Lakeview is divided into Lakeview East and Lakeview West, with Lakeview East having distinctive areas that include Wrigleyville and Northalsted, formerly known as Boystown, the city's gay village. The boundaries of Lakeview are 1800 west to the west, Montrose to the north and Clark to the east north of Irving Park, but the rest is of Irving Park to the north,
Lake Michigan to the east, and Diversey to the south.
Lakeview (East) Lakeview East is considered part of the Greater Lakeview area. Lakeview East expanded its boundaries in 2017 to include the Central Lakeview area which is home to
Wrigley Field. Lakeview East boundaries are defined as: Lake Shore Drive on the East, Racine on the West, Diversey Parkway on the South and Irving Park on the north. Lakeview East area consists of two of the largest entertainment districts in Chicago,
Boystown and Wrigleyville. Lakeview East is notable for its Jewish population and has Four synagogues, Chabad of East Lakeview,
Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel (
Modern Orthodox),
Anshe Emet Synagogue (Conservative), and
Temple Sholom (Reform and largest synagogue in the Chicago area). Lakeview, especially along the Lake Shore Drive and Broadway corridors, consists of upscale
condominiums and higher-rent
mid-rise apartments and
lofts. Small businesses,
boutiques, restaurants and community institutions are found along North Broadway and North Halsted Street.
Gentrification, diversification and population shift have changed Lakeview, with new developments and new businesses such as
Mariano's and
Target. Historic churches remain preserved as integral parts of the community, such as Lakeview
Presbyterian Church and
Saint Peter's
Episcopal Church.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is the residence of an
episcopal vicar and
auxiliary bishop of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It is also the
mother church of the local
vicariate and the Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach, controversially created by Cardinal
Joseph Bernardin, which is one of the largest of the few gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholic
welcoming congregations created and authorized by a
diocese in the United States. The
Lakeview Historic District, which is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places, is in southeastern Lakeview, as is the Newport Avenue District, which spans Newport Avenue between Halsted Avenue and Clark Street and includes the historic
Vautravers Building.
Wrigleyville at
Addison station.|left Formerly a working-class neighborhood, Wrigleyville is the nickname of the neighborhood directly surrounding Wrigley Field.
Wrigley Field is the home of the
Chicago Cubs. Within Lakeview East, its borders run from north to south, Grace Street to Cornelia Avenue and from east to west, Wilton Avenue to Racine Avenue. Wrigleyville features low-rise brick buildings and houses, some with rooftop
bleachers colloquially called
Wrigley Rooftops where people can purchase seats to watch baseball games or concerts that, while generally more expensive than tickets for seats within the park itself, come with all you can eat and drink service. Proprietors are able to do so under special agreements with the Cubs organization. Many Wrigleyville bars and restaurants (particularly on North Clark Street) feature sports-oriented themes. Bars such as Sluggers, Murphy's Bleachers, Casey Moran's, Merkle's, Sports Corner and
The Cubby Bear host the Cubs crowds near the Wrigley Field intersection of North Clark Street and West Addison Street.
Boystown on Halsted street, welcomes visitors to the landmark gay village. in 1985 on Broadway in Lakeview The Boystown section of Lakeview holds the distinction of being the nation's first gay village officially recognized by a big city government. In 1998, then
Mayor Richard M. Daley endeavored to create a $3.2 million restoration of the North Halsted Street corridor, and the city erected rainbow pylon landmarks along the route. In 2012, the Legacy Project began the ongoing process of installing plaques on the pylons that commemorate important people and milestones in LGBT history. It is also the cultural center of one of the largest
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual, and
transgender (
LGBT) communities in the United States. Boystown has grown into a cultural center for the LGBT residents living within the
Chicago metropolitan area. The area caters to Chicago nightlife, featuring more than 60 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender bars, restaurants and nightclubs. It is now home to
Center on Halsted, an LGBT community center that hosts an array of public programs open to the public that provide fun, educational and enlightening opportunities for members of the LGBT community and allies. The area is host to the
Chicago Pride Parade, one of the largest
gay pride parades in the nation, which takes place in Lakeview on the last Sunday of each June. The community area has also been host to several other major events: In 2006 it played host to an international
sports and
cultural festival,
Gay Games VII, with its closing ceremonies held at Wrigley Field and headlined by
Cyndi Lauper. The area also holds the
Northalsted Market Days, an annual two-day festival event geared toward the LGBT community. Boystown also includes some of
Chicago's off-Loop theater, specialty restaurants,
greystone and
brownstone walk-up buildings and other historic architecture, trendy fashion outlets, wine boutiques, chain stores, and independent shops. The district's informal boundaries, overlapping with Lakeview East, are
Irving Park Road on the north, Broadway on the east, Wellington Avenue on the south, and
Sheffield Avenue on the west. The
Center on Halsted, an LGBT community center, is also located in this area. In November 2020, the
Chicago Reader, an
alternative newspaper, published a discriminatory article criticizing the area for focusing on "gay men." This resulted in the Boystown name being dropped by some anti-gay businesses and community organizations in exchange for "Northalsted”. Despite the renaming efforts, the area is still colloquially called Boystown. Some residents have voiced concern that the name change will dilute the neighborhood's history as a haven for the gay community.
Lakeview (West) West Lakeview is located along the border of the
Roscoe Village community area. West Lakeview Neighbors, a residential organization, defines West Lakeview as the area bounded by West Addison Street on the north, West Diversey Parkway on the south, North Southport Avenue on the east and North Ravenswood Avenue on the west. Affordable real estate and popular culture, such as that found along busy Southport Avenue, draws young adults from all over the city for quiet living or casual dining. A historic destination that opened just north of West Lakeview on August 22, 1929, is the
Music Box Theatre, which opened as a new technology sound film venue. The theater brands itself today as "Chicago's year-round film festival". Dinkel's Bakery, which was located in West Lakeview near Lincoln and Roscoe, operated in the neighborhood for a century (1922–2022).
Sheridan Station Corridor Sheridan Road, from Irving Park Road to the North and Byron/W. Sheridan Street to the South, is the home of the CTA's
Sheridan station. The neighborhood name, although only comprising a small area, helps to differentiate this particular Sheridan Road from the other parts of Sheridan Road in Lakeview, Uptown, Edgewater and Rogers Park (and into the North Shore suburbs). This area was once known colloquially as "Restaurant Row". The strip itself has been located at various times in either the 44th or 46th ward. It is distinguished by the Sheridan "L" Station as well as its proximity to Wrigley Field. Neither technically East, West or Central Lakeview, it is seen as the gateway between Uptown to the North and Lakeview to the South. The residential neighborhood organization is Lakeview East Neighbors Association and the business district has recently been enveloped by Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce. ==Government and politics==