Living in Edgewater & Andersonville: a neighborhood guide

The lay of the land

Edgewater runs from Foster to Devon between the lake and Ravenswood Avenue. The eastern blocks stack up along Sheridan Road in lakefront high-rises; the middle is a grid of brick flats and courtyard buildings; and the western portion along Clark Street is Andersonville, the old Swedish commercial district whose water tower still wears the blue and yellow. In between sits Lakewood Balmoral, a historic district of big frame and brick houses on deep lots.

The Bryn Mawr Historic District, the stretch of Bryn Mawr Avenue near the lake, keeps a row of grand 1920s apartment hotels, and the pink 1928 Edgewater Beach Apartments at Foster is the survivor of the famous resort complex that gave the neighborhood its name.

Getting around

The Red Line carries the neighborhood, and it is newly rebuilt: the Lawrence-to-Bryn-Mawr modernization delivered brand-new, fully accessible stations at Berwyn and Bryn Mawr, reopened in July 2025. Granville and Thorndale serve the north end. On the west edge, the new Peterson/Ridge Metra station, opened in 2024, put the UP-North line within reach.

• DuSable Lake Shore Drive begins (and ends) at Hollywood, so the drive downtown starts at the front door.
• The #147 express and #151 run the lakefront; the #22 Clark and #36 Broadway run local.
• The Lakefront Trail’s northern trailhead is at Ardmore.

Parks and the beach

Kathy Osterman Beach at Hollywood, wide, sandy, and calmer than the beaches downtown, is the neighborhood’s summer living room. Berger Park’s two lakefront mansions on Sheridan hold a cultural center and a lakeside cafe lawn. Inland, Senn Park and the Broadway Armory, one of the Park District’s largest indoor facilities, cover the winter months.

The housing stock

The range is the point: vintage and newer high-rise condos on Sheridan with lake views, courtyard buildings and walk-up flats through the middle blocks, two-flats and singles toward Clark, and the landmark-quality houses of Lakewood Balmoral. Andersonville’s side streets carry brick flats above the Clark Street shops. High-rise buyers should read our condo terms on assessments and reserves; house buyers, the older-homes guide.

The calendar

• Midsommarfest closes Clark Street for one of the city’s biggest street festivals each June.
• The Swedish American Museum anchors Clark year round; Women & Children First, one of the country’s oldest feminist bookstores, hosts readings weekly.
• Edgewater’s farmers market runs Saturday mornings in season.

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.

Metropolis Coffee Company · 1039 W Granville · map
The roaster’s own Granville cafe, an Edgewater institution since 2003.

Rivers & Roads Cafe · 1259 W Devon · map
A warm Devon Avenue room on the Rogers Park border, strong on the pastry case.

Guides worth reading before you tour here

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