| Dates: | 1927-1992 |
| Size: | 1 linear foot in 2 boxes including 1 audiocassette, plus 4 oversize folders |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | spe-nhrc-bpcc |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition: | Transferred from Chicago Public Library, Brighton Park Branch in 2004. Additional materials are added occasionally through transfer and donation. The contents of Box 2, Folders 1-3 were added in 2018. |
| Conditions Governing Access: | Materials are open without restrictions. |
| Conditions Governing Use: | Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection. |
| Preferred Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Brighton Park Community Collection [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library. |
| Finding Aid Author: | Original author unknown, 1989. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Michelle McCoy, 2021 |
Abstract
The Brighton Park Community Collection contains information about neighborhood schools and religious institutions as well as a 100-page manuscript, “Gleanings of Archer Road” by local historian and reporter, Joseph Hamzik.
Biographical/Historical
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.
Scope and Contents
Local historian and reporter, Joseph Hamzik created most of the material in the Brighton Park Community Collection 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 religious institutions in the area.
Arrangement
Brighton Park Community Collection is organized into two Series: Series 1: Documents, 1927-1992, undated and Series 2: Photographs, undated
Subject Headings
Brighton Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Hamzik, Joseph, 1918-1998
Separations
Two publications have been cataloged as part of the book collections:
- Hundred Years of the Chicago School History, by John Howatt, Chicago, 1940, C4H83 1940
- McKinley Monument Memorial, prepared by the South Park Commissioners, Chicago, 1905, 6 .C45 1905
Related Collections
- Back of the Yards Community Collection
- Back of the Yards Newspaper Collection
Collection Inventory
Series 1: Documents, 1927-1992, undated
Arrangement
Series 1 is arranged alphabetically by topic area and then alphabetically within.
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Historical Sketches - The Kelly Community, A Survey by Students of the Thomas Kelly High School, 1938 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | Historical Sketches - “Gleanings of Archer Road” by Joseph Hamzik, 1961 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | Historical Sketches - “Gleanings of Archer Road” by Joseph Hamzik, 2nd copy, incomplete, 1961 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | Historical Sketches - Community newspaper articles written by Joseph Hamzik, 1 of 2, 1961-1975 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Historical Sketches - Community newspaper articles written by Joseph Hamzik, 2 of 2, 1961-1975 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | Historical Sketches - History of Brighton Park by Joseph Hamzik, slides from tray 1, circa 1975 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | Historical Sketches - History of Brighton Park by Joseph Hamzik, slides from tray 2, circa 1975 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | Historical Sketches - “History of Public Schools in Brighton Park” by Joseph Hamzik, 1992 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | Historical Sketches - “History of Brighton Park” by Mary Degner, circa 1970s |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | Historical Sketches - “The History of Brighton Park” by Joseph Hamzik, with Teaching Unit, undated |
| Box 2 | Audiocassette 1 | Historical Sketches - “The History of Brighton Park,” by Joseph Hamzik, audiocassette, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Historical Sketches - The Kelly Community, A Survey by Students of the Thomas Kelly High School, 1938 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | Historical Sketches - “What Chicago Means to Me,” student essay competition, 1970 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | Religious Institutions - Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peace, U.A.C., Twenty-fifth Anniversary, 1927 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | Religious Institutions - St. Agnes Church, history, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | Religious Institutions - St. Joseph and St. Anne Church, Golden Jubilee, 1939 |
| Oversize Folder 1 | Religious Institutions - Welcome Pope John Paul II, Brighton Park, McKinley Park Life, newspaper covering Pope John Paul II’s visit to Chicago, 1979 October 4 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | Schools - “History of Public Schools in Brighton Park,” by Joseph Hamzik, 1992 |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | Schools - Kelly High School, news clippings, 1966 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | Schools - Kelly High School The Lamplighter, yearbook, 1964-1965 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | Schools - Mark Twain School, history, 1938 |
| Oversize Folder 2 | Street Scenes - Percent of Negro Population, in Census Tracts, City of Chicago, 1950, 2-sided map, 1960 | |
| Oversize Folder 3 | Street Scenes - Map of Chicago and Its Southern and Western Suburbs, 1853, map reproduction annotated by Joseph Hamzik to highlight Town of Brighton, 1962 | |
| Oversize Folder 4 | Street Scenes - Map of Chicago, Omnibus Lines, 1857, map reproduction annotated by Joseph Hamzik to show Brighton House Line, circa 1962 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | Street Scenes - [Map showing Archer Road, Central Park, 43rd Street, 47th Street], hand-drawn map, undated |
Series 2: Photographs, undated
Arrangement
Series 2 is arranged alphabetically.
| Nhrc Shared Photo Box 2 | Photograph 1.1 | Brighton Park Race Track, undated |
| Nhrc Shared Photo Box 2 | Photograph 1.2 | Unincorporated “Town of Brighton” created November 19, 1853, by J. Hamzik, map, undated |
