Chicago's “Little Italy” developed in the Near West Side around Halsted and Taylor Streets near Jane Addams's Hull House in the late nineteenth century. Upon their arrival in the area, Italians quickly established their own cultural, social, and religious institutions, such as Our Lady of Pompeii and the Holy Guardian Angel Roman Catholic churches. While Italians were never actually a majority in the area, they maintained a strong presence in the commercial and political fabric of the area throughout the twentieth century.

Max Grinnell