There Goes the Neighborhood

      If I were to describe Pilsen today, I would say that it has more of an artistic and calm atmosphere than it did a few years back. I have been living in the Pilsen neighborhood for the last ten years. I have seen it grow from being a mostly Hispanic neighborhood to a more diverse one.

    As a little kid my mother would always warn me about looking out for clues that will help me avoid trouble. As this neighborhood has been known for gang related violence it was not uncommon to hear about someone suffering through such violence. These incidents have decreased over time. While walking around the neighborhood you can still see signs of such gangs but it is probably not as bad as it was.

     If you were to take a stroll through Pilsen you can see that it is very diverse and has come a long way. You can hear all sorts of languages being spoken. You would most likely hear people either talking English, Spanish, Italian, or Chinese.

     Although this neighborhood has almost always been a very art-focused place, in the last year it has increased. New galleries are being opened and opportunities to display your own artwork are drawing more artists in(no pun intended), making Pilsen become more diverse.

    One of the biggest changes to come to this neighborhood is the kinds of stores that are being opened. In the last year or so a few vintage stores, like Knee Deep, have opened. Recently an Italian restaurant has opened up in the historic Thalia Hall, which was recently renovated.

    In the local supermarket you see that they now stock many organic foods and certainly different kinds of products like Thai, Italian, etc. Whereas if you had entered that same store about two years ago you would mostly see Mexican or American products. There is also a small street market(or in this case parking lot market) were they sell the BEST honey.

    I truly believe that these changes have made this neighborhood better and more interesting. It is good to interact with the many kinds of people that have moved here and learn about something that you would not have known if this neighborhood would have stayed predominantly Hispanic. It creates a well rounded place and there is less ignorance. Even though a lot of us hesitate to accept change, sometimes changes happen for the best and in this case it certainly did.