Websites
Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society West Ridge Chamber of Commerce Indo American Center Indo American Heritage Museum Newberry Library Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Vernacular Architecture Forum Chicago Jewish Historical Society Encyclopedia of Chicago Chicago History Museum (Chicago Historical Society) NORTH TOWN LIBRARY: CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BRANCH ON CALIFORNIA AND DEVON AVENUE.
6435 N. California Avenue, Chicago IL 60645; Phone: (312) 744-2292; Email: [email protected] The Devon Avenue library was established in 1962 and at that time the library catered to the local Jewish and German population. Within a few decades newer Russian population came into the library for language help and to read books. After the 1980s the library saw South-Asian readers from Pakistan and India. In recent years, new immigrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan and Tibet have patronized the library. Charitable organizations working with new refugees introduce the latter to the resources available at the library. These organizations arrange after-school programs for refugee children at the library, teach them computers, English, and other skills that may help them assimilate into the United States culture. The Library partners with other non-profit organizations in order to organize programs for the elderly as well. These community programs at the library facilitate public gatherings, and the library has gradually transformed from a quiet reading space into a public space for community building. Text by Holland Dvorak and Niyati Naik |
Articles and papers
“Transcultural Place-making: Intertwined Spaces of Sacred and Secular on Devon Avenue, Chicago,” In Transcultural Cities: Border‐crossing & Placemaking, Jeff Hou, editor, (New York: Routledge, 2012). pdf. “From Curry Mahals to Chaat Cafes: Spatialities of the South Asian Culinary Landscape” In Curried Cultures, Tulasi Srinivasan and Krishnendu Ray Editors. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012). pdf. “Evaluating Lived Landscapes and Quotidian Architecture of Muslim Devon,” In Homogenization of Representations, p. 175-195, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture Knowledge Construction Workshop II, Modjtaba Sadria Editor, (London: I.B.Tauris, 2011). pdf.'' "Eating Ethnicity: Spatial Ethnography of Hyderabad House Restaurant on Devon Avenue, Chicago," Making Place: Space and Embodiment in the City, p. 95-125, Arijit Sen and Lisa Silverman coeditors, (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2014). |