Amy Bizzarri 2024-01-08 05:11:16
Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods shine bright with distinctive attractions, public art, and dining gems that reflect the city’s rich culture and history. PUBLIC ART Pilsen has been a mecca of the Mexican muralist movement for more than 50 years. Colorful, largescale murals inspired by the neighborhood’s rich Mexican heritage abound along 16th and 18th streets, including newer murals like the colorful Fierce LGBTQ+ mural created by Sam Kirk at 18th and Ashland streets. The Mile of Murals, located along Glenwood Avenue and a pedestrian-friendly Chicago Alfresco site in Rogers Park, features 15 bold and vibrant largescale public artworks that reflect the spirit of the diverse neighborhood. Chicago’s living urban canvas, the Wabash Arts Corridor brings art to the forefront in the South Loop with murals, pop-up performances, art installations, and large-scale projections. Humboldt Park boasts more than 60 murals that showcase the area’s rich Puerto Rican culture. The area is home to some of the country’s oldest outdoor murals. AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY Bronzeville, Chicago’s historic Black Metropolis, features public art installations, galleries, and historic landmarks around every corner. The Monument to the Great Northern Migration pays tribute to the many African Americans who traveled to Chicago from the South in search of greater freedom and opportunity. The Victory Monument honors Black WWI vets. The Bronzeville Walk of Fame features more than 90 bronze markers embedded in the sidewalks from 25th to 35th streets, highlighting the neighborhood’s most distinguished residents, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Sam Cooke, and Ida B. Wells (whose The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument is one of the first dedicated to a Black woman). On the second Friday of each month from July through September, Bronzeville Summer Nights features music, local shopping, creative performances, and the family-friendly Bronzeville Summer Nights Historic Bike Tour. Founded in 1940, the South Side Community Art Center is the oldest African American art center in the U.S. It serves as Bronzeville’s artistic community hub, thanks to its inspiring array of public exhibits and events that include film screenings, workshops, lectures, and panel discussions. For over 60 years, The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center in Washington Park has hosted inspiring arts programming, including fascinating exhibits and world-class concerts that celebrate Black history and culture. Permanent exhibits include Red, White, Blue, and Black: A History of Blacks in the Armed Services. Built in the 1880s as a town for the employees of the luxury train car manufacturer, Pullman National Historical Park played a significant role in labor and civil rights history. Learn more about the African American labor movement at the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum. And don’t miss the historic neighborhood’s annual Juneteenth Celebration. The South Shore Cultural Center in the South Shore neighborhood boasts grandiose ballrooms, a solarium, a 600-seat theatre, ornate chandeliers, and a 70-acre lakefront park. Sign up for one of the Center’s many cultural programs and classes in dance, music, textile art, drawing, painting, ceramics, and more. The Stony Island Arts Bank in Woodlawn is a hybrid gallery, media archive, library, and community center housed in a circa 1923 bank. Collections in the stunning space include books and periodicals donated by the Johnson Publishing Company (publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines) and the vinyl collection that belonged to Frankie Knuckles, the Godfather of House Music. ASIAN HERITAGE Pass through the picturesque Chinatown Gate that marks the entrance to Wentworth Avenue, Chinatown’s original main street that’s home to classic Chinese bakeries, dim sum eateries, and charming gift shops. The Chinese American Museum of Chicago promotes culture and history through public exhibitions and educational programming, with a collection dedicated to early Chinese immigration to the Midwest. The outdoor Chinatown Square mall, located just north of Wentworth Avenue, is a picture-perfect plaza surrounded by statues of the 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs. Modeled after the wall in Beijing’s Beihai Park, the Nine Dragon Wall is one of Chinatown’s most celebrated public art installations, featuring over 500 vibrant dragons. On Argyle Street in Uptown, an endless array of Asian restaurants serves everything from banh mi to pho. Dine outside in cheery Chicago Alfresco seating areas. The Argyle Night Market (held weekly from July to September) offers outdoor fun, including pop-up eateries and live performances. Devon Avenue in the city’s West Ridge neighborhood bustles with Southeast Asian boutiques, tea rooms, and eateries. Shop authentic Indian delights at Patel Brothers — which started as a Chicago storefront and has grown into the biggest Indian grocery chain in America — and indulge in colorful Pakistani and Indian pastries at area bakeries. The National Cambodian Heritage Museum in Albany Park showcases Cambodia’s ancient and modern history, the immigrant and refugee experience, and the Cambodian American community today. The onsite Killing Fields Memorial remembers genocide victims and survivors. LATINO CULTURE The free National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen celebrates Mexican culture and history through captivating exhibits and special events. Its impressive permanent collection includes more than 18,000 seminal pieces from ancient Mexico to the present. Family-run taquerias, restaurants, bars, and eclectic bodegas dot 26th Street in colorful Little Village, known locally as the Mexico of the Midwest. A terracotta arch over 26th Street reads “Bienvenidos a Little Village,” welcoming visitors to the two-mile stretch that’s one of the busiest shopping districts in Chicago. Learn more about Puerto Rico’s artistic contributions at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture in Humboldt Park. Housed in the landmark Humboldt Park stables, the museum was founded by members of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community, and features rotating exhibits exploring the art of Puerto Rico and its Diaspora. HIP DINING CORRIDORS Logan Square is a creative neighborhood with a hot dining scene centered on Milwaukee Avenue, where gourmands can find everything from Michelin-rated restaurants to vegan diners. The neighborhood also buzzes with bars, breweries, and distilleries. Foodies flock to Halsted Street in Lincoln Park, home to locally owned, longtime favorite eateries and bars, as well as critically acclaimed Chicago restaurants that have earned Michelin stars. Old world meets modern charm along Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Square, home to everything from a traditional German sausage shop to an Argentinian steakhouse. Clark Street in Wrigleyville brims with baseball-focused sports bars and eateries filled with diehard Cubs fans. Experience West Town’s international vibe at the diverse restaurants and bars near Chicago Avenue, including a hip eatery with Creole-infused soul food and the world’s first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant. Explore more neighborhoods at choosechicago.com/neighborhoods. Set off on a culinary adventure around the world, sampling tacos, Ethiopian dishes, Sicilian street food, and Jamaican jerk chicken along Broadway Street in Edgewater. NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS TikTok sensation and historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas is the leader behind Chicago Mahogany Tours, bringing visitors to south and west side neighborhoods in search of history and hidden gems. The free, fun, and informal Chicago Greeter program matches visitors with local volunteers for immersive neighborhood visits with an insider perspective. The Chicago Architecture Center offers boat, bus, and walking tours of the soaring skyscrapers, historic homes, magnificent churches, and other architectural treasures that define our city. Chicago Detours walking and coach bus tours highlight the stories behind the off-the-beaten-path places that might even surprise locals. Gone Again Travel & Tours offers Black heritage and food tours throughout Chicago for groups of 20 to 40 people aboard the Chi-Town Soul Trolley. Tours With Mike offers public and private walking, virtual, and app-based tours that unveil the extraordinary design and history hiding behind Chicago’s iconic sites. Dive into deep dish, thin crust, and other delicious pizzas as you tour neighborhood pizzerias with Pizza City USA tours, curated by local James Beard Award-winning food reporter Steve Dolinsky. CLASSIC NEIGHBORHOOD EATS Since 1926, Original Rainbow Cone in Beverly/ Mount Greenwood has been slicing five different ice cream flavors — chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio, and orange sherbet — into its colorful, namesake Rainbow Cones. Bite into delectable fried chicken at Harold’s Chicken Shack, an iconic eatery in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood that has additional locations around the city. Traditional Ethiopian cuisine is paired with house-made honey wine at Demera in Uptown. Dig into the best barbecue in Chicago — as proclaimed by Good Morning America — served up by classically trained chef Dominique Leach at Lexington Betty Smokehouse in Pullman. Chef Leach recently won Food Network’s BBQ Brawl and was named Master of ‘Cue. Beloved for its golden fried chicken and barbecue ribs, Pearl’s Place in Bronzeville serves Southern soul food with Creole flair. Ricobene’s, a Bridgeport neighborhood staple, has been serving its famous breaded steak sandwich in Chicago since 1946. Don’t miss the splendid diner classics served cafeteriastyle at Valois Restaurant in Hyde Park, one of former President Obama’s favorite places to eat breakfast. Try the soul fusion grand tasting menu curated by chef Quentin Love at The Soulfood Lounge in North Lawndale. This elegant restaurant is housed in a ground-floor space of the Martin Luther King Legacy Apartments, located on the spot where the civil rights leader lived during his time fighting redlining in Chicago. Find incredible fresh seafood prepared with the flavors of Mexico, including house specialty coco relleno (shrimp, clams, crab, scallops, and octopus cooked inside a coconut), at La Costa in Belmont Cragin. Founded in 1954, Lem’s Bar-B-Q in Greater Grand Crossing cooks up mouthwatering rib tips and hot links in its one-of-a-kind, aquarium-style smoker. Explore more neighborhoods at choosechicago.com/neighborhoods.
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