Tour of Lincoln Square riders wait for traffic

Detail of bas-relief amid the turmoil

Late day research ride of Lincoln Square

Round-front bay on a mission influenced bungalow on 4900 block of N California

Cartouche detail on Sullivan’s Krause Music Store

Chicago Community Area #4 sits 7 miles northwest of the loop. The community area was a construct of a 1920s University of Chicago project to categorize different areas of the city, but it is also a neighborhood within the community area, as are Ravenswood, Bowmanville, Budlong Woods and Ravenswood Manor. Previously this entire area was known as Ravenswood, and many residents still think of it that way.

This area’s modern history began when a Swiss immigrant named Conrad Sulzer bought land near Montrose and Clark in 1836.  Soon after, other immigrants from Germany and Switzerland started farming the area, primarily with celery, cucumbers and flowers, bringing their goods to the Loop via Little Fort Road, present day Lincoln Avenue.  Traffic on Little Fort Road grew and taverns began to open up and down the road.  The area was for a time termed by local growers as the celery capital of America.

In the 1890s, street cars created a new wave of development. In the 1900s, it was the Ravenswood elevated line and it spurred even more development. Utilizing the river and developing an industrial corridor on its banks was a further boom leading into the Great Depression. The area is filled with wonderful examples of bungalows, brick-flats, courtyard apartments and various Victorian houses and a number of requisite works by Clarence Hatzfeld, Dwight Perkins and Louis Sullivan.

Starting Spot: Ronan Park @ 5100 N Francisco Ave
Route: view route details
Photo Album: view photo album

Next date for the Tour of Lincoln Square

• December 2014

Past dates of the Tour of Lincoln Square

• August 30, 2009
• January 30, 2010
• July 16, 2011
• November 17, 2012

Tour of Lincoln Square 2011 Poster by Ross Felton

Tour of Lincoln Square 2009 Poster by Ross Felton