Irving Park and Pulaski Park

The area known as Irving Park, while having a character and feel unique unto its own, is actually a collective ensemble of several small, adjacent neighborhoods. Irving Park’s grouping of neighborhoods includes: Old Irving Park, The Villa, The Triangle, Independence Park, West Walker, Addison Mall, and Mayfair.

Collectively, the area referred to as Irving Park is nothing short of an architectural wonderland. Within this neighborhood, vintage homes of all styles and periods are perpetually being rehabilitated and restored to their former glory. Taken alone, the Villa Historic District has over 120 architecturally significant sites. Houses found throughout the area can be included in the list detailing Chicago’s largest and most aesthetically pleasing. However, in spite of the properties’ illustrious quality, housing prices in the area remain relatively affordable, with median prices increasing only slightly over the last few years.

One of the primary landmarks of the Irving Park area remains the Peoples Gas Irving Park Neighborhood Store. Built in 1926 and designed by George Grant Elmslie, the store was designed to showcase newly developed technologies and gas home appliances available from Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company. Just as in so many Chicago neighborhoods, this little piece of history has remained a part of Irving Park for decades.

Irving Park also enjoys higher than usual accessibility, with the Kennedy Expressway running right through the middle of the neighborhood, along with the “El’s” Blue Line. CTA bus service is also available on three separate streets, plus there is also a Union Pacific Railroad train stop nearby at Avondale.

We now move on to one of the smallest neighborhoods to be found in the city of Chicago, Pulaski Park, situated in the northwest corner of Chicago. The neighborhood is named for, of course, Pulaski Park, where the public can take in a movie under the stars as part of the City of Chicago’s “Movies in the Park” program, which operating during the summer months, is free of charge to all attendees.

On a historic note, the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse is also located in the neighborhood. At the time of its opening in 1914, the Fieldhouse was one of the most elaborate park buildings to have ever been built in Chicago. It signaled a revolution in people’s attitudes about how parks were to be used, shifting the focus away from a more pastoral and ornamental site to one that served a more recreational-focused approach.

Tucked away from much of the hustle and bustle of everyday Chicago life, Pulaski Park, unknown to many, including even long-time Chicago’s residents, is truly a gem of a neighborhood. Though very small in size, it is worth checking out for those wanting to explore something out of the norm.