Living in Lakeview: a neighborhood guide

The lay of the land

Lakeview runs from Diversey Parkway (2800 north) up to Irving Park Road (4000 north), and from the lake west to Ravenswood Avenue. It is really several neighborhoods wearing one name: Wrigleyville clusters around the ballpark at Clark and Addison, the Southport corridor carries boutiques and restaurants under the Brown Line, and Northalsted, the entertainment district along Halsted Street, is one of the liveliest stretches of nightlife in the city.

Lincoln Park sits to the south, Uptown to the north, and North Center across Ravenswood to the west.

Getting around

Two train lines cross here: the Red Line runs express-fast to the Loop from Belmont, Addison, and Sheridan, and the Brown Line loops through Wellington, Belmont, Southport, and Paulina. Belmont is the big transfer station.

• CTA buses on the main streets: the #22 Clark, #36 Broadway, #8 Halsted, #77 Belmont, and #152 Addison.
• Express buses run downtown along DuSable Lake Shore Drive from the Belmont and Irving Park ramps.
• The Lakefront Trail is a car-free ride to the Loop in about twenty minutes.

Parks and green space

The lakefront is the front yard: Belmont Harbor with its boats, the Sydney R. Marovitz golf course under the water tower, the Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary, and mile after mile of the Lakefront Trail. Inland, smaller parks like Gill Park and the playing fields along the lake fill in, and Lincoln Park itself begins immediately to the south.

The housing stock

Lakeview has a little of everything, which is why so many people start their search here: vintage courtyard condos and walk-ups on the inner streets, greystones and two-flats west of the ballpark, high-rises along the lakefront, and new construction scattered throughout. The block of 1904 rowhouses on Alta Vista Terrace, nicknamed the Street of Forty Doors, is a landmarked surprise a block from Wrigley. Condo buyers should read up on assessments and reserves before falling for a vintage unit; our guides below cover it.

Culture and the calendar

• Wrigley Field, from 1914 the second-oldest park in baseball, fills summer with Cubs games and stadium concerts, with the Gallagher Way plaza open year round.
• The 1929 Music Box Theatre on Southport runs film daily under its starlit ceiling, and the Vic, the Athenaeum, the Laugh Factory and the Annoyance keep live calendars nearby.
• The Pride Parade crosses the neighborhood each June, and Northalsted Market Days, one of the largest street festivals in the Midwest, takes over Halsted in August.
• Southport and Belmont host sidewalk festivals through the summer; our events calendar tracks the 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.

Intelligentsia Coffee · 3123 N Broadway · map
The original 1995 location of the roaster that put Chicago coffee on the map, still pulling shots under the same sign.

Osmium Coffee Bar · 1117 W Belmont · map
Dark Matter’s Belmont coffee bar, with a back patio hidden off the street.

Pedestrian Coffee · 939 W Belmont · map
A bright corner room steps from the Belmont L, made for the laptop hour.

Guides worth reading before you tour here

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