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Neighborhood in Illinois, US
Photo: Marc Heiden, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Wicker Park is the vanguard of music, nightlife, and fashion in Chicago. This article also includes the sly, enjoyable Ukrainian Village, immediately south, and pieces of the greater West Town area.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
This triangular behemoth was built in 1913 by the great Holabird & Roche, one of their few major products outside the Loop. The first floor is all retail, but the second and third floors have small art studios and galleries. Aside from the First Friday open hours (above), a few studios and galleries also have Saturday and Sunday afternoon hours.
Russian Orthodox church in Ukrainian Village, designed by Louis Sullivan in 1903. It was funded in part by Czar Nicholas II; today, it thrives as a neighborhood parish.
Library and exhibitions on Polish heritage, both in Chicago and in Poland. It is home to the largest collection of memorabilia relating to Ignace Paderewski, and the museum is purportedly haunted by the once famous pianist.
This building was designed as a bank by Whitney & Williams when it was built in 1920. The society houses non-profit art galleries which focus on promoting cultural communication between Europe and the United States. The society also hosts film festivals exploring European cinema, art exhibitions, and concerts.
No shortage of magnificent Ukrainian churches in this part of town — this soaring example was built in 1913 on the model of St Sophia's in Kyiv. The eye-catching thirteen onion domes stand for Christ and the 12 apostles. Most masses are in Ukrainian but there is one weekly English-language mass is at 11:30AM on Sundays.
This huge, golden-domed, Ukrainian Catholic church has been a local landmark since its construction in 1973. The church was built during a brief neighborhood schism over a move to use the Gregorian instead of the Julian calendar. How to upstage a church modeled after Kyiv's St Sophia's? Build one modeled after Istanbul's Hagia Sophia! It is well worth a visit to marvel at the magnificent interior and iconostasis. Even if you come by when it's closed, you can appreciate at the mosaic over the entrance depicting the Baptism of the Rus' by the parish's namesake saints. Most masses in Ukrainian.
This is a superb, lovingly curated collection of abstract and minimalist art by major Ukrainian and Ukrainian-American artists. The three permanent galleries represent not only Ukrainian heritage, but also one of Chicago's best and most underrated experiences for art lovers of any ethnicity.
Almost certainly the best collection of Ukrainian ethnographic exhibits (musical instruments, traditional costumes, folk art, etc.) in the United States. Historical exhibits cover issues such as the famines under Stalin and the fallout after the Chernobyl meltdown. The museum also hosts an impressive library and archives for researchers, as well as occasional Ukrainian-related art exhibitions.
One of Chicago's famed "Polish cathedrals" that were built by Polish immigrants. Today, with the Polish community have moved further afield, the church no longer offers Polish masses, but instead offers masses in Latin and English. While most of its Latin masses use Gregorian chant, orchestral masses by the great composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Fauré are sometimes performed for special occasions. Its annual performance of Mozart's Requiem for All Souls' Day (November 2) is especially popular, and attracts not only Catholics from other parishes, but also many non-Christians too.
An experimental theater complex encompassing two stages, a cafe, and a gallery. Many works in translation from Eastern Europe have made their US debut here, although the theater keeps strong ties to Wicker Park and local history as well.
Multikulti is a collaborative avant-garde multi-cultural arts venue. Hosting jam sessions, live music, film screenings and an art gallery, the 3,500 sq ft facility includes an office and multimedia production studio, a community room and performance venue, an arts and material crafts studio, a conference room, kitchen, and the Chicago Community Darkroom. Typically ask for a $5 donation.
A great way to sample local comedy or catch up-and-coming acts. Each night features sets from three visiting guest groups and the house ensemble, The Crocodile Players. The show is free and the bar gives out free personal pizzas when you purchase a drink. Performers come from all over Chicago (including: Second City, iO, the Annoyance, ComedySportz and The Playground), but the mission is providing opportunities for young, independent and out of state groups.
Just a look at the whirls of frosting and gingerbread fortresses in the window tends to bring a smile. The tarts, cupcakes, and coffee back that up. Alliance has been here for more than 80 years. There's a pleasant, inviting cafe next door with free WiFi.
A great hot dog and burger place with what may be the best milkshakes in Chicago.
Westward the course of the fried chicken empire makes its way, to Wicker Park. Some say this outpost makes compromises for the upscale surroundings — wheat bread, moist towelettes, a general lack of bulletproof glass — but even if they do, it's still the best cheap fried chicken you'll find here or anywhere north.
Some call these the best pierogies in Chicago — high praise, indeed. The cabbage rolls are also highly recommended. If you like what you eat but live out of state, take comfort: Kasia's will deliver the good stuff anywhere in the USA.
Breakfast sandwiches, espresso and baked goods with good, healthy cooking. If you enjoy Letizia's, come back later for Enoteca, the wine bar under the same management next door.
Gradual expansion over the past thirty years has led to the curious appearance of two (there used to be three!) identically named establishments within the same half-block of Ashland. Both are family-owned and make tasty Mexican tacos and burritos, with slight variations in the menus. The newest location at 1132 N Ashland is somewhat Americanized compared to the other two.
Excellent Southeast Asian dishes and cheap for such large portions.
Real Polish food at the old Polish triangle of Ashland, Milwaukee, and Division. Podlanka has one of the best cabbage soups in town; pierogies, potato pancakes, and many other delights await. Locals, from construction workers and students to nuns fill the place. The prices are great.
Few restaurants smell as good as Sultan's Market, and the prices are absurdly low for the amount of satisfaction you'll get. Cheese and egg pitas make a nice complement to any falafel sandwich, and they also do a fine shawerma. Cash only, ATM in the back.
A local Chicago institution, known for serving up creative and unique flavors. Open only May-October.
With a prop DeLorean in the front window, this quirky 80s themed coffee shop offers up local baked goods and fresh coffee. Ample seating, if you get there at the right time. Offers WiFi and a TV set up with vintage video games.
The food is all right (and vegan-friendly), but Bite is right next door to the Empty Bottle, perfect for a pre-show meal. (There will be lines, but they're never as bad as they look.) Alcohol can be brought over from the Empty Bottle's bar.
A thin crust pizza joint, best known for their unusual pairings of pizza ingredients and 'pizza brunch', with no shortage of vegan friendly options for all.
An easy-to-miss restaurant, the dark, modern atmosphere is accented with projected anime, house music, and great sushi. Usually has a special for the 'roll of the month'.
Great breakfast, with two stars: the design-your-own omelets and the big, delicious praline banana pancakes. Show up early: the line has been known to run down Milwaukee on weekends.
In the pizza wars between Chicago-style, Brooklyn, Naples, and gourmet-trendy, Chicago of course wins. But the pizza wars are truly a fraud, overlooking pizza (more precisely, apizza) from the humbler city of New Haven, which may indeed may be the best of them all. Chicago's new coal-fired pizza oven serves some of the best apizza outside New Haven, and while it may seem irreverent to eat pizza from Connecticut while in Chicago, you'd honestly be hard pressed to do better.
A vegetarian friendly restaurant and beer garden in Wicker Park, and the headquarters of Chicago's bicycle culture.
Thin-crust pizza and micro-brews. Live music most Fridays, karaoke on Thursdays at 9PM — live band karaoke on Saturdays at 11PM. The kitchen usually isn't open past 11:30PM or so, though.
Jazz, swing, bluegrass and BBQ on Division. Smoke Daddy has live music seven nights a week, with big sandwiches and huge rib platters. They offer a BBQ Veggie sandwich if you're trying to coerce a vegetarian friend to come along.
Old auto repair garage converted into one of the most popular Mexican (gourmet style) street food spots in the city. One of the best places in the city for people watching, the bar/restaurant can be unbelievably crowded and it might be better just to grab a few tacos to go from the carryout window and watch all the hipsters/yuppies running around the Damen stop about while waiting for your food.
Future style and fresh sushi in formidable amounts, with a second-floor sake lounge. If price is no concern, Mirai is the place to revel in pure atmosphere (and raw food).
An old, speakeasy-era bar among the Division nightlife that now caters to a younger crowd, but hits all the marks: cheap beer, a good jukebox, pool, and cheap beer. (Also cheap beer.)
It's hard to say exactly what sets it apart, but with the fall of Tuman's, any survey of Ukrainian Village residents would place the Innertown first among dive bars. (Excepting the neighbors, that is, who are trying to get it closed down.) It's not easy to find but it's a landmark, so follow the noise or spend the cheap-beer savings on a cab.
Everyone feels welcome at the Musical Inn. Outdoor seating is packed on Division in the summer, which is why this is one to know — few people are aware that a great beer garden lurks behind the tall stone fence next door to Phyllis', which looks like a garden variety dive bar at first glance. (Befitting the name, there are bands here sometimes.)
An old bar — the classic neon sign tips that right away — with a few literary references in its history. In a neighborhood of hipster dives, this is the hipster dive, but at least you can say you've been.
The emo-rap electro kids like it here. There are two floors of video walls, color lightboxes, ferocious deployments of lacquer, and DJs who fly around the room. It's all a little stressful, but perhaps you're into that sort of thing.
To Chicago as the Knitting Factory is to NYC, the Empty Bottle hosts a mix of touring indie-rock veterans, local bands, and occasional appearances by American and Dutch avant-garde jazz. The sound and the room are OK at best, but the people who work here (and their great taste in music) make it exceptional. They also program events in Logan Square and Portage Park, among others. If you're hungry before a show, step next door to Bite (see Eat).
One of the finest drinking and hollering establishments in the U.S., the Hideout hosts the best in alt-folk, bluegrass, Americana and just plain hillbilly music. The place is a bit hard to find, hidden as it is next to the city's main north-side refueling station for garbage trucks, but it's more than worth the trouble. Of special interest to old-timey fans is the regular Tuesday night appearance of Devil in a Woodpile.
A laid-back club with diverse music and crowd. DJs spin in the lounge and indie rock appears in the Cabaret. Drinks are worth the price, and there's a bonus: once you stumble outside, you're surrounded by great after-hours dive eateries.
A sports bar, but not in a meathead sort of way, and not at all like the post-fraternity college sports bars in Lincoln Park. Good food, TVs, and beer.
No longer the Alcohol Abuse Center that defined an era in the Ukrainian Village, but the new owners have kept the name and overcome local resentment with food, flatscreen TVs, and an all-around decent neighborhood bar.
Named after a line in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, The Violet Hour is hidden away — there's no sign, and no name on the door. Inside, though, is a marvelous, decadent, Alice-in-Wonderland plus speakeasy vibe. It's a great place for a date. The cocktails are $11-12, but they won't disappoint — certified mixologists take up to four minutes to make them. And if you've never had a banana peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich deep fried and dusted with bacon crumbs, here's your chance.
A handful of B&B-style rooms above a rejuvenation spa in an 1896 building, with amenities geared toward relaxation — lush, comfortable decor, but no television or telephones. But it's right in the midst of the lively Wicker Park scene, so you won't miss them...much. Two-night minimum stay on weekends.
B&B with five beautiful rooms on-site and three apartments across the street for nightly rentals. Friendly staff can help you get the lay of the neighborhood.
Located in the renovated art-deco 1929 Northwest Tower, hotel features small but comfortable rooms immediately adjacent to the Damen Blue Line stop in the heart Wicker Park. Hotel features a ground-floor restaurant (Cafe Robey), second-floor lounge and bar (Clever Coyote), a sixth-floor rooftop pool and lounge (Cabana Club) and a 13th-floor rooftop bar (The Up Room) with arguably the best skyline view in the city.
The Boring Store
Most certainly not a secret-agent supply store, as the Chris Ware signs take pains to stress. Inside, proceeds from the sale of perfectly normal items like cough silencers support a non-profit writing/tutoring center for kids founded by Dave Eggers of McSweeney's fame.
Justly beloved used book store with cats, clutter (80,000 books worth), and great hours. They occasionally host Experimental Music Mondays and poetry readings on Sundays, but with three floors, there's always a quiet corner.
Lots of edgy books, indie comix, and hip zines (hand-stapled and well-polished alike). If somebody out there is publishing about it, Quimby's probably has it.
Offers "Historical Americana," namely Lincoln and Civil War items, rare and autographed books, an amazing collection of Civil War photographs and salt prints, and all sorts of fascinating miscellany. Check out their "Essential" shelves for aspiring collectors and see how your own stacks up. Appraisal services are also available.
One perfectly reasonable reaction to the trendy fashion in Wicker Park is to go country. Alcala's has been in the neighborhood for a long time, back when the Mexican cowboy look ruled the local scene. The big, family-owned store has a ton of leather boots & jackets, not to mention 5,000 hats.
Beads for the true bead fiend, both ready-made and ready to be made. There are classes for beginners on Tuesday nights (7-9PM, $60), and occasional workshops — check the calendar.
Men's and women's vintage clothing from the 1980s-90s.
Good-looking clothes — Penelope's carries younger, hip brands for men and women, but it's quality stuff, made to last. They have some good handbags, messenger bags, and cool gifts as well.
Collectible sneakers both classic and modern are sold here, along with cool kicks and other gear by local designers.
Vintage clothing store run by nice people. Una Mae's has been around for a while, and they have great items for men and women, particularly from the 1960s and 70s.
This record store is regarded as one of the best in the country for R&B, soul, and jazz.
A place for obscure vinyl and a well-organized assortment of CDs. They also sell DVDs and VHS. Though best known for being where High Fidelity was set, they are slightly more agreeable now about purchases.
Ultra-eccentric video rental store. YouTube pales, cuts its hair and goes to law school next to the rarities found here. It’s cheap, too. If you plan on being in Chicago for a while, you can volunteer to work here.
A spa also known for its body butters and dessert-shaped soaps, all made locally. Small staff is helpful and very friendly.
By bus
By car
I-90/94, that shining exemplar of Chicago gridlock, runs close to Ukrainian Village — exit at Division and head straight west, or make a right off Division on Milwaukee to reach Wicker Park.
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