Chicago South Loop
South Loop on Fire, Again
|
|
The South Loop is without question one of the most colorful parts of Chicago. It’s where our most notorious citizen, Al Capone, had his headquarters in the now gone Lexington Hotel on South Wabash Avenue. It’s home to iconic structures that symbolize Chicago sports (Solider Field), culture (Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium) and convention business (McCormick Place). And, it’s where the devastating Chicago Fire of 1871 started in a barn on DeKoven Street. The Great Fire, of course, led to an entirely new Chicago, a bustling metropolis that grew from the ashes.
Today, the South Loop is on fire again – but figuratively speaking. The 74-square-block neighborhood is bordered by two major east-west thoroughfares (Congress Parkway on the north and Cermak Road on the south) and two bodies of water, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Within this area is some of the most robust and diverse development of new and renovated real estate anywhere in the nation, not just Chicago. |
The well-known museums and lakefront parks have long drawn crowds of locals and out-of-town visitors. Today, the South Loop draws young couples, families and singles to live in new luxury high-rise condominiums, renovated loft properties and even traditional single-family homes. Mature town home projects like Dearborn Park and Central Station first brought residents to the neighborhood, but most development today centers on high rise towers that offer sweeping views of the nearby Lake Michigan. A real estate report indicated that at year-end 2006, nearly 50 percent of downtown condo sales were in the South Loop.
Why such a surge in the South Loop? The old adage, “Location, location, location,” is the key reason. To many, the neighborhood offers the best of both worlds: Proximity to the Loop and lakefront and the attractions they offer, but at prices below the tony Gold Coast or trendy Lincoln Park neighborhoods. Plus the South Loop has tremendous public transportation with access to four CTA rail lines and numerous bus routes along major thoroughfares like Roosevelt Road and State Street.
Along with the permanent residents, the South Loop also boasts a huge student population thanks to schools like Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), true urban institutions of higher education. Dedicated to the arts and media, Columbia is one of the largest private colleges of its type, as evidenced by its 16 classrooms and performing arts buildings – all in the South Loop. Affiliated with the internationally renowned museum, the SAIC offers undergraduate and graduate programs in subjects ranging from Architecture to Historic Preservation.
So where to South Loop residents go for entertainment? Along with the lakefront museums, there are dozens of options. Here in the home of the blues, one of the most famous and popular venues is Buddy Guy’s Legends at 754 South Wabash Avenue. Operated by one of the truly great living blues artists still on the scene, Legends draws national and local blues acts to its gritty room. Each January, Guy himself holds court for a month-long gig. For jazz, there’s no place better than the Jazz Showcase at 806 South Plymouth Court in the Dearborn Station district. A Chicago institution for some 60 years, the Jazz Showcase relocated to the South Loop in 2008, continuing its tradition of bringing the best of mainstream and traditional jazz in an intimate setting. Also, one of Chicago’s hidden gems is Tommy Guns Garage Roaring 20’s Speakeasy Dinner Theater located discreetly at Wabash and 22nd. Tommy Guns Garage is Chicago’s Original Speakeasy Dinner Theater which delivers Chicago gangsters, flappers, dinner and a musical comedy review. It’s “comedy and dangerous fun!”
Once a dining desert, the South Loop now boasts some of the city’s most eclectic restaurants. Many are along Wabash Avenue south of Roosevelt Road. Try Opera for upscale Asian cuisine, or its neighbor Gioco for creative Italian offerings. A little farther south, the newly opened Room 21 offers American contemporary fare in a renovated building that once housed a brewery. In warm weather, its outdoor patio is one of the most pleasant in Chicago.
Over the past decade, the South Loop has matured into a hip, urban community in the shadows of the downtown skyline. Ever evolving, it’s poised to become the city’s next great neighborhood.
Visit Here’s Chicago’s event planning guidefor a complete directory of Chicago’s Planner Preferred restaurants, attractions, event venues and services
