Kenwood, one of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's 77 community areas, is on the shore of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

on the South Side of the city. Its boundaries are 43rd Street, 51st Street, Cottage Grove Avenue, and the lake. Kenwood was originally part of Hyde Park Township, which was annexed to the city of Chicago in 1889. Kenwood was once one of Chicago's most affluent neighborhoods, and it still has some of the largest single-family homes in the city. It contains two

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, arch ...

districts, Kenwood and North Kenwood. A large part of the southern half of the community area is in the Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District. In recent years, Kenwood has received national attention as the home of former U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

Description

Kenwood was settled in the 1850s by wealthy Chicagoans seeking respite from the increasing congestion of the city. The first of these residents was John A. Kennicott, who built his home near the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line al ...

at 48th Street. He named the home Kenwood after his ancestral land in Scotland, and when the Illinois Central Railroad built a small depot near 47th Street, they named the station Kenwood as well. Shortly afterwards, the name Kenwood began to be applied to the whole area. The southeastern portion of Kenwood contains the Indian Village neighborhood, which features the

Powhatan Apartments The Powhatan or Powhatan Apartments is a 22-story luxury apartment building overlooking Lake Michigan and adjacent to Burnham Park (Chicago), Burnham Park in the Kenwood, Chicago, Kenwood Community areas of Chicago, neighborhood of Chicago, Illin ...

and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Narragansett. The 1902 Blackstone Library is another well-known landmark in the neighborhood. It continues to be part of the Chicago Public Library system. The recently reopened

Hyde Park Art Center The Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) is a visual arts organization and the oldest alternative exhibition space in the city of Chicago. Since 2006, HPAC has been located just north of Hyde Park Boulevard, at 5020 S.Cornell Avenue, in the Kenwood neighb ...

, located on Cornell Avenue just north of 51st Street and East Hyde Park Boulevard, is Chicago's oldest

alternative exhibition space An alternative exhibition space is a space other than a traditional commercial venue used for the public exhibition of artwork. Often comprising a place converted from another use, such as a store front, warehouse, or factory loft, it is then made i ...

, with an on-site school and studio. The Hyde Park community area is to the south of Kenwood and the southern half of Kenwood (south of 47th Street) is sometimes referred to as Hyde Park-Kenwood. In the 1890s, the

Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory The Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory was the personal observatory of George Ellery Hale, constructed by his father, William E. Hale, in 1890 at the family home in the Kenwood section of Chicago. It was here that the spectroheliograph, which Hale ...

, established by astronomer

George Ellery Hale George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an American solar astronomer, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and as the leader or key figure in the planning or construction of several world-lead ...

, was located in Kenwood close to the new (at that time)

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Politics

The Kenwood community area has supported the Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections by overwhelming margins. In the 2016 presidential election, Kenwood cast 7,639 votes for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and cast 251 votes for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

(94.19% to 3.09%). In the 2012 presidential election, Kenwood cast 8,712 votes for

and cast 331 votes for

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

(95.63% to 3.63%).

Schools

The public schools in Kenwood are Kenwood Academy, Canter Middle School, King College Prep High School, Ariel Community Academy, and Beula Shoesmith Elementary School. Private Schools in Kenwood include the Ancona Montessori School, Cambridge School of Chicago, Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School, and Hales Franciscan High School.

Notable residents

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

* Lerone Bennett, Jr. * Barbara Bowman *

Marc Canter Marc Canter is an American internet entrepreneur, speaker, technology evangelist and early pioneer of online software,LEFLER, LUKE (2015)The New Stack Makers: Marc Canter and the Days Before Macromedia — Part One". ''The New Stack''. Retrieved ...

* David "Honeyboy" Edwards * Louis Farrakhan * Seymour Hersh, was raised at 835 East 47th Street. * Valerie Jarrett *

Edward Levi Edward Hirsch Levi (June 26, 1911 – March 7, 2000) was an American law professor, academic leader, and government lawyer. He served as dean of the University of Chicago Law School from 1950 to 1962, president of the University of Chicago from ...

Ann Marie Lipinski Ann Marie Lipinski (born January 1956) is a journalist and the curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. She is the former editor of the ''Chicago Tribune'' and Vice President for Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago. ...

* Roberta Martin, lived at 4901 S. Woodlawn Avenue. * Gaston B. Means * Carol Moseley Braun *

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his dea ...

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

* Maurice Rabb * Julius Rosenwald *

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis B ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post- war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicag ...

The infamous murderers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, and their victim Bobby Franks, were all residents of Kenwood.

Gallery

Image:Regents.JPG, Lakefront condominiums in Kenwood as seen from Promontory Point. Image:20061028 Blackstone Library Front.JPG, Blackstone Library Image:20070906 Rainbow-PUSH Headquarters.JPG, The headquarters of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Image:20080909 K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple and Obama security detail.JPG, The KAM Isaiah Israel synagogue File:20070909 Regents Park.JPG, The

Regents Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwe ...

apartment complex

Notes

External links

Official City of Chicago Kenwood Community Map
{{Geographic Location , Center = Kenwood, Chicago , North =

Oakland, Chicago : Oakland, located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, USA, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Bordered by 35th and 43rd Streets, Cottage Grove Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, The Oakland area was constructed between 18 ...

, Northeast =

, South = Hyde Park, Chicago , Southwest = Washington Park, Chicago , West = Grand Boulevard, Chicago Community areas of Chicago