally from a large farm in Rogers Park. Property values skyrocketed in the 120 years since Rogers Park was first claimed; the Clark and Morse corner cost twelve cents in 1836 compared to a cost of $50,000 in 1956.

In 1957 the neighborhood was noted for having rising property value and increasing commercial appeal. However, due to the fluctuating socio-economic climate, the neighborhood was making plans to avoid becoming a blight zone by 1958. Howard K Hurwith, bank owner and property holder, developed plans to save the community from the encroaching deterioration. As a result of his investment in the cause, streets were widened, schools were improved, and streetlamps and storefronts were updated. 1967 most residents were of Russian, German, and Polish descent. However, this demographic changed rapidly due to the increasing integration of other cultures into the area. Currently, the total value of residential property equals 151,051,500 dollars. Of this sum Caucasians own 127,136,500 dollars worth of property. The other ethnic groups only own 23,915,000 dollars of the residential land.

Chicago "L" Chronological Timeline

1893: October 25, The Northwestern Elevated Railroad Company is incorporated.

1896: January 23, The first steel of the ìLî structure is erected at Fullerton and Sheffield.

1899: Most of the steel between Montrose Avenue and Halsted Street is in place.

1900: May 31, The Northwestern begins operation with wooden trailers and motors
          using electric traction.

1907: March 5, To relieve congestion, a new ìlower Wilson Avenueî station and a loop
          track are built and put into service, with express trains routed to it.

1908: August 23, Howard Avenue (later Howard Street) station opens, late due to
          construction delays.

1914: April 22, Work on the elevation of the tracks between Lawrence Avenue and
          Howard Street begins.

1918: Edgewater Beach Station (later changed to Berwyn Avenue) is opened.

1922: The new elevated four track main line between Lawrence and Howard is complete.

1923: Februaru 27, The new station at Lawrence Avenue opens.

1947: October 1, The Chicago Transit Authority begins operating Chicagoís rapid transit
          trains after purchasing the Chicago Rapid Transit Company.

1950: September 17, The first of the new all-metal PCC 6000-series transit cars are
          delivered to the CTA.

1964: June 15, The CTA receives the first cars of what are called the High-Performance
          family. They are the first cars with air conditioning and had a number of other
          modern improvements.

1994: October 2, The CTA officially changes the last of its route names to color designations.
          The Red Line is now the Howard-Dan Ryan Line.

1997: August 18, A new automated fare collection system, using magnetic fare cards
          instead of money and tokens, goes into service.

1997: November 9, The Red Line train goes to one person operation, one of the last on
          the system to do so.

2000: March 25, The last of the conductors are pulled from the ìL.î Installation of safety mirrors
          and monitors, as well as the inauguration of the automated voice announcement system
          allowed these conductors to be removed, ending an era in ìLî history.