Hermosa, Chicago's Most Invisible North Side Neighborhood
by Lee Helmer
July 14, 2018
The navigation on BlockClubChicago.com. Hermosa is ommitted from the list. BCC has said they will be updating this via Twitter
So, Chicagoans, do you know anyone from Hermosa? No? How about Kelvyn Park? Maybe? Well, if you are not one of the ~25k of the neighborhood's residents , it's no surprise. Being one of the one of the smaller neighborhoods on the north/west side, Hermosa's familiarity quotient suffers from both modern problems (the internet) and people literally erasing us. More on that later.
Lack of online awareness happens in a few different ways: it's generic Spanish language name meaning "beautiful" (try googling "hermosa" and the neighborhood doesn't make top results, even with location enabled), and being sandwiched between the now-popular Logan Square and pure size of Belmont-Cragin. Whether it's the media, the real estate agents, event marketers or our own businesses, I'm getting more than frustrated at those who have played a part in keeping us invisible. And I'd like to remind them, and the rest of Chicago, of Hermosa's official neighborhood status, and where our borders are.
Hermosa was annexed by the city in 1889 and we did exist at one time. There are many archival Chicago Tribune articles (of good news, not just crime) that provide us evidence. Why not today? How does the 7th most densely populated neighborhood out of the 77 (1), become invisible? Has the "what's trending?" internet algorithms gotten the better of us? Do our residents only mention they live "near Logan Square?"
How does the 7th most densely populated Chicago neighborhood become invisible?
Take this Logan Squarist article, which claims that the up and coming arts warehouse Workshop 4200 is in Logan Square. Forgetting that Logan Square does not occupy one inch of official boundary north of Diversey is one problem, and that the famous Fields building on the same side of the street is technically part of Avondale, they completely ignore pleas from a Hermosa resident (me) that this hip property is not theirs to claim. Maybe they couldn't figure it out because it was not on a street that started with a K, the beginning of the alphabetical west side streets. Give us some credit.
Article title like these on LoganSquarist . com continue to keep Hermosa an invisible community
The Location page for the Chicago Colombian Festival. Their printed flyers nor the website ever mentions Hermosa, even though it's located in the neighborhood. Hermosa is 80% latinx.
And it's not enough to be hijacked by Logan Square, Hermosa seems to be eating it's own toes. As a predominantly hispanic/latinx community (~80%), we have gotten used to the city undersupporting the community, specifically in the school system (2) . But when the latinx culture forgets to mention it's own community area, it's as if the world is wanting us to disappear. Take the Chicago Colombian Festival that's taken place in Hermosa since 2015. Not one mention of the neighborhood in their promotional materials, yet we have to tolerate the road closures, trash, loud concert noise and already limiting parking situation. That's not to say the food or music isn't great, but if you didn't know it was in Hermosa where Kelvyn Park is located, then they are part of the problem.
And so it goes. If you've ever stumbled upon Hermosa on a map, that beheaded triangle shape, tell me if any these questions have run through your mind: Is Hermosa a Northwest, North side or West side neighborhood? (Is there an official NWSE division map to tell us this?). Why is there a sliver of Avondale stuck there west of Pulaski on the Diversey border and the Metra tracks? And that other sliver east of Pulaski on the south end of Hermosa, whom most residents might assume they live in Logan Square because it has 2 breweries, and they have the 60647 zip code? It can get very dizzying if you're casually researching. And don't get me started on the 4 ward boundaries Hermosa covers. But the easy way to remember is that if you're near Pulaski or Cicero and you've crossed a set of train tracks, you've likely entered or left Hermosa.
Tip: If you've crossed a set of tracks, you've either entered or Left Hermosa
But all this confusion is a right of passage for Chicagoans (New Yorkers have made a sport out of neighborhood heritage), and quite frankly, overlooking Hermosa is pure laziness. The city website has official "community maps", but hey, Google's got it right too.
And now for the most undoable act that Hermosa has become victim to: The erasure of a 26 year-old beautiful viaduct mural that says so much about modern Hermosa. Someone from the city literally whitewashed over a professionally painted mural by Sandra Antongiorgi and Marcus Akinlana, a portrait of latinx culture we could feel from the walls. And if you didn't know the mural's name, you will now, because it's like a premonition: "It's Time to Remember" or "Es Tiempo de Recordar."
Mural photo by Scott Thompson (2010), whitewashed photo by Lee Helmer (2018). "Es Tiempo de Recordar" by artists Sandra Antongiorgi and Marcus Akinlana (currently of New Orleans). It was located at 1800 N. Pulaski under the viaduct.
But what to do about it? I don't know about you, reader, bordering neighbor, possible current, former or future resident, but I say we go back to basics. We draw a line in our minds with those (3 different) darn railroad tracks and we call it what it is. We correct websites and maps where necessary and we tell our real estate agent friends to stop mucking things up. We stake a claim, by creating our own social media real estate, stop telling friends and acquaintances we live in Logan or Humboldt, and we write articles like these in order to Wayback Machine this neighborhood out of invisibility.
For internet starters, we can create our own, google friendly hashtag. #HermosaChi is available and if you are an Hermosa resident, please use it. Every little tweet helps.
Do we need to take it further? Make T-shirts to wear while we commute downtown to the Logan Square, California or Armitage Blue Line stops with our neighborhood map on it? Do we sit down with our children and explain these details even though it will have a pernicious effect on their school yard conversations? What's acceptable nowadays to show your neighborhood pride? And how did a goat and a dude with a broom get a place when we are overlooked (Bucktown is part of Logan Square, Wicker Park is part of West Town)?
But why does it matter? Because we want a voice. We want representation and support. Maybe for some TIF or PB money to make us a safer, healthier neighborhood. Colin Bird-Martinez of the Hermosa Neighborhood Association has said it before:
“I don’t think Hermosa is on peoples’ radar. I think it’s often forgotten, or incorporated into larger [neighborhoods] like Belmont-Cragin and Logan Square." (3)
We need some resident and city support and here's the buzzy listy sales pitch for those who care about such things:
Do it to preserve the neighborhood Walt Disney was born in.
Do it because we were the first neighborhood to have a modern cider brewery in Chicago.
Do it because Chance the Rapper once ate at a diner here (we have a Cozy Corner too).
Do it because we (currently) have cheaper rents a stone's throw from all those popular LS restaurants.
If you're not into the flashy or economic reasons, how about for our neighborhood schools who are limping along, threatened by neglect and didn't have a safe playground for years, while the city has had plans to build a brand new school in Belmont-Cragin. Or to support reasonable rents like the historic Spanish Coalition for Housing. Do it to preserve our historic housing that is purposely working and middle class from greedy developers, including the Chicago bungalow belt (#StopthePop).
You've probably got the point by now: I will not stand by quietly while bordering neighborhoods and city employees collectively erase us. While real estate agents benefit from our charming boulevards and historical parks with pretty little listing lies. Or those who want to annex our South American cuisine (via our Rica Arepa).
Well, you can't. Because it's our Hermosa, deserving of more attention, and it is, quite literally, beautiful.
What do you think? Have something to say? Leave a comment below.
Reference:
(1)Population density based on US Census accessed by https://statisticalatlas.com/
(2) Karp, Sarah. " WBEZ Analysis: Chicago School Improvement Spending Targets North Side" WBEZ.org, July 11, 2018. https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/whos-getting-school-improvement-money-in-chicago/354efbb4-24f4-4ed4-94b0-61331df054d4
(3) Bloom, Mina. "Dangerous Hermosa Playground Replaced After Parents ‘Kept Knocking’ On Closed Doors. For years, kids were "slicing open legs and arms" on the dangerous equipment." Block Club Chicago, June 28, 2018. https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/06/28/dangerous-hermosa-playground-replaced-after-parents-kept-knocking-on-closed-doors/
Also mistakenly labeled Kelvyn Park High School as Logan Square is author/editor David Schaafsma of the educational essays Jane Addams in the Classroom (2014)
Update April 2019: Block Club Chicago has now added both Hermosa and Belmont Cragin in their navigation
