Video Gaming in Chicago's 37th Ward — bars, licensing, status

History

Developer Henry Austin bought 470 acres in 1865 and laid out a temperance settlement called Austinville, running from Chicago Avenue to Madison Street and from Laramie Avenue to Austin Boulevard. Suburban rail service fed its growth, and in 1899 residents of the rest of Cicero township voted Austin into Chicago. Streetcars and the Lake Street Elevated made it one of the city's best-served commuter areas by 1920, while brick two-flats and bungalows replaced the village's large frame homes on the north side. German and Scandinavian families came first, followed by Irish and Italian families, and together they built a half-dozen sizable Catholic parishes. From the late 1960s the population shifted, and by 1980 Austin was predominantly African American; housing disinvestment, vacancy and the loss of jobs and commerce followed.

The ward's eastern side takes in part of Humboldt Park, annexed to Chicago in 1869. The street railway arrived in 1886, and two-flats and bungalows went up between 1900 and 1920. Danish and Norwegian families settled there in the 1880s and 1890s, and Poles, Italians and Jews followed, then Puerto Ricans moving in from West Town.

The area today

Ald. Emma Mitts represents the 37th Ward from a ward office at 4924 W. Chicago Ave. Mitts has held the seat since 2000 and won a seventh term in the February 2023 election. The ward takes in, roughly, parts of Austin and the western edge of Humboldt Park. Chicago Avenue is its main commercial street. Through Austin it is branded the Soul City Corridor, which runs from Austin Boulevard to Cicero Avenue, and the City's streetscape plan includes the blocks from Central to Laramie and from Laramie to Cicero. The Soul City Corridor plan lists Black culture, arts and entertainment among its goals. The Art Deco Laramie State Bank at 5200 W. Chicago Ave., a designated Chicago Landmark, was selected to anchor the City's revitalization efforts in Austin. The Green Line runs along Lake Street near the ward's southern end, with stops at Laramie and Central.

Bars and restaurants here

Austin's commerce followed its transit lines, and Chicago Avenue is one of three streets, with Madison and Lake, that saw significant business development. The Soul City Corridor is noted for an intimate, small-business ecosystem, and the Austin African American Business Networking Association leads the effort there. Central Avenue crosses all three corridors, and a local corridor plan describes it as the connecting spine of Austin. If your business is on Chicago Avenue between Central and Cicero, you are on blocks the City's streetscape plan covers.