The original inhabitants of what is now Englewood were Mascouten Indians. The land was swampy prairie. In 1840, Englewood was officially documented as habital land to the United States Government Land Office in Chicago. In the 1850s and 60's, as Chicago was becoming a city of railroad tracks and economic prosperity, Englewood was just another supporting neighborhood. But in 1871, when the Great Chicago Fire destroyed a large portion of Chicago, residents moved to the outskirts. Englewood's railroad connections to downtown Chicago made it a convenient location, and the neighborhood's population boomed. Englewood Station once served many railroad passengers; at one point over 1,000 trains would pass through Englewood every day. The City of Chicago annexed Englewood in 1889.
Today, it has been suggested that Englewood is making attempts to gentrify.
The Englewood community was largely defined by the Englewood Shopping Center, a large pedestrian mall. The City, social services, and mall management worked with community leaders and groups to integrate the mall with the community. The goal was to make the mall a vital part of the community, and a central part of everyday life. It was the site of numerous community events, parades, outdoor concerts, live radio broadcasts and the like. This was spearheaded by the Englewood Business Men's Association and it's Director, Richard Drew. Mr. Drew died 1978, and with his passing the Association lost it's community focus.
In the 1980s the shopping center struggled as it lost almost all its anchor stores. Wieboldt's, Sears and others closed their doors or relocated ensewhere. It became a hodge-podge of smaller, specialty stores. Wig shops, clothing stores, shoe stores, one grocery store and the like.
In 1999 this 30 year decline was finally addressed, when Mayor Richard M. Daley announced a $256 million revitalization plan for the area. The keystone of the program is the relocation of Kennedy King College to the former site of the Englewood Shopping Center. Shortly thereafter the city began an aggressive buyout and relocation program for mall merchants.
Groundbreaking for the new location occurred on November 9, 2005. This marked the end of an era for the community, and the beginning of what many hope will be a rebirth. The 40 acre campus is scheduled for completion in 2007. One immediate result - skyrocketing property values. What many considered a blighted community was suddenly a hot spot. Some homes that were impossible to sell 10 years ago for next to nothing, are now selling for over $200,000.