The area was transformed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 , which made 300,000 residents of the city homeless . The resulting migration toward other parts of the city created very densely populated and overcrowded areas on the Near West Side . Most of the Czech and Bohemian residents moved south establishing the neighborhood of Pilsen , named after the city of Plzeň in the Czech Republic . The fire also began migration into the Lawndale neighborhood , which had advertised itself as a residential suburb with fireproof apartment buildings
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
West Side, Chicago