Wicker Park Real Estate Agents, Wicker Park Homes for Sale, Wicker Park Condos, Chicago, Illinois, IL

Wicker Park Real Estate Overview

Wicker Park is located Northwest of Chicago's Loop. Its boundaries are: North from Division Street (1200 North) to North Avenue (1600 North) and West from Ashland Avenue (1600 West) to Western Avenue (2400 West).

In 1870, when the Wicker brothers, Charles and Joel, purchased 80 acres of land along Milwaukee Avenue they planned to develop a neighborhood where people of all economic backgrounds could afford to live and work. Deviating from the traditional Chicago grid, they designed housing lots of various sizes & some large enough to accommodate mansions with broad lawns and coach houses, others for middle class homes, and just the right size for a for cozy cottage. To further entice homeowners, the Wicker brothers threw in a 4-acre public park.

After Chicago's Great Fire of 1871 Wicker Park home buying boomed as thousands of Northern European immigrants came to rebuild the city. A second boom occurred in the 1970s and 1980s as artists discovered Wicker Park's charm and grace.

More than 130 years later, Wicker Park real estate still is an attractive investment because the neighborhood retains the quietness of gentler times mixed with contemporary hipness. Artists mingle with their neighbors at local Wicker Park watering holes, young professionals who live in Wicker Park lofts spend evenings listening to live music without leaving the neighborhood, and on weekends everyone takes guilty pleasure in leisurely brunches and Ann Sather's cinnamon rolls.

Though small in size, Wicker Park offers current homeowners big city amenities, such as hospitals (St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center and Saint Elizabeth Hospital), a public library (West Town Library) , and a post office.

The median price for a Wicker Park home is estimated at $269,900. Homes on Wicker Park's quiet residential streets range from historic landmark mansions to newly constructed lofts and condos. While Queen Anne and Second Empire homes facing Wicker Park possess their own elegant cachet, a landmark district of residences built between 1870 and 1930 is also desirable. These include Italianate, Gothic, Eastlake and Romanesque style homes. Lofts and condos are scattered throughout the Wicker Park neighborhood Search for Wicker Park Real Estate.

Wicker Park Transportation

Wicker Park homeowners commute to jobs in the Loop by bike, public transportation, or car. Public transportation options include the, #9Ashland bus, the #70 Division bus, #56 Milwaukee bus and the Blue Line EL which also extends northwest to O'Hare. Easy access to the Kennedy Expressway lies just east of Wicker Park. Parking problems inherent in a neighborhood dotted with popular restaurants and entertainment venues are somewhat alleviated by Wicker Park's permit parking system that limits parking on several streets only to residents. Of course, there's always the old-timers' effective but illegal method of reserving a parking space with a broken chair.

Wicker Park Schools

Wicker Park home buyers will find that the neighborhood's high school and 3 elementary schools reflect the richness of the community. Roberto Clemente High School offers a traditional college prep program and innovative courses that train students for careers in culinary arts, fashion and business. The K-8 schools are no less imaginative. The bilingual immersion program at Sabin Magnet School draws its student body from all areas of Chicago. At the Jose de Diego Community Academy, students participate in music education funded in part by VH1 Save the Music and ceramic classes taught by staff from the famous Lill Street Art Center. Programs at the A.N. Pritzker School range from special education to a regional gifted program, with preference given to Wicker Park residents, and an after school performing arts program partnered with the Lookingglass Theatre Company.

Wicker Park Nightlife / Entertainment / Restaurants

Wicker Park homeowners can walk to many Chicago hot spots that tourists dream about. On any night, audiences pour into clubs for live performances of jazz, blues and rock. The famous Double Door on Milwaukee hosts new artists, locals and seasoned groups like the Rolling Stones. Dining options include: taco stands, Italian, Vegetarian, Middle Eastern, Latin, Sushi, Asian, pancake houses, tearooms and Spring, Celebrity chef, Shawn McClain's, newest restaurant proclaimed by Bon Appetit as among the best ethnic restaurants in the nation.

Wicker Park Festivals / Parks

Each autumn the Wicker Park neighborhood hosts the Around the Coyote Arts Festival, perhaps Chicago's most famous art festival. For one weekend a year, 60 local art studios and a dozen or so galleries open their doors to the public. In recent years, film, dance, live performances and kids' programs were added.

An ornate cast-iron fountain and tall shade trees surrounding the 4-acre triangular shaped parcel that is Wicker Park give it a European flavor, but like the rest of the neighborhood, the park is a mix. Energetic games of sixteen-inch softball, strictly a Chicago sport, are played evenings throughout the summer while neighbors stroll among the greenery and sculpture as though they were touring an English estate. Although the small field house doesn't have a swimming pool, an arrangement with Clemente High School provides the public access to its indoor pool. Both dog haters and dog lovers are satisfied with the fenced dog area at the East edge of the park.

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