Albany Park, North Park

Albany Park is considered one of the country’s most diverse zip codes. Its vast panorama of ethnic shops and eateries – Korean, Middle Eastern, Thai, Indian, Mexican and more – presents a unique multicultural experience to any visitor. Adjacent North Park is a stronghold of Swedish culture, and home to North Park University, founded in 1891 by the Swedish Covenant Church. Cutting through North Park is the North Branch Trail, 20 miles of walking, biking and jogging paths that run along the Chicago River in this neighborhood.

Albany Park, North Park: Your Table is Waiting

Written by Alan Solomon, with research assistance from the Chicago Neighborhood Tourism Project.

North Park and Albany Park are two neighborhoods that are similar in a couple of respects.

Both are primarily residential, a mix of single-family dwellings (many of them, especially in west Albany Park, the familiar Chicago bungalows) and small to mid-size apartment buildings.

And both, in terms of their appeal to visitors, can largely be appreciated by what's on a single street in their communities.

In North Park, that street is Foster Avenue.

North Park University was founded as North Park College in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church, a denomination created six years earlier by Swedish immigrants. Its first campus, such as it was, was in Minneapolis. In 1894, the college moved to its present site, Old Main became its first building -- and it's still there, facing Foster Avenue and looking every bit like the quintessential 1894 college building.

North Park's school colors are the Swedish blue and gold. Its team nickname is, of course, the Vikings. Across Foster Avenue is the Sweden Shop, which sprawls over a couple of storefronts and sells everything from fine Swedish crystal and tableware to "Got glogg?" T-shirts. 

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