Unique Urbanity: Chicago's Pilsen
Pilsen is a neighborhood of Chicago located on the Lower West Side of the city. Historically a first-stop neighborhood for American immigrants, following the Great Fire of 1871, Pilsen was initially settled by Czech immigrants who named the district after Plzen, a city in what is now the Czech Republic.
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A mural on the side of the former M. Schrayers Sons & Company tinware manufacturing plant at West 18th and South Sangamon streets.
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Built in 1880 and abandoned by its original congregation in 1956, the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church was destroyed by fire in 1979. After the remains weere nearly destroyed by a windstorm in 1998, developer John Podmajersky, Jr. restored the building’s facade and planted a lawn on the rest of the property at the intersection of West 19th and South Peoria streets.
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he intersection of West 18th and South Racine streets was a junction of two Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) streetcar routes. Operating between 1913 and 1947, the CSL is the predecessor of today’s Chicago Transit Authority.
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The St. Procopius Catholic Church in the distance. St. Procopius was organized as a parish in 1875 due to Pilsen becoming a Czech neighborhood after the Chicago Fire of 1871.
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Currently used as a mixed-use music, retail and restaurant space, Thalia Hall has been recognized as a Chicago Landmark since 1989. Located at West 18th and Allport streets, the Romaneseque Revival style building was built in 1892 by saloonkeeper John Dusek.