Douglas | community, neighbourhood

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Douglas, located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois is one of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas. The neighborhood is named for Stephen A. Douglas, a famous Illinois politician, whose estate included a tract of land given to the federal government. This tract later became the Civil War Union training and prison camp, Camp Douglas, located in what is now the eastern portion of the Douglas neighborhood. Another part of the Douglas estate at Cottage Grove and 35th, he gave to the Old University of Chicago. As part of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid, the Olympic Village was planned to be located on a 37-acre (150,000 m2) truck parking lot south of McCormick Place that is mostly in the Douglas community area and partly in the Near South Side.

The Douglas community area stretches from 26th Street South to Pershing Road along the Lake Shore including parts of the Green Line along State Street and the Metra Electric and Amtrak passenger railroad tracks which run parallel to Lake Shore Drive. Burnham Park runs along its shoreline, containing 31st Street Beach. The community area also contains part of the neighborhood of Bronzeville, the historic center of African-American culture in the city.