Norwood Park (Chicago, Illinois)

 community, neighbourhood

Norwood Park is one of 77 well-defined Chicago, Illinois community areas. It encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Big Oaks, Norwood Park East, Norwood Park West, Old Norwood Park, Oriole Park, and Union Ridge.

Originally organized in 1872 from adjacent townships (Jefferson, Leyden and Niles) as a village, and named after Henry Ward Beecher's novel Norwood, or Village Life in New England (1868), Norwood Park was annexed to the City of Chicago in 1893.

The community is now home to many of the city's firefighters, police officers, construction workers, labor union workers, engineers and other blue collar workers. Norwood Park is known especially for its abundance of green: lawns, parks, churchyards, and trees are its visual hallmarks.

Every Memorial Day there is a parade that runs through Norwood Park. The parade has been a local tradition for almost 90 years, starting in 1922. The community area also boasts the oldest extant building in Chicago, the Noble-Seymour-Crippen House, and Taft High School.