Amazon Central Park Communications Category:  History Publisher: Author House ISBN-10:  0759683956 Pages: 124 Copyright: Feb. 13, 2002 ISBN-13: 9780759683952 The origins of the street names on Chicago's Near West Side. Learn about the historic streets of one of Chicago's most fascinating neighborhoods. Streets of the Near West Side tells the stories of whom and what 57 of the area’s thoroughfares were named. The book also features news of events that happened in the area, from long-ago tales of the Chicago Cubs playing on Polk Street, to news pertinent to today's headlines. Learn which street is named for a U.S. President who liked to swim in the nude and which is named for a bicycle racer who created Chicago's expressway system.

A wonderful source for learning about Chicago's earlier days
I loved reading this book. It is an enjoyable, clearly-written introduction to a neighborhood that was "home" to thousands of Chicago's immigrants, including many of my ancestors. "Streets of the Near West Side" goes beyond those facts provided by such genealogical sources as Censuses. It can help family researchers develop a better understanding of their ancestor's "new neighborhood" in America. So, open the book, along with a map of Chicago, and learn how this neighborhood's history intertwines with the names of its streets.

Quirky, odd, and fun
Streets of the Near West Side is supposed to be a Chicago history book about one small neighborhood, but it's much more. It's about who the area's streets are named after, so it tells the stories of Presidents, Indians, Civil and Revolutionary War battles, and a lot of other quirky, odd, and fun information that you didn't learn about in high school history. At 117 pages, it can be read in one sitting. You can't put it down! You don't have to be a Chicagoan--just a lover of biography and history.