Lake View, Chicago

Lake View is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago in Illinois, United States. It is located on the city's North Side and is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road and West Montrose Ave on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east. The Uptown community area is to Lakeview's north, Lincoln Square to its northwest, North Center to its west, and Lincoln Park to its south. The 2020 population of Lakeview was 103,050 residents, making it the second-largest Chicago community area by population.
West Lakeview is composed of smaller neighborhood enclaves such as Lincoln Hub and Southport Corridor. Lakeview East, also known as the Greater Lakeview area, hosts the Central Lakeview Business District, Sheridan Station Corridor, Wrigleyville, Broadway Corridor and North Halsted. It is famous for its large LGBT population and holds a pride parade each June and Northalsted Market Days. Wrigleyville surrounds Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs. Lakeview is home to the Belmont Theater District, showcasing over 20 theaters and live performance venues located near the Belmont ‘L’ station.

History

Settlement

Lakeview was used as a camp and trail path for the Miami, Ottawa, and Winnebago Native American tribes. In 1837, Conrad Sulzer of Winterthur, Zürich, Switzerland, became the first known European settler to live in the area. In 1853, one of the first permanent structures was built by James Rees and Elisha Hundley on the corner where present-day West Byron Street meets North Lake Shore Drive. It was called the Hotel Lakeview, named for the hotel's unobstructed view of the shore of Lake Michigan. It gained what was characterized as a resort atmosphere.
The early settlement continued to grow amongst the English settlers, assisted by increased immigration of farming families from Germany, Luxembourg, and Sweden. Lakeview experienced a population boom as Chicago suffered a deadly and devastating cholera outbreak. The Hotel Lakeview served as a refuge for many Chicagoans but became filled to capacity. Homestead lands were sold, and housing was built. Access to the new community was provided by a wooden plank road connected to present-day West Fullerton Parkway, which was called Lakeview Plank Road and is present-day North Broadway. With infrastructure and a growing population, residents realized it was time to organize formal governance to provide essential public services.

Lakeview Township

According to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, Lakeview was an incorporated Illinois civil township with a charter granted by the Illinois General Assembly, independent of neighboring Chicago. Lakeview's first township election was held in 1857. The main building was Town Hall at the intersection of present-day West Addison and North Halsted streets. A building still bearing that name stands today as the former headquarters of the Chicago Police Department's 23rd District. Lakeview Township included all land east of Western Avenue, between Devon Avenue and North Avenue, generally encompassing the community areas of Edgewater, Uptown, Lakeview and Lincoln Park, as well as the eastern sections of what are now the community areas of North Center and Lincoln Square.
During the Civil War, the present-day bustling intersection of North Broadway, North Clark Street and West Diversey Parkway was home to Camp Fry. When the camp opened in May 1864, it served as a training facility for the volunteer 132nd and 134th Illinois Infantry regiments. Shortly after their deployment to Columbus, Kentucky, the camp was converted to a prison for Confederate soldiers, where conditions were markedly different from those of many other prisoner-of-war camps. The few residents of the area known as Lakeview Township often complained of rebel sing-alongs held in the camp from time to time.
Lakeview's early industry was farming, especially crops of celery, and at the time it was considered a celery-growing capital. From 1870 to 1887, the population of the township grew from 2,000 citizens to 45,000. As a result, there was growing need of more public-service access, and Lakeview was absorbed into Chicago in 1889 as a way of meeting those demands. In 1889, a real estate boom became a major economic stimulant. According to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, over forty percent of the neighborhood's present-day buildings were constructed during that time.

Streets

West Addison Street was named after Thomas Addison, an English doctor who first described Addison's disease.
West Barry Avenue was named after the commander of the Continental Navy ship Lexington during the Revolutionary War, John Barry. West Belmont Avenue was named after the American Civil War's Battle of Belmont on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. North Broadway, which used to be called Evanston Avenue after the nearby municipality of Evanston, Illinois, was renamed after Broadway in New York City. North Clark Street was named after the legendary frontier explorer George Rogers Clark. West Diversey Parkway was named after beer brewer Michael Diversey. William Butler Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago, named North Halsted Street after financiers William H. and Caleb Halsted. It was formerly called Dyer Street, in honor of Thomas Dyer, mayor of Chicago. West Irving Park Road was named after the author Washington Irving.
Philip Sheridan features prominently on the corner of West Belmont Avenue and North Lake Shore Drive, memorialized as a towering statue depicting Sheridan on horseback. The U.S. Army general is the namesake of North Sheridan Road, which heads north to Racine, Wisconsin. In 1871, he brought troops to Chicago in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire and was authorized by Mayor Joseph Medill to take control of the city under martial law. He was later made commanding general of the U.S. Army by President Chester A. Arthur.

Notable residents

John Peter Altgeld, 20th Illinois Governor and significant progressive era politician. He resided at the Brewster Apartments at 500 W. Diversey after leaving the governorship in 1897.
Dean Baker, macroeconomist
Charlie Chaplin, the silent film comedian, lived at the Brewster Apartments when he was filming movies with Essanay Studios in 1915.
Lucy Flower, the social reformer who was instrumental in establishing Cook County's juvenile court system, lived at 1920 W. Wellington.
Buckminster Fuller, the famous inventor, lived at 429 W. Belmont and had his studio at 729 W. Belmont.
John Gunther, journalist and writer. He was a childhood resident of Lake View.
Pearl M. Hart, Chicago criminal defense attorney known for representing homosexuals, juveniles, and others, lived at 2821 N. Pine Grove.
Paul Harvey, radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio notable for his The Rest of the Story segments. He resided at 3400 North Lake Shore Drive in the 1950s.
Cody Keenan, Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017. He was a childhood resident of Lake View until his family moved to Evanston, Illinois.
Robert S. Kennemore, recipient of the Medal of Honor for conduct at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. He resided at 746 West California Terrace prior to his enlistment in the United States Marine Corps in 1940.
Scott MacArthur, actor and writer. He was a childhood resident of Wrigleyville.
Minnie Miñoso, the first Afro-Cuban player in Major League Baseball and first Black player to play for the Chicago White Sox. He lived in Wrigleyville after his retirement from baseball.
Mike Nussbaum, actor and director of stage and screen. Lived at 3800 North Lake Shore Drive.
Andy Richter actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer, rented an apartment in the Graceland West neighborhood.
Mike Royko, author and Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist. He lived in Lake View from 1981 to 1985 during his self-described Condo-Man period.
Steven Schiff, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 1st congressional district. He was a childhood resident of Lake View, living at 1022 West Belmont Avenue.
Michael Silverstein, linguist, MacArthur Fellow, and pioneering professor of linguistics, anthropology, and sociology at the University of Chicago. He resided at 3800 North Lake Shore Drive.
Art Telcser, 64th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. Telcser was a resident of Lake View during his legislative career including his two-day stint as Speaker.
Elizabeth Wood, the first executive director of the Chicago Housing Authority, lived at 3145 North Cambridge Avenue.
Communities

Lakeview is divided into Lakeview East and Lakeview West, with Lakeview East having distinctive areas that include Wrigleyville and Northalsted, formerly known as Boystown, the city's gay village. The boundaries of Lakeview are 1800 west to the west, Montrose to the north and Clark to the east north of Irving Park, but the rest is of Irving Park to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, and Diversey to the south.

Lakeview (East)

Lakeview East is considered part of the Greater Lakeview area. Lakeview East expanded its boundaries in 2017 to include the Central Lakeview area which is home to Wrigley Field. Lakeview East boundaries are defined as: Lake Shore Drive on the East, Racine on the West, Diversey Parkway on the South and Irving Park on the north. Lakeview East area consists of two of the largest entertainment districts in Chicago, Boystown and Wrigleyville. Lakeview East is notable for its Jewish population and has Four synagogues, Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel, Anshe Emet Synagogue, and Temple Sholom.
Lakeview, especially along the Lake Shore Drive and Broadway corridors, consists of upscale condominiums and higher-rent mid-rise apartments and lofts. Small businesses, boutiques, restaurants and community institutions are found along North Broadway and North Halsted Street.
Gentrification, diversification and population shift have changed Lakeview, with new developments and new businesses such as Mariano's and Target. Historic churches remain preserved as integral parts of the community, such as Lakeview Presbyterian Church and Saint Peter's Episcopal Church. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is the residence of an episcopal vicar and auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It is also the mother church of the local vicariate and the Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach, controversially created by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, which is one of the largest of the few gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholic welcoming congregations created and authorized by a diocese in the United States.
The Lakeview Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is in southeastern Lakeview, as is the Newport Avenue District, which spans Newport Avenue between Halsted Avenue and Clark Street and includes the historic Vautravers Building.