 |
- Chicago Real Estate
Resources
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Wicker Park Real Estate Chicago
Neighborhood Information
Location
Wicker Park is located Northwest of Chicago's Loop. Its boundaries are:
North from Division Street (1200 North) to North Avenue (1600 North) and
West from Ashland Avenue (1600 West) to Western Avenue (2400 West).
Community Info / History
In 1870, when the Wicker brothers, Charles and Joel, purchased 80 acres
of land along Milwaukee Avenue they planned to develop a neighborhood
where people of all economic backgrounds could afford to live and work.
Deviating from the traditional Chicago grid, they designed housing lots
of various sizes & some large enough to accommodate mansions with broad
lawns and coach houses, others for middle class homes, and just the
right size for a for cozy cottage. To further entice homeowners, the
Wicker brothers threw in a 4-acre public park.
After Chicago's Great Fire of 1871 Wicker Park home buying boomed as
thousands of Northern European immigrants came to rebuild the city. A
second boom occurred in the 1970s and 1980s as artists discovered Wicker
Park's charm and grace.
More than 130 years later, Wicker Park real estate still is an
attractive investment because the neighborhood retains the quietness of
gentler times mixed with contemporary hipness. Artists mingle with their
neighbors at local Wicker Park watering holes, young professionals who
live in Wicker Park lofts spend evenings listening to live music without
leaving the neighborhood, and on weekends everyone takes guilty pleasure
in leisurely brunches and Ann Sather's cinnamon rolls.
Though small in size, Wicker Park offers current homeowners big city
amenities, such as hospitals (St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center and
Saint Elizabeth Hospital), a public library (West Town Library) , and a
post office.
Wicker Park Real Estate
The median price for a Wicker Park home is estimated at $269,900. Homes
on Wicker Park's quiet residential streets range from historic landmark
mansions to newly constructed lofts and condos. While Queen Anne and
Second Empire homes facing Wicker Park possess their own elegant cachet,
a landmark district of residences built between 1870 and 1930 is also
desirable. These include Italianate, Gothic, Eastlake and Romanesque
style homes. Lofts and condos are scattered throughout the Wicker Park
neighborhood Search for Wicker Park Real Estate.
Transportation
Wicker Park homeowners commute to jobs in the Loop by bike, public
transportation, or car. Public transportation options include the,
#9Ashland bus, the #70 Division bus, #56 Milwaukee bus and the Blue Line
EL which also extends northwest to O'Hare. Easy access to the Kennedy
Expressway lies just east of Wicker Park. Parking problems inherent in a
neighborhood dotted with popular restaurants and entertainment venues
are somewhat alleviated by Wicker Park's permit parking system that
limits parking on several streets only to residents. Of course, there's
always the old-timers' effective but illegal method of reserving a
parking space with a broken chair.
Schools
Wicker Park home buyers will find that the neighborhood's high school
and 3 elementary schools reflect the richness of the community. Roberto
Clemente High School offers a traditional college prep program and
innovative courses that train students for careers in culinary arts,
fashion and business. The K-8 schools are no less imaginative. The
bilingual immersion program at Sabin Magnet School draws its student
body from all areas of Chicago. At the Jose de Diego Community Academy,
students participate in music education funded in part by VH1 Save the
Music and ceramic classes taught by staff from the famous Lill Street
Art Center. Programs at the A.N. Pritzker School range from special
education to a regional gifted program, with preference given to Wicker
Park residents, and an after school performing arts program partnered
with the Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Nightlife / Entertainment / Restaurants
Wicker Park homeowners can walk to many Chicago hot spots that tourists
dream about. On any night, audiences pour into clubs for live
performances of jazz, blues and rock. The famous Double Door on
Milwaukee hosts new artists, locals and seasoned groups like the Rolling
Stones. Dining options include: taco stands, Italian, Vegetarian, Middle
Eastern, Latin, Sushi, Asian, pancake houses, tearooms and Spring,
Celebrity chef, Shawn McClain's, newest restaurant proclaimed by Bon
Appetit as among the best ethnic restaurants in the nation.
Festivals / Parks
Each autumn the Wicker Park neighborhood hosts the Around the Coyote
Arts Festival, perhaps Chicago's most famous art festival. For one
weekend a year, 60 local art studios and a dozen or so galleries open
their doors to the public. In recent years, film, dance, live
performances and kids' programs were added.
An ornate cast-iron fountain and tall shade trees surrounding the 4-acre
triangular shaped parcel that is Wicker Park give it a European flavor,
but like the rest of the neighborhood, the park is a mix. Energetic
games of sixteen-inch softball, strictly a Chicago sport, are played
evenings throughout the summer while neighbors stroll among the greenery
and sculpture as though they were touring an English estate. Although
the small field house doesn't have a swimming pool, an arrangement with
Clemente High School provides the public access to its indoor pool. Both
dog haters and dog lovers are satisfied with the fenced dog area at the
East edge of the park.
|
|
