Northwest of Lakeview, between Ravenswood Avenue and the Chicago River, and Montrose and Bryn Mawr avenues, lies a group of neighborhoods called Ravenswood. It's a beautiful area with tree-lined streets and parks, and its own rapid-transit system that connects to the Loop. The Ravenswood community includes Ravenswood Gardens, Budlong Woods, Bowmanville, Ravenswood Manor and parts of Lincoln Square.

In 1889, Chicago annexed the rural wooded village of Ravenswood. Poet Carl Sandburg who aptly described Chicago as the "City of Big Shoulders," lived in Ravenswood on Hermitage Avenue.

What to do in Ravenswood

Nearby Lincoln Square is the transportation and shopping hub of the area. The CTAs Brown Line has stops at Western, Montrose and Damen. Lincoln Avenue serves up both trendy and traditional restaurants. Plus the Old Town School of Folk Music, a popular local entertainment venue and music school, brings creativity and culture to the entire area.

Welles Park, between Western, Lincoln, Montrose and Sunnyside, is a lovely public park that serves the area with playing fields, tennis courts, basketball courts and a playground. Its field house has an indoor pool and several gyms.

Ravenswood's Distinctive Housing

Ravenswood is one of Chicago's first planned neighborhoods with Victorian and Prairie School homes, brick row houses and extra-wide lots. Today, it is popular for its affordable single-family homes, multi-family units and condominiums. Ravenswood has experienced a real estate renaissance thanks to hundreds of live-in rehabbers. Ravenswood Gardens is characterized by brick bungalows and two- and three-flats. Lincoln Square's residential blocks are full of brick two- and three-flats, as well as some single-family homes, many recently gentrified.