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Bridgeport

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A map of Bridgeport that we could explore.  HISTORY     Bridgeport was founded in the 1830's and was originally called Hardscrabble due to a former farmer who lived in the area died due to a Native American raid on his farm.  When the Illinois and Michigan Canal was being built to connect the Chicago River with the Mississippi River, Irish immigrants moved to the Bridgeport area to be closer to their canal building job site. At the time, Irish immergrants were looked down upon and segregated due to their lack of a proper education, poverty, and Roman Catholicism beliefs.  Because they were uneducated, only doing dangerous work such as digging the canal was available.     When the canal opened in 1848, factories opened along the river, giving more work opportunities for the Irish. The area was dubbed Bridgeport due to Ashland Ave. Bridge; the bridge was rather low, meaning any cargo that was tall had to be taken off the boat and be put back on af...
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Pilsen

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A map of Pilsen that we were allowed to explore. HISTORY      Pilsen was originally settled by Irish immigrants  in the 1840's who at the time were widely persecuted. After these immigrants built the Illinois and Michigan Canal which lead to exponential growth of Chicago, the area became densely crowded, leading to illnesses like Cholera to spread. Those who could afford to move out of the area did, as it became a slum. The Czech immigrants , as well as German, Polish, and Italian immigrants, came into the area next due to the opened spaced left by those who left; the Czech had the majority of the incoming population from fleeing the Austrian Empire at the time which allowed them to influence the area. Even the name of Pilsen comes from a Czech restaurant that existed called At the City of Plzeň.     Pilsen was able to avoid the blunt of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which allowed some industrialists, such as Cyrus McCormick, to buil...
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