Gold Coast The Gold Coast consists mostly of luxury high-rise apartment towers and buildings and stone mansions throughout. Its borders are generally defined as
North Avenue to the north,
Lake Michigan to the east,
Chicago Avenue to the south, and
Clark Street to the west. The Gold Coast became the home of the super-rich in 1885, when
Potter Palmer, former dry goods merchant and owner of the
Palmer House hotel, built a
fanciful castle on
Lake Shore Drive. Over the next few decades, Chicago's elite gradually migrated from
Prairie Avenue to their new homes north of the
Loop. Along almost every boulevard of the Gold Coast has upscale boutiques and shops. Many upscale auto dearlerships are located here. Many of Chicago's best known and highly rated restaurants are located here as well. Also in the area are
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, Gibsons Steakhouse, and the original
Morton's The Steakhouse. The "
Gold Coast Historic District" was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on January 30, 1978. The Gold Coast is zoned to the following
Chicago Public Schools schools: Ogden School and the prestigious
Latin School of Chicago.
Old Town Old Town is a Chicago neighborhood bounded by
North Avenue on the north, Larrabee Street on the northwest,
Division Street on the south, Clybourn Avenue on the southwest, and
LaSalle Street on the east. It crosses portions of the community areas of southern
Lincoln Park, as well as the northern Near North Side, and is part of Chicago's 43rd ward. Old Town includes the
Old Town Triangle Historic District which is bounded on its northwest side by the former Ogden Avenue right-of-way, its northeast side by Lincoln Avenue and Wells Street, and on its south side by North Avenue. This historic district sits within the Old Town Triangle Association (OTTA), a Lincoln Park neighborhood bounded by the former Ogden Avenue right-of-way, Clark Street, and North Avenue. It sits inside the community area of Lincoln Park and is part of Chicago's 43rd ward. Old Town north of North Avenue is in Lincoln Park, and south of North Avenue is part of the Near North Side. Old Town is now an affluent and historic neighborhood, home to many of Chicago's older Victorian-era buildings. However, in the 1950s, most of this area was an enclave to the first emigrants from
Puerto Rico to Chicago, who referred to it as part of
La Clark until commercialization decorated late 1960s shop signs with the name of Old Town. The neighborhood is home to
St. Michael's Church, originally built to serve German immigrants, and one of only 7 to survive the
great Chicago fire. St. Michael's, Holy Name Cathedral, Immaculate Conception, and St. Joseph's Catholic churches all catered to Latinos with a Mass in Spanish. Many of the streets and alleys, particularly in the Old Town Triangle section, predate the
Great Chicago Fire and do not all adhere to the city's typical grid pattern. In 1927, sculptors
Sol Kogen and
Edgar Miller purchased and subsequently rehabilitated a house on Burton Place, near Wells Street, into the
Carl Street Studios. Through the 1930s, an art colony emerged in the neighborhood as artists moved from the
Towertown neighborhood near Washington Square Park. Old Town was home to many gays and lesbians from the 1950s through the 1980s. This was the first "gay ghetto" in Chicago, predating the current large Lake View neighborhood which also contains the Boystown district. There were numerous gay establishments in Old Town (now mostly closed as Lake View is now the main gayborhood) along Wells Street and Old Town was home to the longstanding gay-themed Bijou Theater until it closed in September 2015. As Old Town gentrified, the LGBT population of the nearby Lake View neighborhood continued to increase, as well as the LGBT populations of the Lincoln Park and Andersonville areas. Old Town is home to the famous
Second City improvisational comedy troupe which has launched the careers of many successful comedians and actors. Old Town has three
"L" rapid transit stations:
North/Clybourn,
Sedgwick, and
Clark/Division.
Goose Island Goose Island is an island in Chicago covering 160 acres on the
Chicago River that is completely surrounded by the rest of the city. It is separated from the mainland by the North Branch of the Chicago River on the west and by the North Branch Canal on the east. The canal was dug in 1853 by mayor
William Butler Ogden's administration and was dug for industrial purposes, thus forming the island. After Irish immigrants settled on the island, it took the name Goose Island, as well as that of
Kilgubbin, which was the immigrants' original home in Ireland. The
Goose Island Brewery makes Kilgubbin Red Ale, in honor of this name. The large facility on the north end of Goose Island (visible from North Avenue, but by car only reachable from the south: Division Street to North Branch to 1132 W. Blackhawk) is the
Wrigley Global Innovation Center, a facility, which opened in September 2005 and was designed by
Gyo Obata of
Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum. While cars are able to approach from the south, trains, bicycles, and pedestrians can reach the site via the rail/pedestrian
Cherry Avenue Bridge spanning from North Avenue to Goose Island. Additionally, there is seasonal access from the north via the
Chicago Water Taxi service dock at the south end of the
Cherry Avenue Bridge. On the south end of the island is
Kendall College's Riverworks campus. The southern end of the island is currently undergoing redevelopment with upscale condominiums, townhouses, and apartments.
River North ),
Wrigley Building and
Tribune Tower River North is a neighborhood known for its fine dining, galleries, nightlife, and riverwalk amenities. It is home to the world headquarters of
ConAgra,
Groupon,
Motorola Mobility, and the regional offices of
Yelp. It is bounded by Michigan Avenue to the east,
Chicago Avenue to the north, and the Chicago River to the south and west. River North has many towers and high-rises and some of its other famous structures include the
Merchandise Mart, the
Wrigley Building,
Holy Name Cathedral, the
Marina City towers, and the
House of Blues.
Smokey Hollow River North was previously named Smokey Hollow, at the turn of the 20th century, due to the many factories and forges in the area. Smoke from the factories was often so thick that it blocked the sunlight. At the time, Smokey Hollow was a major transportation hub, with railroad tracks linking the ports along the Chicago River to the surrounding areas. The now mixed-use Merchandise Mart was once a major storage warehouse for goods, and it still has railroad tracks underneath its sprawling structure. Former major retailer
Montgomery Ward also had a major transportation and storage facility in River North. Massive
coal bins were formerly located throughout the neighborhood, for storage of coal transported by ship.
Little Sicily Little Sicily in Chicago was also located in River North. The first Italian Roman Catholic Church in Chicago was Assumption, on Illinois Street, with a mandate to be the parish church for all Italians from
Lake Michigan to the
Mississippi River. Later, Sicilians began to move north from the immediate vicinity of Assumption and began to form their own parishes. Italians whose family roots were from other parts of Italy tended to move west along Grand Street and form parishes west of Assumption.
Cabrini–Green The Near North Side formerly included the now demolished
Cabrini–Green Homes public housing project that once housed 15,000 subsidized tenants. It was made up primarily of high-rise and mid-rise buildings. The apartment buildings opened in 1958 and 1962, while the shuttered rowhouses (called the Frances Cabrini Homes, a few of which still exist) had opened in 1942. Cabrini–Green stood in what once was the former Italian enclave called the Little Sicily neighborhood, and the former site of St. Dominic's Church. In the 1920s, Little Sicily developed a reputation for poverty and crime. As
gentrification began to take hold in the 1990s, the buildings made way for new upscale developments. The final Cabrini-Green tower was demolished in 2011. Following the conclusion of a civil lawsuit, the former Cabrini-Green site was transformed and revitalized with new upscale development spurred by the growth of Old Town to the north, and the already affluent areas of the
Gold Coast to the east and River North to the south.
Goose Island, which sits to the west, is currently undergoing new development.
River North The
River North neighborhood got its name from Chicago real estate developer Albert Friedman (chief executive of Friedman Properties Ltd.), who in 1974 started to buy, restore, and build commercial property in the southeast sector. Much of the area was a
shabby urban neighborhood. In an effort to attract tenants Friedman began calling the area "River North". Along with hundreds of art galleries, the area has many taverns, rooftop bars, dance clubs, popular restaurants, and entertainment venues. Between the years 2000 and 2010, the population in the four census tracts covering River North increased by an average of nearly 82%, boosting population from 9,835 in 2000 to 17,892 in 2010. Districts of River North include: • the gallery district, primarily along Superior and Huron streets between Wells and Orleans; • a theme-restaurant area with many tourist-oriented restaurants, surrounding Clark and Ontario; • the cathedral district, an area with many new skyscrapers surrounding
Holy Name Cathedral (Catholic) and
St. James Cathedral (Episcopal), which are located near State and Superior, and Huron and Wabash, respectively. The
Moody Bible Institute is not located too far away at Chicago Avenue and LaSalle Drive; • a design district, with shops and showrooms selling commercial and luxury interior furnishings, in the blocks north of the
Merchandise Mart; • and Kingsbury Park, an area of newly built residential high-rises surrounding Montgomery Ward Park, at Erie Street and the Chicago River. River North is serviced by four CTA "L" train stations: the subway stations of Chicago Avenue (Red Line) and Grand Avenue (Red Line); and the elevated stations of Chicago Avenue (Brown Line) and Merchandise Mart (Brown Line).
Streeterville is the south border (right) of the Near North Side and
Streeterville and the north border (left) of
Chicago Loop,
Lakeshore East and
Illinois Center (from
Lake Shore Drive's
Link Bridge with
Trump International Hotel and Tower at jog in the river in the center) Streeterville is the easternmost neighborhood in Chicago north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south,
Michigan Avenue on the west, and
Lake Michigan on the north and east. Streeterville houses some of Chicago's tallest skyscrapers (such as the
John Hancock Center); many upscale stores, hotels, restaurants; and
Northwestern University's
Northwestern Memorial Hospital,
Feinberg School of Medicine,
School of Professional Studies,
Kellogg School of Management's downtown campus, and
School of Law. The number one tourist attraction in the Midwest,
Navy Pier, is located in Streeterville. The neighborhood also houses the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile is a stretch of North Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River and
Oak Street. Along this portion of Michigan Avenue is a mixture of luxury stores, restaurants, office buildings, and hotels. The area has a high concentration of the city's major media firms and
advertising agencies as well, including the
Chicago Tribune newspaper. The street is the home of Chicago's famous
Water Tower landmark, Water Tower Park with its historic clock, and the eight-level
Water Tower Place shopping center which grew up next door to the landmark. North of the shopping center can be found the famous
John Hancock Center, also known as 875 North Michigan Avenue tower; the
Art Deco Palmolive Building; and the lavish
Drake Hotel that sits across from a beach. ==Notable attractions==