| Dates: | 1927 – 1992 |
| Size: | 1 linear foot; 4 oversize folders; 2 photographs; 1 audiocassette |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | Archives_BPCC |
| Provenance: | Materials in the Brighton Park Community Collection were transferred to the Special Collections and Preservation Division from the Brighton Park Branch Library in 2002. Additional materials are added occasionally through transfer and donation. Box 2, folder 1-3, were added in 2018. |
| Access: | No restrictions |
| Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Brighton Park Community Collection [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library. |
Historical Note
Brighton Park is located southwest of Chicago’s Loop, between Central Park Avenue to the west, Western Avenue to the east, the Stevenson Expressway to the north, and 49th Street to the south. Settlers first located in this area (at that time swampy land) in the 1830s. The fledgling town had aspirations to become Chicago’s livestock trading center but these plans were dashed when the Union Stock Yards opened in 1865 in another Chicago neighborhood. Brighton Park continued to be an industrial area with the establishment of the Santa Fe Railroad’s Corwith Yards at 35th Street and Central Park Avenue. The developing rail network in Chicago ensured Brighton Park’s future growth as both an industrial and residential neighborhood. The community of Brighton Park, part of Lake Township, was finally annexed into Chicago in 1889.
Brighton Park’s proximity to both Chicago’s Loop and to Midway Airport, along with excellent public transportation, keeps the area vibrant despite the decline in the community’s industrial base.
Scope and Content
Brighton Park Community Collection is organized into four series: historical sketches; religious organizations; schools; and street scenes. Photographs and an audio cassette are described following the Container List.
Most of the material in the Brighton Park Community Collection was created by local historian and reporter, Joseph Hamzik, during the 1960s. Hamzik wrote articles for several community newspapers, including Brighton Park Life, Back of the Yards Journal, Southwest News Herald, and the Bridgeport News. Copies of many of these articles are in the collection. A smaller amount of information relates to schools and churches in the area.
Container List
Series 1: Historical Sketches
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | The Kelly Community, A Survey by Students of the Thomas Kelly High School, 1938 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | Gleanings of Archer Road by Joseph Hamzik, 1961 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | Gleanings of Archer Road by Joseph Hamzik, 2nd copy, incomplete, 1961 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | Community newspaper articles written by Joseph Hamzik, 1 of 2, 1961–1975 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Community newspaper articles written by Joseph Hamzik, 2 of 2, 1961–1975 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | History of Brighton Park on Slides by Joseph Hamzik, Tray 1, circa 1975. |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | History of Brighton Park on Slides by Joseph Hamzik, Tray 2, circa 1975 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | History of Public Schools in Brighton Park by Joseph Hamzik, 1992 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | Essays on Chicago, What Chicago Means to Me, 1970 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | History of Brighton Park by Mary Degner, circa 1970s |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | The History of Brighton Park by Joseph Hamzik, also Teaching Unit, undated, see also Audio Cassette # 1 for original recording. |
Series 2: Religious Organizations
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peace, U.A.C., Twenty-fifth Anniversary, 1927 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | St. Agnes Church, history of, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | St. Joseph and St. Anne Church, Golden Jubilee, 1939 |
| Oversize folder 1 | Newspaper, Welcome Pope John Paul II, issue of Brighton Park, McKinley Park Life covering Pope John Paul II’s visit to Chicago, October 4, 1979 |
Series 3: Schools
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | History of Public Schools in Brighton Park, by Joseph Hamzik, 1992 |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | Kelly High School, clippings, 1966 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | Kelly High School yearbook, The Lamplighter, 1964-1965 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | Mark Twain School, history of, 1938 |
Series 4: Street Scenes
| Oversize folder 2 | Map, Percent of Negro Population, in Census Tracts, City of Chicago, 1950, 1960 [two sided] | |
| Oversize folder 3 | Map, reproduction of Map of Chicago and its Southern and Western Suburbs, 1853, annotated by Joseph Hamzik to highlight Town of Brighton, 1962 | |
| Oversize folder 4 | Map, reproduction of Map of Chicago, Omnibus Lines, 1857, annotated by Joseph Hamzik to show Brighton House Line, circa 1962 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | Map, hand-drawn, showing Archer Road, Central Park, 43rd Street, 47th Street, undated |
Photographs
| Photograph 1.1 | Brighton Park Race Track, undated |
| Photograph 1.2 | Map, Unincorporated “Town of Brighton” created November 19, 1853, by J. Hamzik, undated |
| See Box 2, Folders 1-2, for slides from talks given about Brighton Park history. |
Audio Cassette
| Audio Cassette 1 | Recording of The History of Brighton Park, written and narrated by Joseph Hamzik, undated |
Cataloged Publications
| Call number E711.6 .C45 1905 |
McKinley Monument Memorial, prepared by the South Park Commissioners, Chicago, 1905 |
| Call number LA269.C4H83 1940 |
Hundred years of the Chicago School History, by John Howatt, Chicago, 1940 |
