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Block after block of brick two-flats and bungalows, the Brown Line ending at Kimball, and the North Branch of the river curling around the neighborhood with parkland along it. Lawrence and Kedzie carry two of the best food corridors in the city.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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If a two-flat is in your plans, Albany Park is one of the first places we look. Tell us your numbers and we will send what is coming up and walk any building with you.
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