Chicagopalooza: Wicker Park Addition

 Kim and I have moved to the Windy City. I am working at Northwestern and we live right in the heart of downtown. Chicago is a city comprised of 77 distinct communities and we're trying to explore them on my days off. Today, we visited Wicker Park. This is northwest of downtown, with a hip, happening center, filled with trendy stores (think: Dr. Marten, Urban Outfitter) and bars loaded with Bears fans.    We biked up through the city. Chicago has numerous bike lanes, and Milwaukee (the one that angles from southeast to northwest) even has a separate, protected, two lane bike path. 

Wicker Park was a wealthy area in the 1880s-1920s, and the well-to-do Germans and Scandinavians  built some big houses. One of the streets was known as Brewer Row, as so many of the residents owned breweries. Evidently, there was some money in the trade. Then, the area (and world) economy faltered.

The mansions either fell into disrepair or adapted to the new environment. The brick one above on the right was the largest home, but it also was home to some serious troubles. The owner was murdered by the housekeeper, the wife was institutionalized, and the eldest son was imprisoned for embezzlement. The gorgeous house with the cannon in the front was a American Legion headquarters for a period of time. One became a consulate, while others were boarding houses. The area has returned to being desirable and many of the houses have been returned to their former glory. We did pass some that were still incredibly derelict, but too far of a commute for me! Normally, we stop for an outdoor libation and lunch, but today we continued home.