The Event & Hyde Park

It fascinates me how much one event can truly change a place, no matter how small, for such a long time. Of course this idea takes shape in many forms, with the most obvious examples being large devastating events like the Holocaust or September 11th. Kenneth Foote has discussed these places and the many ways we chose to deal with these types of events in his book Shadowed Ground. However I do not wish to speak of places of tragedy but instead places that may fall into the ninth chapter of this book, entitled "Invisible and Shadowed Pasts". One such example of the type of site I am thinking of here is that of my current neighborhood, Hyde Park. For a brief moment in history this neighborhood was home to the World's Columbian Exposition, a historic event that was to become the center of books like Erik Larson's Devil in a White City.

Now over a hundred years have past since this amazing event yet so much of the event can be felt here in the neighborhood. The throngs of upper class international people that were here for the event are still here for the University. The railroad stop that was built just before the World's Fair and brought thousands of people to the event is still one of the main transportation hubs for the neighborhood. In fact there is no other railroad or subway stop in the neighborhood, only buses and shuttles to make up for this lack. Many of Hyde Park's residents have now grown to complain about this, saying that Hyde Park's transportation is stuck in the past and wishing for better transportation. The entertainment that the Ferris Wheel brought to the event is seen every now and again when people like President Obama give speeches in the same location, on the Midway. The neighborhood seems never to have recovered from the event. There used to be large hotels to accommodate all the Fair's guests but even these have slowly gone out of business or are extremely out-dated. In addition, unlike the other neighborhoods, especially ones on the North side of the city, Hyde Park is completely lacking when it comes to shops, restaurants, entertainment spots, and bars among several things. I have heard rumor that this is due to the fact that the University owns much of the land of this neighborhood, or has a strong controlling arm. They are the ones that get to decide what kind of businesses can open up in the neighborhood and they have decided, for better or worse, to keep it a strictly residential neighborhood. Thus it is not surprising that the majority of the people tied to the neighborhood belong in some way to the University, whether they are the students who have a strong tendency to move away when they have graduated, faculty or staff.