The History of Wicker Park

 

Wicker Park 1900s (from: Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce)

Wicker Park has existed since 1837. The neighborhood got its name from Charles Gustavus Wicker, a city alderman, state legislator and a real estate businessman. Wicker was a big help in developing the neighborhood. In the neighborhood’s park you will see the bronze statue the people made in his honor. Wicker Park existed for a long time; the land was more prairie than the active community we have today. That was until the Chicago Fire of 1871. The fire led people to search for a new space to rebuild their new homes. This had a lot of new buildings and homes built along Milwaukee Avenue causing The Wicker Park neighborhood to grow into a major community. Many of the neighborhood’s original homes and buildings remain, including a collection of Victorian-style homes.

Wicker Park home (from: Chicago Neighborhood Walks)

The neighborhood mostly consisted of German and Scandinavian immigrants when it was growing. Then in 1900s-1930s, a lot of Jews and Poles migrated to Wicker Park, having it become known as Polish Gold Coast. In the 1980s-1990s, a new wave of artists and young urban professionals move into the neighborhood due to cheap rent and being close to the Loop. In 2012, Forbes named Wicker Park the 4th hippest neighborhood in the country, due to the large artist community that emerged.  

Wicker Park Loop train (from: Wikimedia Commons)

Graffiti in Wicker Park (from: Wikimedia Commons)

Art in Wicker Park (From: Flickr, Taken by: Mike Boening)

The heart of this neighborhood is the six-way intersection, also known as The Damen L Stop and Six Corners, The Six-Way Intersection of Milwaukee Avenue, North Avenue, and Damen Avenue and/or mostly called the Six Corners. Due to receiving the L stop in 1895, Wicker Park gained more recognition and more people started visiting. The neighborhood is now a popular destination for bars, restaurants, shopping, and art.