Living In Pilsen
Pilsen real estate includes condos, soft-lofts, townhouses and single family homes both vintage and new. Pilsen is an old Chicago neighborhood rich in history. Much of it’s historic nature has been carefully preserved. For example, in 2006 Pilsen became a National Historic Register District. Plus, South Water Market was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more about this by visiting The Pilsen Alliance.
The neighborhood is known as a haven for artists in search of inexpensive studio space and places to display their work. As such, on the east side of Pilsen you’ll find one of Chicago’s largest art districts. The neighborhood also houses the National Museum of Mexican Art. Driving or walking down busy W 18th Street you’ll find Mexican bakeries, fantastic restaurants and grocers. Pilsen is in 60608 and nearby neighborhoods include University Village and South Loop.
In the late 1800s, Pilsen was named by Czech immigrants after Plzen, a large city in what is now the Czech Republic. Germans and Irish were in the area first and the population also included smaller numbers of other ethnic groups from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many of these immigrants worked local factories and the infamous Chicago stockyards. Bound by Slavic ethnicities, Pilsen was home to both the rich and the working class. These days the neighborhood is a true microcosm reflecting Chicago’s greater melting pot of culture and ethnicity.
