Living in the South Loop & Printers Row: a neighborhood guide

The lay of the land

The South Loop runs from Ida B. Wells Drive south toward 26th between the river and the lake. Printers Row is the historic core: two blocks of Dearborn where the country’s printing trade once ran its presses, ending at the 1885 Dearborn Station clock tower, the city’s oldest surviving train terminal. East of Michigan the land opens into Grant Park, the Museum Campus, Field, Shedd, and Adler, and Northerly Island. South along Michigan, Motor Row’s landmark auto showrooms include 2120 S. Michigan, the Chess Records studio where the blues went electric, kept today as Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven.

The Prairie Avenue Historic District at 18th holds the 1887 Glessner House and the 1836 Clarke House, the oldest house in Chicago, a reminder that this was the city’s first grand address.

Getting around, including Midway

Roosevelt is the hinge: Red, Green, and Orange lines share the station, which means the Loop in minutes and a one-seat Orange Line ride to Midway. The Metra Electric runs under Grant Park with stops at Museum Campus/11th, and DuSable Lake Shore Drive and the Stevenson put the whole region in reach by car.

• The lakefront trail, Grant Park paths, and the Roosevelt bike lanes make this one of the most bikeable addresses in the city.
• The #146 and #130 buses shuttle the Museum Campus; the #62 runs Archer to the Southwest Side.
• Amtrak at Union Station is one stop away.

Parks, museums, and the lake

Grant Park’s southern half belongs to the neighborhood: the museums, the gardens, Buckingham Fountain’s evening show, and the 12th Street Beach tucked behind the planetarium. Northerly Island’s prairie loop is the quietest mile on the lakefront, and the Ping Tom pagoda park is just across the river in Chinatown for a river-walk change of scene.

The housing stock

Printers Row’s lofts are the originals, heavy-timber and concrete printing houses converted in the late 1970s and 80s, before lofts were fashionable anywhere. Dearborn Park and Central Station add townhouse and mid-rise enclaves; Michigan and Roosevelt carry the glass towers; and Motor Row and the Prairie District mix landmark conversions with new buildings. High-rise and loft buyers live and die on the association paperwork, so read our condo terms and ask us for the building’s track record before you offer.

The calendar

• The Printers Row Lit Fest, running since 1985, fills Dearborn with books each September.
• Grant Park’s festival season, and the museums’ late-night events, run all year.
• Soldier Field and Wintrust Arena event days shape traffic and parking; we flag them in showing plans.

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.

Overflow Coffee Bar · 1449 S Michigan · map
The Michigan Avenue community room, a South Loop staple for a decade and counting.

Sweet Bean · 1152 S Wabash · map
A friendly Wabash counter for coffee and breakfast before the museums.

Buttercup · 75 E 16th · map
A small bakery-cafe on 16th, strong on the morning pastry.

Guides worth reading before you tour here

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