West End Neighborhood

West End Emerges Again

The name “West End” has been embraced once again. Beginning in 2008, the Longview and Old Chicago neighborhoods began holding joint meetings at House of Fire Ministries, located in the Douglas Park neighborhood. Then in 2009, organizers decided to join efforts as a single neighborhood association.

“We felt that our interests in each of the neighborhoods were very similar, and duplicating efforts among the three neighborhoods didn’t make much sense and was spreading our resources too thin,” said Kim Callaway-Thompson, the Longview Neighborhood Coalition board member who became the West End Neighborhood Association leader.

The West End area generally covers the Douglas Park, Old Chicago and Longview neighborhoods, although some involvement for the neighborhood extends to the area south of 18th Avenue. Much of the neighborhood organizing activity in the three neighborhoods has been supported by the Community Caring Conference.

The term “West End” was unofficially used for decades and even appeared in surveys and official city documents dating to the 1960s. It was during the City’s active neighborhood planning period in the 1990s, that the names Longview, Old Chicago and Douglas Park were selected by residents for smaller areas when planning documents were created and neighborhood associations were formed. But the new group liked the idea of not running away from a name, and turning what was once a negative term into a positive dynamic. So, the name “West End” was once again tapped as the moniker, combining the efforts of residents in all three neighborhoods.

Boundaries

The West End encompasses three neighborhoods, bounded by the Rock Island Parkway on the north and west, 18th Avenue on the south and 15th and 16th Streets on the east.

Ward 1


Plans & Publications

Neighborhood Association

West End Neighborhood Association

Neighborhood Programs & Activities

  • Monthly association meetings
  • Neighborhood Clean-Ups
  • Guest Speakers
  • Celebrate Longview

Public Facilities


Historic Register Properties in the Neighborhood