With the growing popularity of Chicago’s West Loop, residents and tourists flock to Greektown more than ever before; it has become one of Chicago’s trendy spots. The neighborhood, located off of the CTA Blue Line on the west side of Halsted Street between Randolph and Van Buren, is home to Greek cafés, grocery stores, nightclubs, restaurants and an Athenian candle company that has been on the same corner since 1910.
“You definitely know you’re in Greektown when you’re there,” said Peter Georgalen, the communications director for the Hellenic Museum, as he pointed out that the Walgreens in Greektown has a sign in both English and Greek.
But for Chicago’s Greek community, which numbers roughly 100,000, the cultural neighborhood serves a purpose—keeping memories of home near. “There’s an expression:‘People who don’t live in Greece are the ones who yearn for Greece even more,’” said Vivian Haritos, the director of education and oral history at the Hellenic Museum.
Haritos was born in the United States but grew up speaking Greek with her parents and brothers. She went to Greek school until the second grade and but said she always kept both her Greek and American identities.
The Greek population began to grow around 1892, around the time of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Initially, members of the Greek community worked in industry and commercial jobs but quickly became known for their dominance in the food industry. The community has remained intact through its cohesive churches, parochial schools and, starting in 1983, the Hellenic Museum.
“It stimulates the past and present appreciation of Greek culture,” Georgalen said. “For such a small museum, we have lots of collaborations with different ethnic groups and museums.”
The museum’s success has brought Mayor Richard M. Daley to deem it the cornerstone of the Greektown redevelopment plan, which will include cultural galleries, libraries and other various features. Recently one of the museum’s successful exhibits showcased the past and present Olympic Games. The exhibit also profiled the 1904 Games in St. Louis and Chicago’s candidature at the time. “Obviously, with our history we have a soft spot,” Georgalen said. “We always have a close tie to the Olympics.”
This fervor toward the Olympic Games can likely be attributed to the Athens Games in 2004, which many Chicagoans attended. For Greeks, the Olympic Games remain a symbol of their country. “The Olympics are something that began in Greece and was started again for the world,” Haritos said. “I think having the Olympics in Chicago would bring it full circle for a lot of Greeks and even Greeks across the United States.”