Living in Bucktown: a neighborhood guide

The lay of the land

Bucktown sits just north of Wicker Park, and the 606 trail runs straight through the middle of it along the old Bloomingdale rail line. The blocks are a mix of restored cottages and new construction, and they tend to be quieter than the busy junction to the south. The name goes back to the goats kept on the small lots here in the 1800s.

It is bounded roughly by the Kennedy Expressway to the east, Western Avenue to the west, and Fullerton to the north.

Getting around

The Blue Line Damen and Western stations both serve Bucktown and run to the Loop and to O’Hare. The Clybourn Metra station sits on the eastern edge for the UP-North and UP-Northwest lines out to the northern suburbs.

• CTA buses on the main streets: the #56 Milwaukee, #72 North, #50 Damen, #49 Western, #73 Armitage, and #74 Fullerton.
• The Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) runs along the east edge, with ramps at North, Armitage, Damen, and Fullerton.
• The 606 trail runs directly through, with a Damen Avenue access point.

Parks and green space

Holstein Park at 2200 N. Oakley is the neighborhood park, with a fieldhouse, an outdoor summer pool, and a playground. The 606 provides the long green corridor through the middle of the neighborhood, a car-free path that connects west to Humboldt Park and east toward the river.

The housing stock

The oldest stock is the workers cottages built between about 1880 and 1920, brick or frame, low to the ground; around them are greystones, two-flats, converted lofts, and a lot of new-construction single-family homes and townhomes, since Bucktown has seen more infill building than most of its neighbors. It sits within the larger Logan Square community area, which is why some records file it there.

The calendar

• The Bucktown Arts Fest takes over Holstein Park in late August.
• Holstein Park runs summer programming and the outdoor pool through the warm months.

See our events calendar for current dates.

Coffee, close by

An easy first errand in a new place: the nearby rooms with good espresso and a table to land at, each checked as open when this guide was last updated.

Ipsento Coffee · 2035 N Western · map
The original Bucktown room of the roaster the neighborhood grew up with.

Ipsento 606 · 1813 N Milwaukee · map
Their second bar, steps from a Bloomingdale Trail ramp, which makes it the natural end of a 606 ride.

Guides worth reading before you tour here

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