Which Humboldt Park is the real one?

There’s an idealized Humboldt Park and a real one. You can find the idealized version at a real estate site:

A diverse, family-friendly area full of mom-and-pop shops, plenty of greenery and neighbors chatting on front stoops is the core of Humboldt Park living. But the real treat is that the neighborhood hustles and bustles around one of Chicago’s largest parks which is the site of many summer music concerts and year round recreation. Also a big draw of this west side community is its unique tie to Puerto Rican culture. Humboldt Park’s strong Puerto Rican heritage prompts a yearly festival and parade, held under the neighborhood’s two large Puerto Rican flags that mark Paseo Boricua Humboldt Park’s main drag. But the restaurants, shops and entertainment are hardly restricted to a single spot, there are great options for eating and amusement all over place in Humboldt Park.

You can get closer to some aspects of the real Humboldt Park in the first of several articles at the Chicago Reader:

The drug market is a fact of life for everyone who lives in west Humboldt Park. Some people—scores of them, perhaps more—have a stake in it themselves.

But many others have been forced to find ways to cope with it. These residents find needles in their alleys—or stumble upon people as they’re shooting up. They know when dealers have a new product by the crowds that form when free samples are given away. They have to navigate drug traffic every time they go to work or run to the store.

The Reader article quotes a resident of the 900 block of North Homan on her block’s booming drug business. Is there any chance that the Google Street View of 900 N Homan, above, reflects a neighborhood watch group in action?

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