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'Silk Stocking' District/Rowhouses Near Grand Trunk RR  -  The Blue Island/Alsip/Calumet/Mt. Greenwood area is complex... and I am trying to present it accurately, so come with me as I walk northward near the Grand Trunk RR...
At the foot of the Blue Island ridge sits an area that used to be known as the 'Silk Stocking' District. This area has several large homes that were designed by regionally important architects. In the past it was home to many railroad executives. Today it is maintained (in terms of roads, policing, etc) at the expense of the industrial and working class areas I have already photographed.

As we walk north from the crest of the ridge, however, things begin to change. This area was once a stereotypical Chicagoland working class neighborhood. but in recent times a great deal of the property has been used as Section 8 housing. Also, a mile-long string of townhouses (though I think they clearly resemble rowhouses) was put in facing the west side of the ridge along the Grand Trunk about a decade ago. The property facing them immediately lost value, new owners came in, and the area fell into disrepair.

James Dinnerville  

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