Logan Square’s Illinois Centennial Monument, the eagle-topped column ringed by a hectic multilane traffic circle, is an icon of the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. The pillar’s surrounding green space, Logan Square proper, is a popular site for relaxing on benches, sunbathing, and skateboarding. But in a community whose Latino population fell by about 36 percent between 2000 and 2014, according to the U.S. Census, while the number of whites grew by roughly 48 percent, the meaning of the monument depends on who you ask.
This discourages travel to and from the northern portion of the neighborhood; in fact, for better or for worse, this has slowed, though not stopped, the proliferation of new upscale retail and residential developments common southeast of the square.
But the boldest ideas for remaking the square were first floated by Logan residents in a 2014 proposal called the Logan Square Bicentennial Improvements Project. This recommends pedestrianizing the segment of Milwaukee that crosses the square, which would connect the roughly triangular piece of parkland that houses the Comfort Station art space to the rest of the square. In this scenario, through traffic on Milwaukee would go around the square rather than across it.
Paul Sajovec, chief of staff for Alderman Scott Waguespack, whose ward would also be affected, says the alderman is excited about the proposal to create a lively public space similar to the vibrant plazas common in Latin America and Europe. “We want the square to function as the name suggests, rather than just a dead space surrounded by traffic,” Sajovec says. “Not that it’s horrible right now, but we think the area has the potential to get several times more use.”
