Let’s See, Bucktown, Wicker Park or, uh…West Town?

Technically, North Avenue divides Bucktown to the north from Wicker
Park to the south, but in most people’s heads, mine included, they become merged into one: Bucktown/Wicker Park. It’s rare that I stop and think, ‘Hey, wait, am I in Bucktown or Wicker Park?’ The neighborhoods flow right into each other, and no matter which side of the Flat Iron Building you are on, you know you’re going to be seeing a lot of stately older mansions from the turn of the century, mixed in with a lot of newer condominium development. 

Of course, Wicker Park is also part of a larger area traditionally called West Town, which includes other smaller neighborhoods such as Ukrainian Village, Humboldt Park and East
Village. Bucktown being smaller and less well known tends to be gobbled up into Wicker
Park.  

One thing common to all of these neighborhoods in the last decade is dramatic price shifts and gentrification, as the area has gone from the place where Nelson Algren wrote his hard-bitten stories of everyday people to the land of the latte and the chocolateria. Today Bucktown/Wicker Park is getting closer and closer to becoming Lincoln Park West.  

Although Wicker Park and Bucktown still provide an artsy edge with the Around the Coyote Festival held every year in the fall, the restaurants and nightlife have definitely fueled an explosion of growth in the area. Many artists find it difficult to find affordable housing in the neighborhood anymore; of course so do most people. Let’s see what a budget of $350,000 can get you at the moment.

In Wicker Park:
1335 N. Artesian #2
$349,000
Beds: 3
Baths: 2 

In Bucktown: 
2300 W. St. Paul #502
$339,000
Beds: 2
Baths: 1.1