The commercial heart of Chicago has undergone a dramatic transformation during the past three decades. Downtown has been marked by an increasing diversity of building types and uses as well as a steady increase in the number of full-time residents and university students. Famous worldwide for its innovative, beautiful and often powerfully-designed tall buildings, the heart-of-the-city also features cultural, institutional, civic and commercial buildings that serve residents and large numbers of visitors. Recent efforts to lure small and large companies back to downtown office locations continue despite the overall economic challenges facing the state and the nation.

Community Partners:

Building Owners and Managers Association

Greater North Michigan Avenue Association

Chicago Loop Alliance

Bridgeport and Back of the Yards, both neighborhoods with deep industrial roots, were instrumental to the growth of Chicago. Formerly known as Hardscrabble, Bridgeport housed the workers constructing the Illinois & Michigan Canal (completed 1848). As the Union Stock Yards grew into the largest livestock processing, distribution and meatpacking facility in the world, “Back of the Yards,” housed many of the Irish and German immigrants who worked in the nearby slaughterhouses, furnaces and factories. The canal (replaced by the larger Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900) and the stockyards (closed in 1971) are long gone but their influence still remains. Steadily turning into two of Chicago’s most surprising neighborhoods, Bridgeport boasts artist galleries and thriving new coffee shops, while Back of the Yards is home to some of the most cutting-edge green technology and sustainable industry in the city.

Community Partners:

Public Media Institute

Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council

Garfield Park and North Lawndale are home to many unique and important buildings as well as large-scale public parks constructed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These communities are currently working hard to reemerge from decades of out-migration and declining investment. Recently, small businesses and artists have discovered the benefits that these communities offer, such as easy access to transit. OHC features just some of the many new dynamic buildings and ornate historic structures that form the built environment of these communities.

Community Partners:

Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance

The Foundation for Homan Square

The Gold Coast has been home to Chicago’s civic and business elites for more than a century and presents many styles of architecture. Among the most exclusive neighborhoods in the country, it is particularly notable for its late 19th-century mansions, many of which have been repurposed as cultural institutions. Buildings in the area include those connected to Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and Dankmar Adler, among many others. From a sustainable, LEED-Gold Certified international public school and unique mid-century modern apartments to the city’s first cultural institution and breathtaking grand residences, this community is packed with icons old and new.

Just 6 miles south of downtown, Hyde Park was originally a modest commuter neighborhood with frequent train service to downtown. In the 1890s, the combined effects of annexation to the city of Chicago, the World’s Columbian Exposition and the establishment of the University of Chicago triggered a wave of development that included large numbers of residences, commercial buildings, civic structures, sacred spaces and enhanced transportation links. In the early twentieth century, the community became increasingly diverse with new Jewish and African-American residents. A wave of urban renewal in the 1960s spared many of the area’s most important historic buildings, which have since been augmented by significant new construction.

Community Partners:

Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce

South East Chicago Commission

A trolley will be circulating all of the Hyde Park OHC sites hourly courtesy of the University of Chicago Office of Civic Engagement! More information coming soon!

One of Chicago’s most affulent communities, Lincoln Park shares a name with its sprawling lakefront park, re-named in 1865 to honor the assassinated president. Evidence of rebuilding from the Chicago Fire of 1871 can still be seen along Menomonee Street, a narrow alley just west of the park, which still retains much of its 1800s character. Lincoln Park became part of the city of Chicago with the annexation of Lake View in 1899. The neighborhood is home to several cultural institutions such as its zoo, one of the oldest in the United States (opened in 1868), Chicago History Museum, Peggy Notaebart Nature Museum (Chicago Academy of Sciences) and DePaul University (previously named St. Vincent's College).

Pilsen (named after a city in the Czech Republic) was established in the 1840s as one of Chicago’s earliest working-class immigrant communities. After the 1871 fire, the area drew large numbers of Bohemian migrants who found work in a burgeoning number of manufacturing plants. In the past six decades, the community has become increasingly defined by Mexican residents and a cultural milieu that includes public art, social justice activism and comprehensive community development. The long history of the community has resulted in a legacy of terrific buildings including churches, theaters, commercial sites, galleries and a unique housing stock.

Community Partner: The Resurrection Project

The Prairie District, a historic neighborhood just south of the Loop, became the city's most fashionable residential area after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. By the turn of the century, Prairie Avenue and Calumet Avenue featured more than 90 of the finest mansions in the city including those of George Pullman, Marshall Field, John J. Glessner and Philip Armour, creating the sobriquet “Millionaire's Row.” After a more industrial phase in the 20th century, in recent years, the Prairie District has reverted to an upscale Chicago neighborhood anchored by several remaining Gilded-Age mansions. The Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance (PDNA) provides representation for thousands of area residents.

Community Partner: Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance

Quite possibly the most famous planned community in American history, Pullman was envisioned by George M. Pullman in 1880 as an all-inclusive model community to house the workers building his popular passenger rail cars. With leadership from architect Solon Spencer Beman, landscape architect Nathan Barrett, and civil engineer Benzette Williams, the city was built entirely by Pullman employees and finished in 1884. Pullman's plentiful park space, front and back porches, and iconic "two greens and dark red" color scheme contributed to Pullman being named the "World's Most Perfect Town" in 1896. Reduced wages and unchanged rents lead to a worker strike in 1894 that halted rail traffic and disrupted U.S. mail service, gaining national attention. While historic buildings such as the Arcade and Market Square complex have since vanished or fallen into disrepair, the Historic Pullman Foundation and Pullman State Historic Site have overseen preservation of this 19th century development well into the 21st century.

Community Partners:

The Pullman State Historic Site

Historic Pullman Foundation

Annexed by Chicago in 1893, Rogers Park and West Ridge are often confused as one neighborhood but are actually two distinct communities with much in common. Rogers Park and West Ridge share tremendous diversity and a history of activism. From the Bohemian leanings of Rogers Park to the West Ridge community organizations that fought to build Warren Park, people from all backgrounds are involved in local, regional and worldwide issues. The communities have seen a near-constant influx of new Americans, new Chicagoans and new neighbors. With that diversity comes a great variety of language, culture, food and opinion as well as unique buildings—both historic and contemporary.

Community Partners:

Rogers Park / West Ridge Historical Society

Rogers Park Business Alliance

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (World’s Fair) sparked one of the first developments in this community. Several wealthy Chicagoans literally moved their homes to South Shore to make way for the fair in Jackson Park. A second major wave of development followed the construction of the South Shore Country Club (now the cultural center). Beautiful homes and apartment buildings were constructed for club members along South Shore Drive and the Jackson Park Highlands. Home to two golf courses, amazing residential buildings and extensive park facilities, South Shore’s amenities reflect its historic past. The community is currently undergoing significant revitalization, especially on the Lake Michigan coast, including a visionary redevelopment of the former U.S. Steel Works site.

Community Partner: South Shore Chamber, Inc.

Uptown is a richly-diverse neighborhood on Chicago’s north side that features ornate historic structures dating from Uptown's heyday as an entertainment destination in the 1920s and 1930s, including world-famous music venues near Lawrence and Broadway. Uptown also includes a vibrant East-Asian business district on Argyle Street. Before the film industry went west to Hollywood, Uptown was the home of well-known early film stars including Charlie Chaplin. The Aragon Ballroom hosted many of the nation’s top-talents—Frank Sinatra got his break on the stage of this evocative concert/dance venue. Explore these historic legacies while enjoying Uptown’s incredible music and dining scene.

Community Partner: Uptown United