Living in Riverdale: a neighborhood guide

The lay of the land

The Riverdale community area, not to be confused with the suburb across the river, is Chicago’s quiet far edge: the Little Calumet River and the Beaubien Woods forest preserve along the south, industry along the east, and three distinct residential pockets. Golden Gate’s modest houses date to the 1940s; Eden Green, built in the late 1960s, was a planned green community developed by Black investors, a landmark of its kind that still keeps its parkland core; and Altgeld Gardens, the vast 1945 public housing community, is where a young Barack Obama spent his years as a community organizer in the 1980s, a chapter he has called the best education he ever had.

The green edge

Beaubien Woods puts hiking, fishing and a boat launch on the Little Calumet at the neighborhood’s door, the Major Taylor Trail’s southern reaches connect toward the forest preserves, and the river corridor has been drawing steady restoration work. The Red Line extension under construction to 130th will land its final station at the neighborhood’s shoulder, the biggest transit change this corner of the city has ever been promised.

The housing stock

Golden Gate and Eden Green hold the private housing, modest ranches, rows and the Eden Green towers-in-a-park, at some of the lowest entry prices in Chicago. This is a patient, eyes-open market where the coming Red Line station is the long-view story; our buyers FAQ and house systems guide cover the fundamentals, and we will walk any block with you and say exactly what we see.

The neighborhoods inside Riverdale

Riverdale is community area 54 of Chicago’s 77, on the Far Southeast Side. The names people use inside it: Altgeld Gardens, Eden Green and Golden Gate.

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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