Our featured Adventure this week will occur in The North Center / Irving Park Neighborhood. Why you ask? Well our team just got a beautiful new listing and we want you to know how cool this neighborhood is and how affordable this 3 bed, 2.5 bath unit is at 4012 N Mozart.
Our Adventure Plan for this week is family friendly:
Starts the morning off with a visit to Espresso Thy Art – 4019 N Damen Chicago, IL 60618
Take a afternoon window shopping walk by visiting the diverse mix of North center merchants along Lincoln Avenue between Addison and Montrose
Continue the one of the many parks in the neighborhood and enjoy the brisk but sunny weather we are having lately: Revere Park (2509 W Irving Park Rd, 773-478-1220) opened in the 1930s, its name a tribute to American revolutionary Paul Revere — clearly, Irving Parkers of yore were big on the whole War for Independence thing. Revere Park’s current incarnation features baseball fields, tennis courts, an indoor gym and a soft-surface playground for younger kids.
California Park (3843 N California Ave, 773-478-2609), also known as McFetridge Sports Center, is a mecca for Chicago athletes and home to the Chicago Park District’s only indoor hockey and tennis facilities.
For Lunch we recommend for you Vegan and Healthy Conscious eaters — a visit to Cousins 3038 W. Irving Park Rd. Chicago, IL 60618 (773-478-6868)
For you not so adventurous and meat eaters, we thought you’d enjoy Smoque BBQ at 3800 N Pulaski. (they are not open on Mondays!)
Finally a little fantasy fun at one of these local venues for your evening out:
Cornservatory Improv theatre : Home of Corn Productions since 1999, this 60-seat BYOB theater hosts several shows each season. Productions include adult comedy plays, kids’ shows, Halloween and holiday comedies and an improv series. Come check out the current show: In a world where comic book characters are dominating movie screens across the world and even sneaking their way into Sunday comics—the time has come to bring some brand new, distinctive, and remarkable heroes and villains to Chicago storefront theatre. The progeny of Miquela’s love of both cheesy, spandex costumes and formidable musical theatre, Nefarious! explodes onto stage Cornservatory!
Tickets are reasonably priced at 15 dollars.
Or Dinner, Drinks, and Entertainment — In-the-know music fans have long regarded Fantasy Lounge (4400 N Elston Ave, 773-685-8083) as one of the city’s best-kept secrets. This decidedly unpretentious joint hosts live bands most nights of the week and never charges a cover. Call ahead if you don’t like to gamble on your evening’s entertainment, as acts range from rock to jazz to Hip Hop, plus a monthly appearance by Ronnie Vegas, the northwest side’s premiere Elvis tribute artist.
Check out the North Center Neighborhood Video
Check out the Irving Park Neighborhood Video
Thanks to Dream Town Realty for the area Then and Now
When Charles Race purchased a parcel of land outside Chicago in 1869, he intended to set up a modest farm. Race’s business sense got the better of him, however, when he realized that the nearby Chicago & North Western Railroad was a potential jackpot. He set up a depot and named his newly minted town Irvington, in honor of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow author Washington Irving — somewhere down the line the name was changed to Irving Park.
As the town’s population grew, the community advertised itself as a hip new suburb of Chicago, notable for upscale homes, tree-lined streets and easy train access to the city. The Irving Park neighborhood became a mecca for upper class Chicagoans tired of the downtown grind but wary of the longer commute to Evanston or Oak Park. Community groups and arts societies began cropping up, establishing Irving Park as a small-scale cultural center.
The suburb was annexed to the city in 1889 and thereafter settled into a quiet, mostly residential Chicago neighborhood. The stylish yet affordable surroundings made the Irving Park neighborhood a popular address for both the affluent and the city’s growing middle class. Thousands of new homes were built in the 1890s, attracting scores of new residents, with German and Scandinavian immigrants comprising a large chunk of the populace. An influx of Eastern European immigrants in the 1930s brought a strong Polish and Russian influence to the neighborhood, and more recently the area’s Hispanic population has boomed, with Latinos now accounting for nearly half of Irving Park residents.
Today’s Irving Park remains a low-key but vibrant community. The western third of the neighborhood, known as Old Irving Park, is slightly more affluent and houses a good portion of the area’s merchants. Business is mostly limited to main thoroughfares, especially Irving Park Road. Neighborhood taverns and a few live music venues are the extent of Irving Park nightlife, but the galleries and theaters of Logan Square and Wicker Park are only a brief train ride away.
