Logan Square

      Prayer Points

• Logan Square is experiencing major gentrification with affluent residents moving in and living next door to the less wealthy residents that previously occupied the area. Pray for sensitivity to and appreciation for the others’ cultural identity.

• Pray for churches to navigate through the processes of gentrification with wisdom and humility so that reconciliation can permeate the community.

• Pray for the displaced people who have been residents in Logan Square for years. Pray for a smooth transition as they move to other neighborhoods and engage with schools and neighborhood services.

• Pray for those who are interested and skilled in the arts and entertainment, that they would use these gifts for the greater good and benefit of the community.

      Ethnic Breakdown

• Asian (3.1%)
• Black or African American (6.7%)
• Hispanic or Latino (53.5%)
• White (35.4%)

Neighborhood Background

Logan Square remained undamaged during the Chicago fire in 1871 and grew rapidly thereafter. German and Scandinavian immigrants moved in as the Milwaukee Avenue street railway was established. The construction of the “L” in 1890 led to the rapid building of new homes around the train stations and to developing a boulevard system.

Following World War I, Logan Square boomed in population as Poles and Russian Jews moved into the area, leading to further construction of rental flats. After 1930 the population of Logan Square began to drop. The construction of the Northwest Expressway in the 1950s and the Blue Line disrupted commercial life, leading to the evacuation of most residents.

Groups of Hispanic people moved into the area and by 1990 made up almost two-thirds of the population of Logan Square. However, in the last twenty years the area has seen major gentrification with a major growth in the white population and a decline in the Hispanic population by over twenty percent.