Connections to community

Old Town, ChicagoConnections to Community

Location - Old Town● Old Town is one of Chicago’s

most quaint and historic neighborhoods.

● Tucked in between Lincoln Park and the bustling business district downtown.

● Old Town is bordered by W. Division St., N. Clark St., W. North Ave., N. Larrabee St., and N. Clybourn Ave

How to get there?- From the Loyola

Station we take the train towards 95th Street and get off at Clark/Division stop. Its about a 40 minutes ride there with 12 stops in between.

- After you get off at the station, its a few blocks worth of walk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Line_(CTA)

General Overview- Old Town NeighborhoodDemographics:Median Age: ● 36.8 years (M) ● 35.0 years (F)

Racial Diversity:Varies greatly within Old Town, some sections are 80% white, others are

70% black.

Average Cost of a Home: ● $540,999 (house)● $456,779

(apartment)

Median Income: ● $66,012● Ranges from

$6,861 in some areas to $139,750 in others

A higher percentage of Old Town residents have a college degree compared to Chicago as a whole.

History: Old Town & The Great Chicago FireArea now known as Old Town was settled by German and Irish immigrants.Street layouts predate the Chicago fire, and therefore don’t follow the grid pattern.Old town was also a center of hippie culture in Chicago.

Group Experience- St. Michael’s

St. Michael’s Church in Old Town dates back to 1852. It is one of few buildings that survived the Chicago Fire, although it was badly damaged.http://www.st-mikes.org

Group Experience - Second City

Old Town is home to Chicago’s Second City Comedy Group at the UP! Comedy Club. The box office marquee, located just off the intersection of Old Town’s historic Wells Street and North Avenue, advertises all upcoming events at the club.

Group Experience- Chicago History Museum

One of the main attractions in Old Town is the CHM, which has plenty of interesting exhibitions. (“1968”, “Abraham Lincoln”, “Railroaders”)http://chicagohistory.org/

Group Experience- Wells Street

Wells Street is the major route that runs through Old Town. This is where most of the restaurants, stores, and social hubs are located.

Group Reflection

Exploring is always more fun when it is with friends. As we set out on this journey to explore a certain area of

Chicago, we were excited; curious to know what awaits us. With Halloween just around the corner, the

restaurants and streets were decorated thoroughly making it a more lively experience. Although we were not

allowed to take pictures in some places, we captured the true essence of this town in our minds along with the

memories of this fun journey. Looking at the historical richness in the museums and churches, we couldn’t help

ourselves but wonder about the stories that lie in the past. This pathway to historical discovery has truly been

both an enlightening and exciting journey. This was indeed an authentic Chicago experience as Chicago is known

for its diverse history and being able to look at this first hand has only enhanced our Loyola Experience.

Bibliography● "Old Town neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (IL), 60610 detailed profile." Old Town neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (IL), 6

0610 subdivision profile. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Old-Town-Chicago-IL.html>.

● "Old Town Real Estate For Sale in Chicago." Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <https://www.seechicagorealestate.com/old-town-real-estate-chicago.php>.

● "Red Line (CTA)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.