Description

Chicago Community Area #4 sits 7 miles northwest of the loop. Lincoln Square is a Community are but it is also a neighborhood within the community area, as are Ravenswood, Bowmanville, Budlong Woods and Ravenswood Manor. Previously this entire area was known as Ravenswood, and many residents still think of it that way. This area’s modern history began when a Swiss immigrant named Conrad Sulzer bought land near Montrose and Clark in 1836.  Soon after, other immigrants from Germany and Switzerland started farming the area, primarily with celery, cucumbers and flowers, bringing their goods to the Loop via Little Fort Road, present day Lincoln Avenue.  Today, the area is filled with wonderful examples of bungalows, brick-flats, courtyard apartments and various Victorian houses and a number of requisite works by Clarence Hatzfeld, Dwight Perkins and Louis Sullivan.