NORTHCENTER
Northcenter is a vibrant and eclectic neighborhood providing a hub of commercial activity which stems from retailers, restaurants and many service-oriented businesses. In fact, more traffic flows through the middle of Northcenter (where Lincoln Avenue, Irving Park Road and Damen Avenue meet) than most any intersection in Chicago. Stop by for the annual Ribfest June 11 and 12, on Lincoln Ave. between Irving Park Rd. and Warner Ave. On June 11 the fest runs noon - 10 p.m.; June 12 noon - 8 p.m.
The history and heritage of Northcenter is just as rich and diverse as our stores and restaurants. The neighborhood is deeply rooted in German, Irish, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Adriatic, Hispanic and Asian cultures. The Northcenter community’s appeal is that of a small-town feel within the city; where families of all varieties have enjoyed living and working for generations. Northcenter’s blend of retail, service, manufacturing, art and theater, and technology offers residents true quality of life.
ANDERSONVILLE
Originally a Swedish neighborhood, Andersonville preserves those influences in its Swedish American Museum, restaurants and delicatessens, testimony to one of the city's true "melting pots." Now Clark St., which runs up its center from Lawrence to Bryn Mawr avenues, is the site of restaurants of a dozen different ethnicities, including several excellent Middle Eastern eateries and groceries. June 4 is the 35th Annual Market Day at the Japanese American Service Committee, 4427 N. Clark St., a free family program featuring Japanese arts and crafts. (773) 275-0097. The annual Midsommarfest, June 11 and 12, is a great opportunity to walk this diverse neighborhood.
GOLD COAST/NEAR NORTH
Home to many of the city's movers and shakers as well as landmarks like the Chicago Water Tower and the giant John Hancock Center, the Gold Coast blossoms up from the Streeterville and River North areas along the Chicago River. It's anchored on the south by N. Michigan Ave.'s "Magnificent Mile" and Oak St. shopping areas and hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline and its famous Oak St. Beach up to North Ave. "The Gardens of Chicago's Magnificent Mile" is a self-guided tour; call (312) 409-5560 or visit themagnificentmile.com. The area is also home to Rush and Division streets' watering holes and restaurants, as well as the historic row houses of the Astor Street Historic District. History and modernity are married in this neighborhood: from the gracious Drake Hotel to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Dearborn Garden Walk and Heritage Festival, held July 17, gives visitors a chance to tour this neighborhood's elegant streets.
LAKE VIEW
North of Lincoln Park, Lake View is more than Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs, though it's hard to imagine summer without them. A heritage of its immigrant past, a wide selection of culinary delights — from North African to Thai — can be experienced in Lake View's many restaurants. Belmont Ave. is popular for its informal night life and theaters. The Music Box revival movie theater and Mercury and Athenaeum theaters anchor the N. Southport portion of the neighborhood. Its Halsted St. area is known as "Boys Town" because of its large gay population and numerous gay clubs. Lake View is ground-zero for street festivals, from the Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest, held June 4 and 5, to Retro on Roscoe, Aug. 13 and 14.
LINCOLN PARK
The gracious, historic Lincoln Park neighborhood draws its name from the beautiful lakefront park, once the city's cemetery, that now includes the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago Historical Society, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Lincoln Park Conservatory. The neighborhood's landmark, architecturally interesting townhouses and brownstones were mostly built after the Great Fire of 1871. DePaul University, the nation's largest Catholic school, nurtures the neighborhood's "life of the mind," while its many off-Loop theaters — including the Tony Award-winning Steppenwolf and Victory Gardens — provide its cultural backbone. Lincoln Park is also home to many of the city's fine restaurants, happening clubs and charming stores. It is, indeed, a shopper's paradise, from Armitage Avenue's unique boutiques to the Clybourn Corridor's home and garden superstores. During the Park West Antiques Fair, June 4 and 5, visitors can stroll this neighborhood's byways in search of long-lost treasures.
LINCOLN SQUARE
A standing sculpture of Abraham Lincoln at Lawrence Ave. gazes south down Lincoln Ave., the heart of the North Side's old German neighborhood which retains many landmark German businesses and preserves "a Touch of Europe" in its other shops and restaurants. At the heart of the neighborhood is the Lincoln Square mall, anchored by Giddings Plaza, one of the city's most charming outdoor spots. At Leland and Lincoln avenues there is a beautiful, large mural paying homage to Germany, painted by Lothar Speer and local students. Farther south along Lincoln Ave. are the performance and teaching home of the Old Town School of Folk Music as well as the popular Sulzer Regional Library. The annual German-American Fest, Sept. 9-11, brings the old country to life with brass "oompah" bands, fresh pretzels and, of course, plenty of beer.
RAVENSWOOD
Straddling north-south Ravenswood Ave., this "unofficial" neighborhood is nestled amongst, and shares portions of, the Lincoln Square, Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods. The housing mix includes apartment buildings and an amazing array of Victorian single-family homes, while businesses thrive in a long-time manufacturing corridor along Ravenswood Ave. and the Chicago Northwestern Railroad. The community's love of nature is evident in its vast and fragrant gardens.
OLD TOWN
Though considered part of Lincoln Park, Old Town has its own unique identity. The N. Wells St. and North Ave. shopping and dining areas are its heart. During the 1960s and '70s it was a popular place for the city's "hippies," and it has long had a strong artistic bent that lives on in the Old Town Art Fair. The Second City improvisational theater — where John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and other stars of "Saturday Night Live" got their start — thrives on Wells St. The Old Town Art Fair, June 11 and 12, is one of oldest such fairs in the nation.
UPTOWN
Long a port of entry for diverse immigrant groups, most recently for Southeast Asians, Uptown was once a neighborhood of great gentility and one of the city's entertainment centers. Its Broadway/ Lawrence Ave. intersection, with the Green Mill lounge, the Riviera, the Aragon Ballroom and the historic but idle Uptown Theatre, shows great promise as a renewed entertainment district. Along Argyle St. and nearby portions of Broadway you'll find a host of Asian restaurants and shops. The neighborhood's diversity — in food, music and more — will be on display during Uptown Unity Summerfest, held July 23.
WICKER PARK/BUCKTOWN
Here's the neighborhood where great writers like Nelson Algren and Saul Bellow once walked. In recent years it's been a "hot" artistic neighborhood, yet a walk through the community's historic district — roughly surrounding Damen Avenue, between North Ave. and Augusta Blvd. — offers a peek at Victorian mansions built in the late 1800s. The six-cornered intersection of Damen, North and Milwaukee avenues offers a mix of trendy and upscale bars, clubs, restaurants and shopping. The intersection also features the historic Flat Iron Building, which now serves as home to local artists and actors. |
