Chicago West Loop

A neighborhood at the tail end of reinventing itself from rundown warehouse district to trendy new hotspot, the West Loop holds a distinctive urban integrity unlike anywhere else in the city. Evidence of the once abandoned manufacturing and storage sites are masked by converted industrial buildings, loft and studio spaces, art galleries, refurbished streets and sidewalks, fashionable businesses, and splashes of greenery. A group of forward-thinking developers and a bevy of creative restaurateurs have transformed the West Loop into an exciting Chicago community that has gained serious recognition in the past decade.

A flourishing artist community emerged in the West Loop, bolstered by an abundance of inexpensive showroom space and an avant-garde environment primed for new life. A couple dozen galleries are located in the area with collections of original works by both local and nationally-acclaimed sculptors, painters, photographers, conceptualists and other professional creatives. The neighborhood is also a haven for contemporary, new dining options that draw patrons from all over the city.

The delicious hodgepodge of international cuisine includes popular all-American brunch places like Wishbone (1001 W Washington); excellent sushi bars like Izumi (731 W Randolph) and Butterfly (1156 W Grand); fabulous French fare at Marche (833 W Randolph); and several Italian eateries, such as Oggi Trattoria Café (1378 Grand), La Luce (1393 W Lake), and Follia (953 W Fulton). Of course, West Loop cuisine is perhaps most identified for its concentration of Greek food restaurants known as Greektown. Centered about the intersection of Halsted and Randolph streets, this convergence of family-owned businesses is the best spot in town for authentic Athenian dishes and real Mediterranean flavor.

Once evening approaches, West Loop kicks into gear with several ultra-hip dance clubs, lounges and other late-night party destinations. The dressed-to-impress head to all-the-rage bars like Transit (1431 W Lake), Reserve (858 W Lake) and Chromium (817 W Lake), which bring in revelers with loud DJ-spun music, sizeable dance floors, and flashy drink menus. Steeped in posh décor and dark corners, the exclusive vibe of Plush (1104 W Madison) and Fulton Lounge (955 W Fulton) attract an uppity crowd who prefer dessert-like martinis to frothy draft-pulled brews. During the summer, the typical bar scene in the West Loop is traded in for fun street fairs and music festivals that rev up the weekends with great local bites, as in the Taste of Randolph Street, and nonstop musical entertainment, like the Pitchfork Music Festival, held at Union Park on the neighborhood’s northwest side.

The West Loop is also home to a notable Chicago mainstay responsible for the production of a worldwide phenomenon – The Oprah Winfrey Show. The daytime television talk show host tapes her program at Harpo Studios (1058 W Washington), which was fashioned out of an old armory in 1988. This large West Loop studio-complex rivals those of Hollywood or New York and holds some of the most difficult to get tickets in Chicago with a year-long waitlist for audience seats at one of Oprah’s explicitly emotional tapings. So if you want to see the Queen of Talk in action, better sign up well in advance for a chance to visit this impenetrable West Loop institution.

For a complete to even planning in Chicago’s west loop, visit Hereschicago.com, Chicago’s meeting and event planning guide featuring West Loop’s Planner Preferred restaurants, bars, nightclubs, meeting and event venues.