Edgewater, Chicago
Edgewater | ||
---|---|---|
Area | ||
• Total | 1.71 sq mi (4.43 km2) | |
Population (2020 ZIP Codes | 60660 and part of 60640 | |
Median income 2019 | $55,768[1] | |
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services |
Edgewater is a lakefront
Edgewater transitioned from agriculture and small settlement to residential development around the 1880s with summer homes for Chicago's elite. Today, it provides the northern terminus of both
History
Early development
Developers began buying up orchards and truck farms, and cutting down the dense woods in Lake View Township (of which Edgewater was a part) in the 1880s to make way for future development. From 1870 to 1887 the population of the township, then north of the City of Chicago, grew from 2,000 citizens to 45,000. As a result, there was growing need of more public-service access, and Lake View was annexed to Chicago in 1889 as a way of meeting those demands.[4]
In 1885, the northeastern section of Lake View was given the name Edgewater by prominent developer John Lewis Cochran. He built the first residential subdivision in the area. Many of his homes can still be found in the Lakewood Balmoral Historic District. After a few years, Edgewater was celebrated as a wonder as it became "the only electric lighted suburb adjacent to Chicago".
Etymology of street names
Cochran was originally a tobacco salesman from Philadelphia who moved to the area in 1885. Upon arrival, he took his Philadelphia culture and geography with him to the area. This can be seen best by the names of the streets in Edgewater. Every street in Edgewater at the time was named after a train station on the former PRR Main Line, and most still exist to this day.[5] This includes:
- Ardmore, PA.
- CTA station.
- CTA station.
- CTA station.
- Devon, PA
- Rosemont, PA
- Wayne, PA
Beginning of the 20th century
By the early 1900s, Edgewater was regarded as one of Chicago's most prestigious communities. Mansions dominated the lakefront, while large single-family homes spread inland to the former farming village of Andersonville (then also called Somerdale). A prominent symbol of Edgewater's affluence and desirable location on the lake was the Edgewater Beach Hotel, which opened in 1916 at 5349 N. Sheridan. The famed "sunrise" yellow hotel was razed in 1970, though the remaining "sunset" pink Edgewater Beach Apartments building is still a landmark at the north tip of Lake Shore Drive. The Edgewater building boom peaked in 1926 and property values reached their height in 1928. Around 1900, the burgeoning affluent population grew so much that developers expanded Edgewater and renamed a portion of the neighborhood community
Revival
Uptown's affluence declined in the 1950s, as Chicago's suburbs were developed and opened, absorbing some of Uptown's families, both middle and upper class. With the flight of some residents came disrepair and crime for what once was one of the most affluent districts of the city. At the same time, with the extension of Lake Shore Drive to Hollywood Ave. in the 1950s, into the 1970s, highrise condominium developments along Edgewater's lakefront took off, and Andersonville was seeking to promote its unique heritage.
In 1980, the Chicago City Council and local business owners orchestrated a revival for the Edgewater community. Edgewater was separated from Uptown and once again called itself its own community. New businesses came into the community, older buildings were refurbished, and homes touched up to harken back to Edgewater's past. Since 2000, there have been several new additions to the neighborhood, including The Clarovista, Edgewater Glen, and Catalpa Gardens condominium developments. This neighborhood of Chicago is also well known for its antique shops, as the Broadway Antique Market and Brownstone Antiques call the Edgewater area their home.
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1930 | 53,938 | — | |
1940 | 55,503 | 2.9% | |
1950 | 54,606 | −1.6% | |
1960 | 51,579 | −5.5% | |
1970 | 61,598 | 19.4% | |
1980 | 58,561 | −4.9% | |
1990 | 60,703 | 3.7% | |
2000 | 62,198 | 2.5% | |
2010 | 56,521 | −9.1% | |
2020 | 56,296 | −0.4% | |
[7][1] |
Neighborhoods
Edgewater consists of several neighborhoods. In the southwest quadrant is Andersonville. North of it is Magnolia Glen and Edgewater Glen—and Edgewater Beach is located in the eastern part of the neighborhood, the portion of the community that borders the lake, east of the elevated tracks of the Red Line.
Andersonville
Andersonville is a
A significant number of Middle-Eastern businesses and a new influx of families with children all make this a very diverse population. Andersonville is also known for its unique commercial district, made up almost entirely of a variety of independent locally owned specialty shops, restaurants, and service providers.
The Andersonville Commercial Historic District, which runs between 4900 and 5800 N. Clark Street, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in March 2010.[10] It joined the nearby residential Lakewood Balmoral Historic District.
The approximate street boundaries of Andersonville, as defined by the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, are Lawrence (4800 N) to the south, Victoria (5800 N) to the north, Ravenswood (1800 W) to the west, and Magnolia (1250 W) to the east. The heart of the Andersonville commercial district is Clark and Berwyn (5300 N).[11]
The stretch of Clark St. south of Foster Ave. (where Andersonville has expanded across community boundaries into northern Uptown) is sometimes called South Foster, or SoFo.
Andersonville's roots as a community extend well back into the 19th century, when immigrant Swedish farmers started moving north into what was then a distant suburb of Chicago. In the 1850s the area north of Foster and east of Clark was a large cherry orchard, and families had only begun to move into the fringes of what is now Andersonville. The neighborhood's first school, the Andersonville School, was built in 1854 at the corner of those two thoroughfares, and served as the area's primary school until 1908.
After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, wooden homes were outlawed in Chicago. Swedish immigrants, who could not afford to build homes of stone or brick, began to move outside of the city's northern limits. Swedish immigrants continued to arrive in Andersonville through the beginning of the 20th century, settling in the newly built homes surrounding Clark St. Before long, the entire commercial strip was dominated by Swedish businesses, from delis to hardware stores, shoe stores to blacksmiths, and bakeries to realty companies. The local churches, such as Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ebenezer Lutheran Church, and First Evangelical Free Church were also built by Swedes, and reflected the religious diversity of the new arrivals.
Like most other European-American ethnic groups, Swedes began to move to the suburbs during the Depression and post-war periods, and the neighborhood began to decline. Concerned about the deteriorating commercial situation, the Uptown Clark Street Business Association renewed its commitment to its Swedish heritage by renaming itself the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce. On October 17, 1964 Andersonville was rededicated in a ceremony attended by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Illinois Governor Otto Kerner. At about the same time, the annual Swedish tradition of celebrating the summer solstice blossomed into Midsommarfest, which has since grown into one of Chicago's largest street festivals.
While some of the Swedish-owned businesses gave way to stores and restaurants owned by Koreans, Lebanese, and Cubans, many remained in Andersonville, serving the remaining second- and third-generation Swedes as well as the new arrivals to the neighborhood. In 1976, a Swedish American Museum that had been on the drawing boards for fifty years was opened to the public in a ceremony attended by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. He was also present when it later moved into larger quarters at 5211 N. Clark, where it remains today.
In the late 1980s, Andersonville began a period of revival as professionals rediscovered its lovely housing stock and proximity to the lakefront. A large lesbian and gay population developed, spurred by the opening of such businesses as Women & Children First, a bookstore focusing on feminist authors and topics. New gift shops and ethnic eateries opened up and gave Clark St. a new commercial vitality and diversity.
Today, in addition to being one of the most concentrated areas of Swedish culture in the United States, Andersonville is home to a diverse assortment of devoted residents and businesses, including one of Chicago's largest LGBTQ+ communities, a collection of Middle Eastern restaurants and bakeries, and a thriving Hispanic commercial area north of Catalpa Avenue.
Edgewater Glen
Edgewater Glen is located in the north central part of Edgewater. It was named from the streets Glenwood Ave. and Glenlake Ave. that cross in the center of Edgewater Glen. A local residents and businesses organization called Edgewater Glen Association (EGA), incorporated in 1972, invented the name. The association, which is still active (2024), determined the boundaries of Edgewater Glen as: the south side of Granville Ave (north), the west side of Broadway Ave (east), the south side of Norwood St (south), and the east side of Clark St (west). [12]
EGA hosts and participates in neighborhood annual events and programming, including public forums with elected officials, plant swaps, corner beautification, the Edgewater Yard Sale, and the EGA Garden Walk which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023.
EGA also is notable for its work to maintain the tree canopy within Edgewater, including regular inventories and coordination for the planting of parkway trees. In 2022, EGA embarked on an effort to catalogue old growth parkway trees resulting in the publication of a study of the heritage trees (50 years and older) of Edgewater Glen as well as a toolkit that can be used by any organization to identify and track heritage trees.
An exhibit was held to feature the toolkit and study at the Edgewater Historical Society on Arbor Day, 2023 which marked the kickoff of an effort by the Edgewater Historical Society to work with the Edgewater Environmental Coalition and all Edgewater Block Clubs to inventory ALL of the heritage parkway trees in Edgewater.[13]
Broadway
Sheridan Road and Edgewater Beach
North of Ardmore Ave. (5800 N) to
Accompanied by uniformly tall, grand old locust trees lining the road, Edgewater's portion of Sheridan (North of Foster Ave., south of Devon Ave.) is a dense section of high-rise residential buildings on both sides of the Sheridan Rd. corridor. These include, Park Edgewater Condominiums, Hollywood Towers, Horizon House Condominium,
There are a handful of mansions still remaining on Sheridan Rd., remnants of the 1880s to 1920s. Many of the original lakefront mansions that once lined Sheridan were razed with landfill added along the shoreline to make way for the high-rise buildings that exist there today. A few notable exceptions are
LGBT community
Beginning in the 1990s, Edgewater's population of lesbian couples significantly increased. Residents named the relocation of the Andersonville
At the time of the
International community
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2015) |
Recognizing the proximity to Chicago's Lakefront and access to the Red Line elevated train, an influx of new residents have relocated to Edgewater over the past 20 years. Many of Edgewater's new residents are immigrants from the Horn of Africa and the former Yugoslavia. The area has a great density of Bosnian, Serb and Croat residents. These people, troubled by civil war and tough conditions in their homeland, have been encouraged to settle in the area. Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis from the Horn region live and socialize in Edgewater.[20] The city is known for accepting new, thriving enclaves of ethnicities in centuries past. This new settlement is a modern revival of that tradition. Of recent, many new residents have come from the neighboring Lakeview and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, due to the affordable housing and Edgewater's proximity to the city's rapid transit (CTA) system which allows for an easy commute into the city's downtown. On the streets of Edgewater, one can encounter women in traditional dress and grandmothers strolling with their grandchildren, while the middle generation is out making a living in the new world of Chicago.
Politics
The Edgewater community area has supported the
Education
Edgewater is home to several Chicago Public Schools (CPS) campuses. The local public high school is Nicholas Senn High School, established in 1913. In addition, four of the neighborhood's elementary schools — Hayt, Swift, Peirce and Goudy — achieved a level 1 (excellent) status from CPS in 2013. Those schools feed into Senn, which will help it maintain its ranking.[citation needed]
There are several Catholic and other religiously affiliated schools also in the neighborhood including Northside Catholic Academy's primary school campus at St. Gertrude church.
The Edgewater Branch of the Chicago Public Library serves the area,[23] and the nearby Bezazian Branch in Uptown also provides services to people in Edgewater.[24]
Transportation
A majority of Edgewater's
Along Edgewater's western border are the commuter rail tracks of
The Chicago Transit Authority also operates numerous bus routes in Edgewater, with several running along North Lake Shore Drive with express services to downtown Chicago, including the Loop, via North Michigan Avenue and its Magnificent Mile.[26]
Private entities also offer many transportation services. The areas is served by car-sharing services such as
Notable people
- Ian Barford (born 1966), actor. He resides in Andersonville.[27]
- Hillary Clinton (born 1947), 67th United States Secretary of State. Her family resided in Edgewater until she was three years old at which point they moved to Park Ridge, Illinois.[28][29]
- Dorothy Howell Rodham (1919–2011), homemaker and mother of Hillary Clinton. She resided in Edgewater until moving to Park Ridge, Illinois in 1950.
- Hugh Rodham (1911–1993), businessman and father of Hillary Clinton. He resided in Edgewater before moving to Park Ridge, Illinois in 1950.[28][29]
- Lucas Neff (born 1985), actor best known for his lead role in Raising Hope. He was raised in Andersonville.[30]
- Ken Nordine (1921-2019), poet recording artist known for his series of Word Jazz albums. He lived in Edgewater from 1951 until his death in 2019.[31] His former home, a 120-year-old mansion located at 6106 N. Kenmore Avenue, was granted prelimary historic status in March 2020.[32]
- Anna D. Shapiro (born 1966), theatre director and professor. She resides in Andersonville.[27]
References
- ^ a b c d "Community Data Snapshot - East Side" (PDF). cmap.illinois.gov. MetroPulse. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ Official City of Chicago Edgewater Community Map
- ^ "Lincoln (Abraham) Park | Chicago Park District". www.chicagoparkdistrict.com. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ "Lake View Township".
- ^ Street name history
- ISBN 9781608190928.
Uptown chicago entertainment.
- ^ "Chicago Community Area Data". robparal.com. Rob Paral and Associates. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ "Andersonville Chicago Real Estate, Homes for Sale - Falcon Living".
- ^ a b Gregory, Ted (June 23, 2013). "Swedish Chicagoans move to center ice". Chicago Tribune. Section 1; p. 12.
- ^ Daarel Burnette II. "IBM Building, Andersonville District deemed 'Historic'". Chicago Tribune. 2010-03-29.
- ^ "WHERE WE ARE | andersonville".
- ^ "Edgewater Glen Neighborhood Map". Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ "Edgewater Glen Heritage Trees". Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ "City of Chicago :: Landmark recommendation for Edgewater's Riviera Motor Sales Building". Archived from the original on November 12, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ McGhee, Josh (August 22, 2016). "Saying Goodbye To 'Girlstown': Andersonville's Lesbian Population Shrinks". DNAInfo. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ "Gayest zip codes in Illinois". gaydemographics.org. Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ "2000 Census information on Gay and Lesbian Couples, by zip code". gaydemographics.org. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ Pinckney, Renee (June 21, 2012). "Edgewater among top 10 gayest neighborhoods in America". RedEye. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ Rice, Linze; Ali, Tanveer (June 14, 2017). "More Gay, Bisexual Singles Live In Edgewater Than Boystown: Report". DNAInfo. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ "Immigrants from around the world are transforming Houston." Houston Chronicle. March 5, 2015. Updated March 7, 2015. Retrieved on March 8, 2015. "In Chicago, recent Ethiopian arrivals are concentrated in the Edgewater neighborhood."
- DNAInfo. Archived from the originalon September 24, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- DNAInfo. Archived from the originalon February 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "About Edgewater Branch". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ "About Bezazian Branch". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ CTA | Chicago Transit Authority - Train Schedules Archived 2006-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "CTA | System Map - North". Archived from the original on July 19, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2006.
- ^ a b Rodkin, Dennis (July 27, 2020). "Steppenwolf pair list Andersonville greystone". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ a b Hanson, Cynthia (September 1994). "I Was a Teenage Republican". Chicago Magazine. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-375-40766-6.
- ^ Sun Times Wire (December 19, 2013). "Comics with Chicago roots to perform here this weekend". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ^ Freund, Sara (March 6, 2020). "A landmark designation halts the demolition of a historic home in Edgewater". Curbed. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ "Edgewater's Ken Nordine Mansion, At Heart Of Preservation Fight, Sold For $1.38 Million". Block Club Chicago. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
External links
- Official City of Chicago Edgewater Community Map
- Andersonville Chamber of Commerce
- Andersonville neighborhood guide & map on ExploreChicago.org
- Edgewater neighborhood guide & map on ExploreChicago.org
- Edgewater Branch, Chicago Public Library
- Edgewater Chamber of Commerce
- Edgewater Historical Society
- Edgewater Historical Society eScrapbook
- Edgewater Glen Association
- Edgewater Community Council
- Edgewater Development Corporation
- In Chicago, Village Life in a Big City - slideshow by The New York Times
- A Guide to Andersonville: Where to Eat, Shop, and Play
- Senn High School's Big Transformation