Edgewater

Just a brief ride north from the Loop on the CTA Red Line, Edgewater offers a glimpse of what Chicago was like in the early 20th century. The Bryn Mawr (Avenue) Historic District features well-restored Art Deco and Tudor Revival Buildings. The pink apartment building at its eastern end is the sole survivor of the historic Edgewater Beach Hotel complex, which hosted the greatest big bands of the Swing Era. The Lakewood-Balmoral neighborhood comprises a number of architecturally significant homes built between 1890 and 1920.

The northern terminus of the Lakefront Bike Path is in Edgewater, near the large and relatively uncrowded Foster Avenue Beach and Kathy Osterman Beach. Thorndale Avenue Beach is another neighborhood favorite.

An antique lover’s paradise, Edgewater is home to the massive Broadway Antique Market (6130 N. Broadway St.) and Edgewater Antique Mall (6314 N. Broadway St.), as well as dozens of other eclectic home furnishing stores. A notably large number of Ethiopian and African restaurants located on Broadway adds flavor to the area, with gems like Ethiopian Diamond (6120 N. Broadway St.), Ras Dashen (5846 N. Broadway St.), Sheba Cafe (5403 N. Broadway St.), and Vee-Vee’s African Restaurant (6232 N. Broadway St.) topping the list of local favorites.

The Edgewater community also encompasses the neighborhood of LGBT-friendly Andersonville, once a sleepy village of Swedish settlers. Edgewater is home to the highest percentage of same-sex couples in Chicago, as well as the Gerber/Hart library, the largest circulating library of gay and lesbian titles in the Midwest.

In Andersonville, browse upscale antique shops like Scout (5221 N. Clark St.) or White Attic (5225 N. Clark St.) before grabbing a bite at the Swedish Bakery (5348 N. Clark St.), Pasticceria Natalina (5406 N Clark St.), or Ann Sathers (5207 N. Clark St.), a Chicago institution. Movie buffs can catch rare screenings and enroll in filmmaking classes at Chicago Filmmakers (5243 N. Clark St.).

Read, Learn, Discover at the Chicago Public Library. Search programming and event information at your neighborhood branch.