Huge, 2500 sqft Condo in Chicago's most Exciting, Safe, and Historic Neighborhood: Old Town. This is a Private, Full Floor Apartment with 11 foot high ceilings. Located on a Boutique and Restaurant-Lined Street (Wells St) in the Heart of all the Action. Walk to some of the city's best-loved Restaurants, Clubs, Pubs, Parks, Boutiques, and Coffee Shops. Easy Train Transit to O'Hare, Navy Pier, Mag Mile, McCormick Place, etc. Grocery Store (Plum Market) just 1 block away. Parking for 1 car included
Completely modern and comfortable 4 bedroom/3 bathroom apartment that is perfectly set up for large groups of friends, families, or colleagues. Large and clean kitchen attached to full formal dining room for group meals with enough room to fit everyone. Giant living space with a massive couch and flat screen TV for lounging and relaxing. Located right on Wells St, all you have to do is walk out your front door to be in the heart of the action! Walk to the beach, Magnificent Mile, and Lincoln Park. Grocery stores around the corner. Parking for 1 car just a 1/2 block away included in your reservation.
The entire apartment is available for your use.
I almost always meet guests in person to give a quick tour of the home, answer any questions, and give recommendations if requested. After that, I am available on an as needed basis, just a quick phone call away if anything comes up...or if you need a tip on the best place to have dinner, go shopping, see a game/show, or the best way to get from here to there. Just a phone call or text away.
Downtown Chicago is a jigsaw puzzle of neighborhoods and communities – each its own important little piece of the best city on the planet. From South Loop to West Loop, Lakeshore East to Lincoln Park; each fits just right and plays its own unique role.
But, I gotta say, Old Town is a standout piece of the Chicago neighborhood puzzle. Forget a rebirth – this historic neighborhood was hipster before hipster was a thing. Old Town takes its neighborhood status so seriously, you can actually feel the neighborhood-iness in the air. Simply take a stroll down its tree-lined sidewalks and you’ll get a sense of the community that’s so often lost in urban neighborhoods. And I’m telling you, this location cannot be beat. Old Town sits less than two miles north of the heart of downtown Chicago and just a mile west of the lake. Its neighborhood neighbors (yup, that’s a thing) include Gold Coast to the east and Lincoln Park to the north. Pretty good company, right?
Old Town is a pretty small area, even using generous borders, measuring one mile north to south and just shy of a mile east to west. Run the perimeter and you’ll have a 5k under your belt.
It was German settlers who built the neighborhood’s greatest treasures – St. Michael’s Church, at the intersection of Eugenie Street and Cleveland Avenue. This iconic structure was built in 1869 and just a few years later, survived the Great Chicago Fire. The rest of the neighborhood, however, didn’t fare so well. Nearly every home and structure burned to the ground and Old Town was left to rebuild. The rest of Chicago took the clean slate as an opportunity to create a logical grid of perfectly straight streets running east, west, north and south. I’d like to personally thank these visionary city planners for creating a street system that makes it near impossible for even its most geographically-handicapped residents to get lost (that’s me!).
But – Old Town was an exception. Post-fire, Old Town kept its original willy-nilly street layout. These winding streets, full of narrow one-ways and asymmetrical intersections, still exist today and are key to the neighborhood’s charm.
Throughout the following decades, new fire-resistant brick, stone and stucco homes were built up and down the winding streets. The German builders made eclectic choices and took pride in creating masterfully-crafted row houses and apartment buildings. Gothic windows, Victorian spires, insanely-ornate balusters and spindles, swooping roofs…the list goes on and on. These century-old homes still stand today and are the cornerstone of Old Town. If you find yourself with a free afternoon, take an Old Town Architecture Tour. Tourists and locals alike will marvel at the history.
The Great Depression was hard on Old Town and it fell into a state of…well, depression. Disheveled and dirty, the once-lovely neighborhood was in jeopardy of losing its identity. But in the 1940s, its residents rose up to take back the neighborhood and make it shine once again. They banded together and formed the Old Town Triangle Association; a super-active community organization that’s headquartered in the Triangle to this day. One of the first projects the Association undertook was to hold a small Art Fair. They figured the artisans in the neighborhood could sell their art and the community would open its doors to invite visitors to discover their hidden gem of a neighborhood. And thus, the face of Old Town changed forever. The curious visitors; they came. And stayed. The Old Town Art Fair, which is still held in June each year, brought a new wave of residents to the neighborhood. Young suburbanites, hungry for change, transplanted to Old Town. As the neighborhood grew, it became the mecca of bohemian culture. With its popularity came other changes too – rents began to tick up, small business opened shop and Wells Street was born.
Up until the 1960s, the Triangle truly was Old Town. But as the neighborhood grew, N. Wells Street – which runs vertically through the neighborhood – became the place to see and be seen. Strolling up and down the street today, you can still get a sense that this place has a story to tell. And it does! The Old Town School of Folk Music opened on Wells in the late 1950s and was the catalyst for an explosion of development. The area became a sanctuary for local musicians and artists and also drew suburban visitors who wanted to experience the hippie haven for themselves. Throughout the next two decades, iconic restaurants, music joints and just-plain weird attractions opened their doors up and down Wells. Ask anyone familiar with Old Town of the 1960s and 70s and they’re sure to reminisce about noshing on free pickles at The Pickle Barrel and wandering through the Royal London Wax Museum. If they were lucky, perhaps they caught music icons like Steve Goodman and John Prine jam at The Earl of Old Town Cafe & Pub.
Unique shops peppered the street as well. Stores hawking candles, jewelry, records and even peace pipes. You can practically smell the patchouli in the air, right? The first Crate and Barrel store – a far cry from what it is today – opened its first store on Wells in 1962.
Shops, pubs and restaurants came, went and evolved into the energetic Old Town of today. The Old Town of today has the same unique qualities of its former self. Longtime residents have stayed put and the Old Town Triangle Association is more active than ever. Because of this, the neighborhood has been able to keep its charm and unique characteristics while still embracing inevitable change and development.
Today you’ll find bohemian chic on one corner and timeless charm on the next. Luxury high-rises and mid-rises mingle with brownstones and historic Victorians and neighborhood shops share the block with franchised conveniences. And, Old Town’s residents know just how fortunate they are. They get charm on their doorstep and everything the city has to offer is just a hop, skip and a jump away. Old Town gives it’s lucky residents the comfort of a hometown smack dab in the middle of Chicago.
So, yes – Old Town has a fantastic location and a magical neighborhoodiness vibe that’s practically priceless, but what’s it like to live there?
The area to the south of North Avenue, on either side of Wells Street, is always humming. On the south edge you’ll find luxury high-rise apartments and everyday conveniences. When your dentist, grocery market and drug store are all within walking distance, life is just easier.
But this south-of-the-north-border section of Old Town is charismatic too. Zip up Wells Street a couple blocks and you’ll be greeted by the iron Old Town gates.
Block by block, modern amenities of the city fade and the Old Town of yesteryear emerges. N. Wells Street is littered with endless pubs, cafes, shops and boutiques. The narrow streets that criss-cross Wells are laden with brick apartment buildings and swooping trees.
Cross North Avenue, and you’re officially in the historic Old Town Triangle. Detour off Wells to discover a treasure trove of historic homes and buildings. Call me a nerd, but this is one of my favorite things about Old Town. I’ve spent entire afternoons drifting up and down streets, oogling gorgeous front doors and wrought iron balconies.
Small Business Central
This ‘hood is all about small business and home to independent coffee shops, pastry shops, cafes and more. Treat yourself to local favorite Cocoa + Co. You should skip the coffee and go straight for a dark hot chocolate (holy yum). Intelligentsia Coffee which is south and closer to the new high-rises, is the perfect spot to settle in with your laptop and get caffeinated while working.
Old Town Chicago's Village Cycle Center
Famous Village Cycle Center on N. Wells Street – sells bikes on 3 floors and over 30,000 square feet of space! They’re the nation’s largest bicycle shop and have been in Old Town since the 70s.
The breadth and depth of shops and boutiques in Old Town is super eclectic. My favorite section of Wells has a spice shop called The Spice House which is single-handedly responsible for me finally taking up cooking. With thousands of spices and blends packed into the cutest little shop, I could spend hours peppering the staff with questions.
Conveniences
Yes, I love those independent shops and boutiques but if there’s one thing I canno
