Located northwest of Chicago’s Loop, Logan Square has always been a neighborhood with a strong immigrant presence. The land on which the neighborhood resides was originally an open prairie until Martin Kimball purchased 160 acres of the prairie land in 1836. Soon after, settlers began to join the New Yorker in populating the area, which was known at the time as Jefferson. Eventually, farmers in Jefferson were able to transport their produce from the small town to nearby markets along what is now Milwaukee Avenue. Years later, after the Chicago North & Western Railway laid down tracks west of the River, industry began making its way into the neighborhood, which paved the way for future development.
After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Logan Square’s population began expanding rapidly. Because the neighborhood was a ways away from the limits of the fire, it became a popular location for Chicago residents. As relatively affordable housing popped up in the different subdivisions of Logan Square, the neighborhood became increasingly settled by German and Scandinavian immigrants. By 1889, the entirety of Logan Square had been annexed by the city of Chicago, and the L train system made its way over to the neighborhood shortly thereafter. With the presence of an L station, more houses appeared along the main boulevards within Logan Square. The neighborhood had another significant bout of development after World War I when an influx of Poles and Russian Jews was followed by a boom in housing construction.
The growth of the neighborhood did not last long. The population began to decline after 1930, and property around the neighborhood began to deteriorate. In the 1950s, the construction of the Kennedy Railway and the Blue Line disrupted residential and commercial life in Logan Square, further contributing to its deterioration. However, the neighborhood saw new sparks of life in the following decade, when--in 1963--the Logan Square Neighborhood Association was founded. With a mission to protect the interests of residents and improve the quality of life, the LSNA became an instrumental force in revitalizing Logan Square.