Logan Square is one of Chicago's northwest neighborhoods, located about seven miles from the loop, or downtown area. The center of the neighborhood is the intersection of Logan Boulevard, Kedzie Avenue, and Milwaukee Avenue, where Logan Square Park and the Illinois Centennial Monument are located.

In the late 1890's, the area around Logan Square was known as Jefferson Township, and consisted of farms along the Northwest Plank Road, which is now Milwaukee Avenue. A large green extended from Albany Avenue to Wrightwood Avenue, which was bisected by the Plank Road. Polish immigrants moved to the area in the early 1900's. Some of them founded very successful businesses, and built mansions along Logan Boulevard. The more working class residents of the neighborhood created side streets, and built their homes there.

When the Jefferson Township was incorporated into the city of Chicago, the name of this section was changed to Logan Square, in memory of General John A. Logan. General Logan lead the Army of The Tennessee during the American Civil War, fighting the Confederacy at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. He served as an Illinois Senator, and unsuccessfully ran for Vice President of the U.S. in 1886. The large green was reshaped to allow larger streets to pass around it, and was included as a part of Chicago's Park and Boulevard system.

The Illinois Centennial Monument was erected in the middle of Logan Square and dedicated in 1918. Henry Bacon, who also designed the Washington Monument, designed the 43 foot tall Doric marble column with a marble eagle perched on top. It is on top of a concrete base that stands 15 feet above ground, and goes another 38 feet into the ground. The surrounding stone benches and bronze streetlights were also part of Bacon's original design for the monument. A set of stairs and a concrete pathway to the east of the monument were added later, when the surrounding streets needed to be widened.

The Logan Square neighborhood today has a very large Latino population. About 60% of the population consist of Latino immigrant families, with the remainder mostly consisting of European immigrants. However, Logan Square is currently being threatened by gentrification, as more young professionals move to the neighborhood to take advantage of cheap rent and convenient transportation via the CTA Blue Line to the loop.


Resources:
http://www.logansquarepreservation.org
http://chicago.citysearch.com

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