Pilsen (Chicago, Illinois)

USA / Illinois / Chicago / Chicago, Illinois
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Currently Chicago's largest Mexican neighborhood, it was originally a Czech area named after Plzen, Czech Republic.

The Czechs had replaced the Germans, who settled there first with the Irish in the mid 1800's. Beginning in the late 1960s Pilsen became increasingly Mexican, as people were forced to move when their former enclave to the North of Pilsen was torn down to make way for the University of Illinois at Chicago. Latinos became the majority in 1970 when they surpassed the Polish population who were the majority in the 1960s. The neighborhood has served as the port of entry for many undocumented workers since. Many elderly central Europeans also still remain in Pilsen, some even without English language skills. Pilsen's Mexican population is increasingly dwarfed by what has become the largest Mexican neighborhood in Chicago, Little Village.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   41°51'4"N   87°39'23"W

Comments

  • One of the best places to experience mexican culture in chicago.
This article was last modified 2 months ago