One of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois and is located in the city’s south side. Riverdale was officially adopted by the City of Chicago. With a population of 7,359, the life of locals in Riverdale offers a subtle sense of suburban feels where most of the residents rent their homes.
Riverdale shares a rich history with all the communities and of course with Chicago and Dolton. Both of the villages of Dolton and Riverdale were once one joined community until each was incorporated in 1892. In the present day, Riverdale includes neighborhoods popularly known as Highlawn and Ivanhoe.
Indians were removed by George Dolton were who settled crossed the Little Calumet River in 1835, operated a ferry until 1842 when a toll bridge was built and referred to as the Riverdale Crossing.
Riverdale developed as a farming area when Germans and Dutch people came to the neighborhood in the 1840s and 1850s which started as farmers and lumbermen. When the Illinois Central Railroad came through Riverdale, in 1852, a total of six railroads was accessible to the area in 1880. EZ Bed Bug Exterminator Chicago
Different industries followed over the years including distilleries, lumber yards, ice houses, barrel makers, sugar refineries, and cattle pens which attracted Irish, Russians, Germans, and Swedish workers to go to Riverdale. The dredging of the Little Calumet River and the developing construction of the Cal-Sag Channel between the years 1911 and 1922 stimulated the ever-growing neighborhood. In 1919, the region’s first artificial ice plant was built a plant Riverdale which was the Federal Ice Refrigerating Company.
In the mid-1920s, central Illinois was withstanding and upping their game resulting in great and improved commuter service to Chicago. Expansions on residentials including the subdivision of Ivanhoe. When the Great Depression struck it has brought an end to residential construction but workers have built curbs, sewers, and paved streets. The flight after World War II resulted in many renewed built-in until 1960.
The early 1980s saw a rising population of African American communities looking for a better place for housing and schools for their children. Riverdale’s population in 2000 was 15,055, with a black population of up to 87 percent.
Riverdale Chicago, Illinois Nearby attractions
- Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
- Memorial Field House
- Midlothian Creek
- Ivanhoe Park
- Riverdale Public Library
- Memorial Field House
- John Louis Golf Course
The total population is 12,786 with a 46.9% Male Share of the Population.
See other neighborhoods in Chicago like West Loop