Current Reads

I am currently reading Chicago's Jewish West Side by Irving Cutler.  I found this book among many others about various Chicago neighborhoods at The Chicago Cultural Center.

This book details the 50 year period from 1910-1960 when Lawndale (my neighborhood) was a Jewish community.  Many of the massive churches located on Independence and Douglas Boulevards were originally synagogues.  Even now, on closer inspection I can see traces of the former Jewish occupants on the houses of worship in the form of engraved stars of David, or yiddish writing.  There are many old photographs in this book that I find endlessly fascinating.  It restores the community to its former glory in my mind and instills hope in me that the neighborhood might eventually return to a community full of locally owned businesses, and people working together for prosperity and peace.

On another note, one of my students at Columbia, Heriberto Quiroz, has photographs that are included in a brand-spanking-new Chicago neighborhood book put out by Arcadia Publishing entitled, Chicago's Pilsen Neighborhood.  I can't wait to check out this new book too.  Heriberto lives in Pilsen and has been documenting his community for some time now.  What an accomplishment for a young photographer!