Lincoln Park, Chicago

Lincoln Park, also designated as Community Area 7, is one of the northside Chicago community areas that divide Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Named after Lincoln Park, a vast stretch of park belonging to the Chicago Park District, and therefore named after Abraham Lincoln, the community area is anchored by the Lincoln Park Zoo and DePaul University. Lincoln Park is bordered by the community areas of Lakeview to the north, Logan Square and West Town to the west, and Near North to the south.

History

The area now known as Lincoln Park in Chicago was still primarily forest with stretches of grassland and occasional quicksand, and was virtually untouched by Europeans as late as the 1820s.

In 1824 the United States Army built a small post near today's Clybourn and Armitage Avenues. Indian settlements existed along Green Bay Trail, now called Clark Street (named after explorer George Rogers Clark), at the current intersection of Halsted Street and Fullerton Avenue.

In 1836, land from North to Fullerton and from the lake to Halsted was inexpensive, costing $150 per acre ($0.04 m²). Because the area was considered remote, a small pox hospital and the city cemetery were located in Lincoln Park until the 1860s.

In 1837 Chicago was incorporated as a city, and North Avenue was established as its northern boundary. Settlements increased along Green Bay Trail when (1) the government offered land claims and (2) Green Bay Road was widened.

Neighborhood

The Lincoln Park neighborhood is bordered on the north by Diversey Parkway, on the west by Clybourn Avenue, on the south by North Avenue, and on the east by the public park of the same name.

The neighborhood population is primarily made up of young professionals, recent college graduates, and young families. However,in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, it was also home to the first Puerto Rican immigrants to Chicago. Jose (Cha-Cha) Jimenez transformed the local Young Lords gang into human rights activists for Latinos and the poor. They mounted sit-ins and takeovers of institutions and churches at Grant Hospital, Armitage Ave. Methodist Church, and McCormick Theological Seminary. Today few Puerto Ricans reside in Lincoln Park. ^[1] It does continue to be home to Lincoln Park High School, Francis W. Parker School, and DePaul University which bought out the McCormick Seminary buildings in 1975, when the seminary moved to Hyde Park. Many students who attend these schools now live in this neighborhood.

There are many boutiques, movie theaters, retail stores, restaurants and coffee shops. There are also many bars and clubs in the area, especially along Lincoln Avenue between Diversey and Armitage.

Lincoln Park (Chicago Park District)

Lincoln Park, for which the neighborhood was named, stretches along the lakefront from Ardmore Avenue (in Edgewater) south to North Avenue. The park contains a zoo, an outdoor theatre, a rowing canal, the Chicago History Museum, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, ponds, playing fields, and a large statue of General Grant. The famed restaurant, North Pond, is also located in the park.

Education

Residents are zoned to schools in the Chicago Public Schools

Zoned elementary schools include:

• Lincoln School
• Mayer School

All area residents are zoned to Lincoln Park High School.

Chicago Public Library operates the Lincoln Park Branch.

Transportation

The Lincoln Park neighborhood is accessible via mass transit, including the CTA's red, brown, and purple lines at the Fullerton station, the purple and brown lines at Armitage, and Diversey stations, as well as CTA bus service. It is also one of over 20 neighborhoods served by I-GO Cars.

Via car, Lincoln Park can be reached by using Lake Shore Drive or Interstate 94.

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