Living in Beverly: a neighborhood guide

The lay of the land

Beverly, with Morgan Park just south, sits on the Blue Island Ridge, a glacial spine that lifts Longwood Drive thirty-odd feet above the surrounding grid, which by Chicago standards qualifies as mountainous. Western Avenue carries the commercial strip, 95th and 103rd cross it, and the Metra line threads the middle with its own string of small-town stations.

Getting around

The Rock Island Metra line is the neighborhood’s spine, with stops at 91st, 95th, 99th, 103rd, 107th, 111th and 115th, about a half hour to LaSalle Street downtown.

• CTA buses: the #95 on 95th and the #103 and #111 crosstown routes connect to the Red Line at 95th/Dan Ryan.
• Drivers take Western or the Dan Ryan via 95th; Vincennes cuts the diagonal.
• The Major Taylor bike trail runs the old rail spur toward the forest preserves.

Parks and green space

Ridge Park at 96th and Longwood pairs a Prairie-style fieldhouse with courts and leagues, and the Dan Ryan Woods forest preserve begins at 87th with trails, sledding hills and one of the best skyline overlooks on the South Side. The Beverly Arts Center anchors the cultural calendar at 111th and Western.

The housing stock

The Ridge Historic District is among the largest urban historic districts in the country: Tudors, Prairie houses, Victorians and the 1886 Givins Castle, the ridge-top landmark that gives the neighborhood its silhouette. Walter Burley Griffin Place on 104th holds the city’s densest run of houses by the Wright studio alumnus it is named for.

Off the ridge, the bungalow belt takes over on generous lots, which keeps Beverly one of the best square-footage buys on the Metra. Our old-home and roof guides earn their keep here: slate, tile and hundred-year-old framing reward a careful inspection.

The calendar

The South Side Irish Parade rolls down Western each March, one of the largest neighborhood parades in the country, and the Ridge Run has started Memorial Day weekend since 1977. The Beverly Arts Center fills the rest of the calendar with film, music and classes.

Check our events calendar for current dates.

Coffee, close by

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

Two Mile Coffee Bar · 9907 S Walden Pkwy · map
A neighborhood roaster beside the 99th Street Metra stop, with a second bar at 95th.

Original Rainbow Cone · 9233 S Western · map
Five flavors in one slice since 1926; the line on a summer night is part of the experience.

The neighborhoods inside Beverly

Beverly is community area 72 of Chicago’s 77, on the Far Southwest Side. The names people use inside it: East Beverly and West Beverly.

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

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