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Chicago, United States
Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Chicago's Far West Side is best known (somewhat unfairly) for being impoverished and crime-ridden, but it has at least one major attraction as well as some fabulous parks, vibrant immigrant communities, and blues legends. Regardless, you're definitely off the tourist map on the Far West Side.
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History-filled Chicago park 15 minutes west of downtown, with some fun outdoor sculptures, plenty of green space, and a fabulous fieldhouse. It's in a rough neighborhood, though you can take the L right to the park, which is safe.
Amazing botanical conservatory, one of the largest indoor gardens in the world, which is often blessed with large-scale contemporary art installations as well as frequent family-oriented events. Definitely bring the kids, who will not lack for things to climb on and strange environments to run around in. Perhaps in an effort to assuage especially fearful Chicagoans, the L stop actually hovers directly above the conservatory entrance, so definitely don't pass this place over for fear of the surrounding neighborhood. There is also ample free lot and on-street parking right around the main building.
Chicago's most far flung city landmark is covered with wonderfully elaborate carvings in its art deco, terra cotta exterior. The bank's construction was finished in the malapropos year of 1929.
Chicagoans can't get enough Towers of Sears. This is the original, which at a height of 250 feet served as Sears' headquarters until the move into the slightly taller building downtown. Once the largest commercial building in the world, the tower must now content itself with being the tallest in the Far West Side. A short jaunt in either direction on Arthington St will reveal more grandiose old Sears buildings, from the power plant and warehouses to the west to the headquarters building just across the street to the east.
For sake of comprehensiveness, you might want to drive by this Frank Lloyd Wright house in Austin after a tour of his numerous buildings in neighboring Oak Park. The house is a textbook example of success in applying the Prairie School design principles of strong horizontals and open interiors. Look especially for the attractive windows (not originals, unfortunately), whose patterns have inspired a line of Frank Lloyd Wright jewelry.
The beautifully preserved historic house where Walt Disney was born.
Home of two lagoons, Jens Jensen formal garden, statues of bison and Alexander von Humboldt, a Queen Anne style stable and refectory, and, for a while in 2019, even a baby gator (escaped). The park features food trucks with Puerto Rican cuisine and views of downtown Chicago.
A busy theater with acclaimed productions of Spanish-language and bi-lingual comedy, drama, music, and dance.
The Apollos is a major local landmark, its art deco theater facade now serving a music hall. The events calendar is dominated by live Mexican bands, but branches out into a little of everything. You'll need to swing by or check the papers to keep abreast of events, but even if you don't catch a show, take note of this beautiful building.
Like the Pilsen Open Studios event in neighboring Pilsen, the annual Little Village Arts Fest opens the doors of the several art studios and participating businesses in the neighborhood for a weekend of browsing and community spirit.
This small, inviting cafe is one of the best options for visitors wanting a simple, yet authentic Puerto Rican lunch. One part coffee shop, one part bakery, and delicious sandwiches. If you are up early and in the neighborhood, come here for a terrific Puerto Rican breakfast.
This Humboldt Park rotisserie chicken joint also boasts a mean pulled pork BBQ sandwich, all with a host of comfort-food side dishes — Feed pulls in a lot of business all week long. The food is good and cheap.
Perhaps Austin's favorite soul food kitchen, MacArthur's delights patrons with properly done comfort food in a cafeteria-style eating area. Since getting the President Obama endorsement in "The Audacity of Hope," MacArthur's is now drawing foodies from all over the city — with all due hailing to the Chief, he isn't right that this is the best soul food in the city, but may well be the best value.
The soul food taco is a rare beast, but the long lines coming out the door of this small Austin carryout joint should give confidence to the quality of its inauthentic and wildly unhealthy "Mexican" cooking in a less than safe stretch of Chicago Ave. Get your tacos drenched in hot sauce and the fries in mild.
Tacos and tortas in a small, family run taquería. Also a good spot for fruit fanatics, as they offer fresh squeezed juices and licuados (milkshakes made with fresh fruit).
The original Los Comales is a big, family-friendly, cafeteria-style eatery with a take-out counter and even a drive-through window. Skip the combo platters in favor of the authentic, cilantro-drenched tacos. If your taco experiences have been limited to gringo chains, the ones here will leave you weak in the knees with pleasure. The "Al Pastor" pork taco is the local specialty, but all options are great. Wash your meal down with a glass of horchata and all will be right with the world.
Baking confections since 1911; bring your sweettooth for a donut or banana boat or torte.
Belmont and Central is commonly agreed upon as the heart of Chicago's North Side Polish community, and Grota is right in the middle of it, with a reputation as simply the area's best Polish restaurant. The buffet is scrumptious and affordable, the atmosphere distinctly Polish. But if you were looking for something a little more upscale, look just north on the Far Northwest Side for Lutnia.
If you've spent much time in Chicago at all, you've probably run into Home Run Pizza, whether you passed by a franchise or just the frozen goods aisle of a grocery store. This is the original location. Many consider its crunchy Chicago-thin-crust pizza the best in the city.
This is probably the most noteworthy restaurant within close proximity of the Garfield Park Conservatory; everything on the menu is prepared and served by former homeless people in a culinary training program. It's organized through the Inspiration Corporation at 4554 N Broadway in Uptown, which is a great place to volunteer for a day.
An excellent, very authentic, and inviting Puerto Rican-Caribbean restaurant next to the park on Division.
Top notch deep dish pizza in Lawndale. Stick to the pizza — the other dishes are sub-par. It's actually the first sit-down restaurant in the neighborhood, staffed by mostly volunteers, & proceeds go to the local community center — eat your pizza for the children!
Somehow the coolest, trendiest bar/lounge in this section of the city has actually been here for over 70 years. The authentic jazz-age art deco bar, serving authentic jazz-age American cocktails (and $2 PBRs) just enjoyed a thorough restoration, and the red lighting, red booths, and red bar make for a very attractive place to enjoy some drinks. Entertainment is provided in the form of live music F-Sa (jazz, blues, honky tonk, country, etc.), as well as ridiculous board games like Pretty Princess and Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Somehow the party wound up at the intersection of Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, and Ukrainian Village. Rock 'n' roll blares out the speakers into the small hours of the night. Because of the extremely long hours, it fills up with already wasted trendsters after midnight and gets extremely trashy and raucous, but that can be fun in its own way.
You'll have fun here. La Villita's favorite Latin-American rock club packs in large, high energy crowds every Friday night. The place is just a mild mannered restaurant, however, the rest of the week.
A giant Mexican country nightclub/dance hall with three full bars deep into the thick of La Villita. Weekends can see hundreds of visitors, seeking to replicate an experience for which you'd normally have to head to Northern Mexico.
The Far West Side saw a lot of mob activity back in the day and this independent hotel can claim the dubious distinction of having put up John Dillinger on occasion. Otherwise, it's just another cheap, dingy option far from downtown.
An old, independent, somewhat run-down hotel in northwestern Humboldt Park. For those with lively 1930s gangster imaginations, George "Red" Barker caught 18 bullets from a Tommy gun right in front of the hotel steps in 1932.
By Far West Side standards, this spot has a good location — just across the intersection from the Humboldt Park Lagoon.
Aside from dominating Belmont Cragin commerce, there's nothing much special about the Brickyard Mall. But you'll find what you need here.
An out of the way music store stocking a near infinite quantity of R&B, jazz, blues, and gospel LPs and tapes stacked straight up to the ceiling.
By bus
The CTA runs several bus routes through the West Side:
By car
The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) is the major thoroughfare crossing the Far West Side, although travelers along the historic Route 66 will pass through the area as well, on Ogden Avenue, which leads…
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