Living in Albany Park: a neighborhood guide

The lay of the land

Albany Park sits where the Brown Line ends, bounded loosely by the river on the north and east, Montrose on the south and Elston on the west. Lawrence Avenue and Kedzie Avenue are the two commercial spines, and the blocks between them run remarkably consistent: two-flats, bungalows, courtyard buildings, repeat.

The North Branch of the Chicago River wraps the neighborhood, and the bridges at Lawrence, Wilson and Montrose stitch it to North Park and Ravenswood Manor next door.

Getting around

The Brown Line terminal at Kimball and Lawrence gives the neighborhood a seated ride to the Loop, with a second stop at Kedzie serving the eastern blocks.

• CTA buses: the #81 Lawrence, #82 Kimball-Homan, #78 Montrose, and #93 California-Dodge.
• The Edens (I-94) is a short drive west via Wilson or Montrose.
• Bike routes follow Manor Avenue and the river toward the North Shore Channel Trail.

Parks and green space

Ronan Park runs along the river off Lawrence with a natural-area trail down to the water, and Eugene Field Park sits across the river on the North Park edge with a fieldhouse and ball fields. River Park, just southeast where the Channel meets the river, adds a pool and one of the city’s canoe and kayak launches.

The housing stock

Albany Park holds some of the densest two-flat blocks in Chicago, most of it brick and built between 1910 and 1930, with bungalows filling in toward the western edge and courtyard apartment buildings near the L. It is exactly the housing our two-flat and masonry guides were written for: income-minded buyers get a rental unit under the same roof, and first-time buyers get the sturdiest construction era in the city.

The calendar

The daily calendar here is the food: Lawrence and Kedzie hold one of the city’s great concentrations of Middle Eastern, Korean, Mexican and Central American kitchens and bakeries, and a warm-season farmers market sets up near the Kimball terminal.

Check our events calendar for current dates.

Fuel, close by

An easy first errand in a new place, each checked as open when this guide was last updated.

Noon O Kabab · 4661 N Kedzie · map
The Kedzie corner institution for Persian kabab and stews, steps from the Brown Line.

The Lawrence Avenue bakeries · Lawrence & Kedzie · map
Walk a few blocks in either direction and you pass baklava, conchas and fresh flatbread before the coffee cools.

The neighborhoods inside Albany Park

Albany Park is community area 14 of Chicago’s 77, on the Far North Side. The names people use inside it: Mayfair, North Mayfair and Ravenswood Manor.

The community areas have been the city’s official map since the 1920s; the neighborhood names inside them are the ones people use. All 77 on one interactive map.

Guides worth reading before you tour here

Written by our team, free, no sign-in.