A New Community
Wow! I never knew the South Side of Chicago could be so interesting, especially the small neighborhood of Beverly. While on my tour of the South Side I came across a fairly small community located near Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park. Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park are both suburbs of Chicago, but Beverly is a part of Chicago. The two suburbs are also much larger than Beverly. I am hopeful to learn all about this quaint community.
As I venture into the community of Beverly I have come to realize that a lot of it is residential. There are very few stores except for the few stores on 103rd street between Longwood Drive and Walden Parkway. These collection of stores form something that resembles a town square. Most of these stores are also small businesses except for the CVS store that stands on the corner. Most of the store names promote the community with names like Beverly Eye Care and the Beverly Bank. Beverly has very few shops so the locals tend to do most of their shopping in other neighborhoods that are less residential and more commercial.
The geography of Beverly is quite interesting for being in the Chicagoland area. Beverly has lots of hills compared to most other Chicagoland areas. Despite the hills, the streets are all in a very straight pattern besides a few streets that are a bit curved. Beverly residents also seem to have lots of yard space although some do have more than others. The houses are not too close together and residents can have their personal space. There are also lots of trees around the Beverly neighborhood. They border the sidewalks and adorn some backyards.
Beverly also contains a few schools for children to attend. A few of these schools include Sutherland H. Elizabeth Elementary School, Keller, Clissold, St. Barnabas and Christ the King. There are not any high schools to be found in Beverly although high school students can travel to nearby neighborhoods for a high school education.
Beverly is a fairly quiet neighborhood. Most of the residents of Beverly live with a family, this makes it a very calm and reserved neighborhood. Children growing up in the neighborhood seem to have a lot of freedom because the neighborhood looks to be safe.
There are not too many parks in Beverly, but that may be because parks are not needed as much due to the large backyards that residents own. The parks that are located in or around Beverly are maintained, but they aren’t large or spectacular like some of the parks located in downtown Chicago.
Beverly seems to be a fairly active community. While walking down the street I have seen many locals jogging down the street or playing a sport in the local park. There are also lots of kids that play in their yards on the weekends and weekdays after school.
Beverly does not have many places to sightsee since it’s such a simple community, but one of the places I have been told to visit is the Beverly Arts Center. The Beverly Arts Center is a center for artists of the Beverly community to show off their talents in the arts. The BAC puts local artists work on display and hosts shows for talented musicians or actors to perform. While I visited this art center I saw to be a meeting taking place. I can only assume that with a meeting taking place the BAC must be a community gathering place for people to come together and discuss community problems and solutions.
After taking my tour of Beverly I have fallen in love with its simple ways and laid back atmosphere. I plan to live here in the future when I have settled down and want to start a family. After all that is what the community seems to be centered around. For now I will continue to tour new neighborhoods and satiate my thirst to learn more about the Chicagoland area.
