Hyde Park has always been an extremely business-minded community. In researching the history of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, there’s mention of at least eight business-related local organizations, with some dating back over 100 years, including the Hyde Park Business Men’s Association (1912), the 55th Street Business Men’s Association (1926), the 47th Street Commercial Association (1928), the Hyde Park-Kenwood Chamber of Commerce (1929), 47th Street Business Men’s Association (dissolved in 1929), the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce (1929), the Kenwood Chamber of Commerce (1934), the Hyde Park Business and Professional Association (1939), and the 53rd Street Business Men’s Association (1945).

 

With the name changes, mergers, and dissolutions of these multiple organizations, it’s not easy to pin down the exact origins of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, but it's safe to say 1929, if not earlier.