Bridgeport

Bridgeport continued...

This neighborhood is experiencing a true, broadly-based renewal. Young singles and couples, and artists of any age, are moving in, taking advantage of relatively low rents, interesting and decent housing stock and, for the artists, available exhibition space. Young lawyers and other professionals -- drawn in part by good transportation (the CTA's Red and Orange Lines border the community) -- are rehabbing older units and building new ones.

For sure, it's the artists that truly shake the prevailing image of what has long been perceived a shot-and-a-beer neighborhood while adding to its appeal for visitors and for investors.

"The developer always follows where the artists go, because the artists make the neighborhood interesting," says Michael Chou, manager of Zhou B Art Center on the 1000 block of 35th Street. "They used to be in Pilsen, but the rents there got higher, so they immigrated to Bridgeport."

The Zhou Center alone, created by renowned Chicago-based Chinese-American artists Shan Zuo and Da Huang Zhou, has more than 30 resident artists, whose studios and galleries are open to the public every third Friday; a main floor gallery, showcasing the Zhou brothers' work and that of other local and world artists, is open daily, as is an onsite cafe. Another notable exhibition space: Co-Prosperity Sphere, on Morgan near 32nd Street, home to, among other interesting events, the Vers10n Festival (which takes place in the springtime) and Select Media Fest (in the fall).

Of the neighborhood's churches, St. Mary of Perpetual Help (1903), built on 32nd Street near Morgan for what then was a largely Polish parish, is a dazzler, with its great dome and an interior resplendent in white and gold. (All the listed churches are open to the public during daily services; at other times, though these exteriors are reason enough to check them out, try the rectories or church offices to gain admission.)

All Saints St. Anthony's Church (1913), 28th Place at Wallace Street, is notable for the fine mosaic over its entrance, best appreciated when illuminated by the afternoon sun. St. Barbara (1914), Throop Street south of Archer Avenue, built when St. Mary of Perpetual Help couldn't handle the crowds, is a startling Renaissance-style octagonal building whose interior and stained glass rivals those of its mother church.

In this neighborhood of transition, a former Presbyterian church becomes a Buddhist temple (Ling Shen Ching Tze, on 31st Street near Morgan), a former monastery becomes a B&B (Benedictine Bed & Breakfast, Aberdeen Street just south of 31st), and it's just another piece of change . . .

Bridgeport's sudden, still-uneven lurch toward trendiness hasn't disrupted most of its older traditions. You can still buy a Lithuanian beer at Bernice's Tavern, a classic, cozy neighborhood bar on Halsted Street near 32nd Street. The Ramova Grill, three blocks south, has been proud of its chili since 1929, and aside from a certain patina (and the prices) hasn't changed much since then. Schaller's Pump, two blocks further south on Halsted, has been a watering hole non-stop (legally and, during prohibition, on the sly) since 1881; White Sox fans crowd the place before games for its signature butt steaks and easy conviviality.

A relative newcomer (since 1985 -- in Bridgeport, that's a newcomer), the Polo Cafe, on the 3300 block of Morgan Street, has come a long way from its "nuts and candy" beginnings to full-pleasure restaurant. Even newer (since 2001), Gio's Cafe/Deli, on Lowe Avenue near 27th Street, looks like an ordinary little grocery store with a few tables until you order one of its extraordinary pastas.

And while U.S. Cellular Field is on the Armour Square side of the viaduct, the White Sox certainly are a presence in this proud South Side neighborhood. You may be able to find a Cub hat at the Grandstand (600 W. 35th St.) if you look closely, but shoppers will find every variation of Sox cap -- plus Sox jerseys, T-shirts and bobbleheads -- at this quintessential baseball store.

What visitors won't find anywhere in the city is anything quite like Stearns Quarry, 27th Street at Halsted. It was Chicago's first stone quarry - its 1833 beginnings beat the city's birthday by a year and it continued to supply limestone into the 1960s. In 2009 it became 27 acres of park.

Within the old quarry walls is a fishing pond. A native wetland has been created. Kites soar from its open meadow.

A quarry that yielded fossils in one of Chicago's oldest neighborhoods has become one its newest parks in a neighborhood that, in many ways, is becoming new all over again.

Perfect.

For more information about Bridgeport, please contact the South Loop Chamber of Commerce at 773.254.7225.