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Edgewater
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Neighborhood Promotion and Neighborhood Map Thumbnail
Explore This Neighborhood
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Edgewater continued...
Even with the beaches and Andersonville still drawing crowds, Edgewater is slowly establishing its own reputation as a community of theaters, restaurants, pleasing residential areas and an architectural legacy.
It's home to two architecture-based historic districts, both on the National Register.
The Bryn Mawr Historic District (Bryn Mawr Avenue from Sheridan to Broadway Avenue) comprises commercial and residential buildings including the castle-like Manor House (1908) and the flamingo-pink Edgewater Beach Apartments (1928). The latter's architectural style mimics the namesake hotel that stood next door, a favorite stop for celebrities and the powerful (Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Eisenhower were among its guests) before it was torn down in the late 1960s.
A short walk west, the Lakewood Balmoral Historic District (Bryn Mawr Avenue to the north, Broadway the east, Foster Avenue to the south and Glenwood Avenue to the west) is primarily a concentration of residences, many dating to the 1890s, that together make this one of Chicago's more timeless communities and a lovely place for a leisurely stroll.
Within easy strolling distance is a diversity of restaurants that's boggling even for a diverse Chicago neighborhood. To Andersonville's famously eclectic stretch of Clark Street (Algerian, Italian, Swedish, Persian and more), add Broadway and its feeder streets. It's home to the city's only Laotian restaurant, Sabai-Dee (Broadway at Balmoral Avenue), whose featured dishes sound Thai but aren't quite. A few blocks north in the Bryn Mawr Historic District are two interesting "little" restaurants -- The Little India and That Little Mexican Cafe. Another "little" -- a diner, the Little Corner Restaurant -- is further north, on Broadway. Also on Broadway are several Ethiopian restaurants whose food (try the yebeg tibs be berbere) isn't as mysterious as it may sound (the menu translates yebeg tibs be berbere as "spicy stewed lamb").
"Just go for it," says Maritu Tqkala, whose mother owns Ras Dashen (5846 N. Broadway Ave.) and does most of the cooking. "Just try it. Never be afraid to try new things."
Add to that a few pubs on Broadway -- Moody's, the Double Bubble (aka "The Bubble") and Hamilton's -- beloved by students from nearby Loyola University and less-nearby Northwestern University for their conviviality and burgers, and hunger is not an option in this neighborhood.
Neither is boredom. Raven Theatre (Clark and Granville Avenues) has been staging challenging stuff since 1983 and in its present home since 2002. Something improvisational and, therefore, unpredictable is usually on the bill at Neo-Futurists, on Ashland Avenue near Foster. Redtwist Theatre does big things in a compact space in the Bryn Mawr Historic District.
Dancers learn and develop their art at Joel Hall Dancers & Center, on Clark Street a couple of blocks south of Raven Theatre, and perform at various venues around the city; the Writers Workshop, Broadway at Berwyn, nurtures artists who sculpt with words.
And when visitors have their fill of food and culture -- or before they partake -- this is, after all, Edgewater. It's called that for a reason. It may not always be easy to reach the beach, but it beckons.
Not sure where it is? Here's an inside-Chicago tip: It's always east.
For more information about Edgewater, please contact:
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