Lakeview

The Lakeview neighborhood takes up a substantial portion of Chicago's North Side, encompassing a wide range of activities for the Chicago visitor and resident. From the festive Wrigleyville area, with its Chicago Cubs fans, to the more laid-back Uptown, Lakeview is a vast area a traveler could easily spend several days exploring. Lakeview’s borders are roughly defined as Diversey Parkway on the south; Ravenswood Avenue on the west; Irving Park Road on the north and Lake Michigan to the east. The neighborhood itself owes its creation to a devastating cholera outbreak in 1854 that drove many Chicagoans northward, away from the central business district to what was then open farmland. The locals that took refuge here began homesteading efforts that rapidly formed a community of new immigrants and displaced Chicagoans.

Lakeview is still a popular settling place for new residents to Chicago. Recent college graduates and young professionals are attracted by easy public transit access to the Loop, with the Red Line and many CTA bus routes passing through the neighborhood. Lakeview’s many popular restaurants and plentiful nightlife conveniently await them close to home after a long day of work. One of the area’s most popular restaurants, Ian’s Pizza, is also one of its more recent additions. Its delicious and wacky pizzas by the slice (buffalo chicken and bleu cheese, anyone?) make it a favorite for locals. Another great dining destination is the subdued Radhuni Indian Kitchen, serving exceptional Indian cuisine at great prices and the added bonus of being a BYOB establishment. Lakeview’s nightlife selection ranges from the many sports bars of Wrigleyville to the late-night Neo or the hipster vibe of the Ginger Man.

During the day, Lakeview offers visitors a plethora of activities to suit nearly any taste: the beaches of Lake Michigan beckon sun-worshippers in summer, while the pleasant Lake Shore Path gives the fitness-minded a great place to go for a run. For those visitors more interested in leisure, a Cubs game at historic Wrigley Field, or a shopping excursion down Belmont and Broadway Avenues await. Vintage shoppers should be sure to stop by Clothes Optional and Land of the Lost!

Lakeview is also home to Boystown, one of the largest LGBT communities in the country. Located in the eastern part of the neighborhood, Boystown is a respectful LGBT haven, with many gay-friendly businesses, restaurants and high-profile events like the Gay Pride Parade the last Sunday of every June. Popular nightspots like Berlin are popular destinations for anyone looking to get down on the dance floor. For the visitor wanting to get out and explore a Chicago neighborhood, Lakeview is just right; from Cubs to clubs, this area has it all!

Located throughout the city, Chicago Tribute Markers of Distinction commemorate where notable Chicagoans lived and worked. Seven markers located in Lakeview honor sports personality Abe Saperstein, writer and poet Carl Sandburg, housing reformer Elizabeth Wood, lawyer and former Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld, artist and educator László Moholy-Nagy, lawyer Pearl M. Hart and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller.

Read, Learn, Discover at the Chicago Public Library. Search programming and event information at your neighborhood branch (Lincoln Belmont, Merlo).