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About Wicker Park
Wicker Park is a Chicago neighborhood
northwest of the Loop, near Bucktown. Charles and Joel Wicker purchased 80 acres
of land along Milwaukee Avenue in 1870 and laid out a subdivision with a mix of
lot sizes surrounding a four-acre park. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 spurred
the first wave of development, as homeless Chicagoans looked to build new
houses. Wicker Park proved especially popular with German and Swedish merchants,
who built large mansions along the neighborhood's choicest streets--particularly
on Hoyne and Pierce, just southwest of North & Damen (then Robey). At the end of
the 19th century, the area was known as "the ethnic Gold Coast" and Hoyne was
known as "Beer Baron Row," as many of Chicago's wealthiest brewers built
mansions there. In the 1890s and 1900s, immigration from Poland and the
completion of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Lines greatly boosted the
population density of West Town, especially in areas east of Wicker Park; the
corner of Division, Milwaukee, and Ashland retains the moniker "Polish Triangle"
to this day, and the exiled government of Poland met in Wicker Park during World
War I.
After World War II, many Poles moved to newer, less crowded housing further
northwest, and Wicker Park became more ethnically diverse with an influx of
Puerto Rican immigrants. Some urban renewal projects were undertaken to combat
"urban blight" in some parts of the neighborhood, but disinvestment continued at
a rapid clip. Chicago and Wicker Park reached a nadir in the 1970s, a decade
when the city overall lost 11% of its population; during the 1970s, hundreds of
insurance arsons were reported in Wicker Park, and many small factories in the
area (many in woodworking) closed or moved away. Efforts by community
development groups to stabilize the community through new affordable-housing
construction in the 1980s coincided with the arrival of artists attracted by the
neighborhood's easy access to the Loop, cheap loft space in the abandoned
factories, and distinctly urban feel.
Today, the neighborhood is best known for a lively hipster community of artists
and musicians; however, gentrification has recently brought some of the yuppie
population into the area.
The borders of the neighborhood are generally accepted to be Ashland to the east
(at 1600 W), the above-grade Bloomingdale Line to the north (at 1800 N),
Division to the south (at 1200 N), and California to the west (at 2800 W). These
boundaries are not hard and fast, and may change slightly over time. Both the
East Village and Ukrainian Village are to the south, Humboldt Park is to the
west, and Bucktown is to the north.
Notable residents include Nelson Algren, who lived on the third floor at 1958 W.
Evergreen Ave between 1959-1975. Much of Wicker Park was designated as a Chicago
Landmark District in 1991.