Chicago’s Neighborhood News – Lincoln Park: So much more than a Zoo!
Most people know Lincoln Parkas the home of the only free-admission zoo in North America. Or, they know the great Chicago History Museum and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Or DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the U.S. Or the amazing restaurants, clubs, and concert venues.
Sadly, it’s still home to Lincoln Park Towing, 4882 N. Clark Street, aka, the ‘Lincoln Park Pirates. ‘
Lincoln Park, notes Wikipedia, has Chicago’s only 3-Michelin star restaurant, Alinea. The Lettuce Entertain You restaurant empire started at R.J. Grunts at 2056 N. Lincoln Park West. Bordered on the north by Diversey Parkway, on the west by the Chicago River, on the south by North Avenue, and on the east by Lake Michigan, Lincoln Park communities includes Lincoln Central, Mid-North, Old Town Triangle, Park West, RANCH Triangle, Sheffield, and Wrightwood Neighbors. The area also includes the Clybourn Corridor retail district.
It wasn’t always the shopping, dining, entertainment and educational mecca that it is today. And certainly it wasn’t one of the wealthiest communities in Chicago. According to Wikipedia sources, in 1824, the United States Army built a small post near what is now Clybourn Avenue and Armitage Avenue. “There were Native American settlements existed along Green Bay Trail, now called Clark Street (named after George Rogers Clark, of Lewis & Clark fame), at the current intersection of Halsted Street and Fullerton Avenue. Immigrants came in the 20th Century, from Eastern Europe and Italy. Later, Lincoln Park was the scene of the ‘St. Valentine’s Day Massacre’ on February 14, 1929, when seven mob associates and a mechanic were shot to death in an automobile garage at 2122 N. Clark Street.”
Golfing in Winter at Diversey Driving Range
Yes, Lincoln Park Zoo is open year-round. But that’s not all the outdoor fun you can have in the middle of winter. Golf fanatics can golf year-round at the Diversey Driving Range & Miniature Golf, 141 W. Diversey Parkway, open daily from 7am – 11pm. The last sale at 10pm, according to their website. The course, which opened in 1916, now boasts a synthetic turf range, two putting greens, a miniature golf range, and multiple covered heated hitting mat areas. Additionally, the upper hitting deck offers views of Lake Michigan, Diversey Harbor, Lincoln Park Zoo, and downtown! For more information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
