The Pride of Andersonville

When I first came out, Andersonville was to Chicago what Park Slope, Brooklyn was to NYC. It was “where the girls are” and sometimes it was the ONLY place the girls were!

But times have changed and this neighborhood is no exception: you are as likely to see a straight couple squabbling with their multi-ethnic children as you are to see two dads or two moms doing exactly the same thing.

The attractions are obvious. The motto of Andersonville is “A quaint village in the heart of a world class city.” It’s filled with mostly leafy quiet streets, stately row houses, ornate Victorians. Initially, it was settled in the early 19th century by immigrants from Sweden and you can certainly see its history in such places as the glorious Swedish Bakery (5348 N. Clark Street), the fascinating Swedish American Heritage Museum (5211 N. Clark Street) and the absolutely lovely Svea breakfast eatery (5236 N. Clark St.).

In addition to history and architecture, Andersonville residents enjoy a relatively short commute downtown on the Red Line CTA (Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stops) which at $2.00 each way is certainly cheaper than gas. They also have the option of the Ravenswood Metra line. Or a variety of bus lines (#22 Clark, #92 Foster, and #36 Broadway) as well as easy access from Foster Avenue to Lake Shore Drive if driving into the Loop is their preference.

And while all of this is nice and sounds great “on paper”, it’s not why I love Andersonville and I’d bet it’s not the reason so many Chicagoans have been motivated to move there in the last 10 years particularly.

Why I love this area has much more to do with a certain “laid back yet luxurious” feeling that the neighborhood exudes the same way it exudes Suburus and Starbucks (not that there’s anything wrong with either of those!). This is a place where you can literally walk almost anywhere. And such great places to walk to!

There’s Women and Children First (5233 N. Clark St.) for books, gifts, literary readings, cool music collection, and a great slightly cruisy, slightly crunchy bookstore vibe that you won’t get at any Border’s or Barnes and Noble I can guarantee you.

You can watch theater at Neo-Futurarium (5153 Ashland) – on certain nights you roll a dice and whatever it comes up: that’s your ticket price. Points for creativity! After getting your culture fix, there’s Reza’s (5255 N Clark St,) for fabulous Persian, Mediterranean, and vegetarian cuisine (warning: wear your eating pants!). There’s Simon’s (5210 N Clark St,) for cocktails -try the glog as Christmas – it’s famous for a reason. Oh and Madrigals (5316 N. Clark) – a great little club for your more adventurous friends! And of course the capacious GLBT dance clubs that are StarGaze (5419 N Clark St) and Atmosphere (5355 N. Clark) are anchors of this neighborhood as well.

And let me not forget people watching here which is, in a word, superb. I am a big time people watcher and I can tell you that Andersonville has always been a “hot” neighborhood in more than just architectural ways! If you are single, you’ll find cute young things here of every persuasion -and they can afford to live in a great neighborhood too (bonus!) — even if their parents ARE footing the rent until they finish Film School.

Photo credit: bindifry