Rogers Park

Understand

When Philip Rogers arrived in Chicago for the first time in 1834, he immediately began making plans to leave. There was mud everywhere, the narrow streets were choked and chaotic, and the winters were brutal. But he was stuck in Chicago because the waterways back to New York were frozen, so Rogers had to wait out the winter; by the spring, he had a line on a pretty good team of oxen, so he headed as far north as he could, past the limits of the city and its fringe settlements, out to wild swampland where Indian villages were still resident — and there began Rogers Park.

The nature of Rogers Park is calamity amid beauty and the equality of impulse toward each. In this way, many of the neighborhood's key events can be understood: the secession of the West Ridge area (sometimes called West Rogers Park) over whether to incorporate as a village (which they did anyway); the 1894 "Home-Made Transfer War," in which Rogers Park residents stuck it to railroad tycoon Charles Yerkes by refusing to pay extra to ride the northern extension of his streetcar line, and tried to pass off the transfers they'd made at home on the conductors; and the "Cabbage Head War" of 1896, in which a Rogers Park politician gave unsophisticated West Ridge farmers an unflattering nickname, and they proved him wrong by putting cabbages on poles and marching on his house.

With regular floods from the wild and swampy beaches to the east, annexation to Chicago and its sewage services proved a strong temptation. As the city surged north, a building boom followed, and Rogers Park was blessed with a gorgeous stock of residential and commercial buildings; West Ridge wound up with long blocks of lovely, modest Prairie-style bungalows. Only one famous name is still in the area (Frank Lloyd Wright's Emil Bach House), but the routine beauty of the architecture in Rogers Park and West Ridge is still incredible.

The diversity, too, is unrivaled in a notoriously segregated city. Rogers Park has always been the most beautiful place in Chicago where basically anyone could afford to live — silent Irish generations still fighting the Cabbage Head War in their sleep, and immigrants newly arrived from Serbia, from Jamaica, from the Sudan. For a visitor, special mention has to go to the Indian community on Devon Avenue. Between roughly 2200 W and 2700 W Devon, among thriving import stores that specialize in saris, spices, and the latest Bollywood dreams, there are a number of amazing Indian and Pakistani restaurants that will almost certainly spoil you for the stuff back home (assuming "back home" is anywhere but the Indian subcontinent). The only day not to go is Tuesday, when many businesses and restaurants are closed.

Edgewater, on the other hand, is remarkably laid-back. It was originally demarcated as part of the Uptown community area, but when that area went into economic decline, Edgewater residents swiftly seceded and established their own neighborhood. Today, it segues neatly into Andersonville to the south, with a few gay cultural institutions and several nice restaurants, coffee shops and bars.

Get in

By train

The CTA Red Line runs from the Loop to Edgewater (Bryn Mawr, Thorndale, Granville) and Rogers Park (Loyola, Morse, Jarvis), eventually terminating at Howard Street on the border of Evanston. (There is a major bus terminal adjacent to the Howard station - see below). Travelers with disabilities should plan to disembark at Howard, Loyola or Granville and use a bus to cover any remaining distance to their destinations. The Red Line runs 24/7.

During weekday rush periods, the CTA Purple Line runs from Evanston to Howard, continuing non-stop southward to the Belmont station in Lakeview and then onto the Loop. In non-rush-hour periods, the train runs from Evanston and terminates at Howard. The Purple Line opens at about 5AM (6:30AM Sundays) and closes at about 1AM (2AM Fridays and Saturdays).

The CTA Yellow Line travels between Skokie and Howard. The Yellow Line opens at about 5AM (6:30AM weekends) and closes at about 11PM.

The Metra Union Pacific North Line stops in Rogers Park (at 1800 W Lunt Ave) before moving on to Evanston. Not every train serves that station, though, so check signs or schedules before boarding.

By bus

• 11 Lincoln/Sedgwick travels Lincoln Avenue and then cuts over to Kedzie through West Ridge, passing by the Lincoln Village shopping mall ending at Howard/McCormick near the Skokie North Shore Sculpture Park.
• 22 Clark runs all night along on Clark Street through Rogers Park and Edgewater, and on to Andersonville, Lakeview, and the rest of the North Side.
• 36 Broadway runs through Edgewater and on to Uptown, connecting with the Red Line at Granville.
• 49B North Western starts at the Western Brown Line station in Lincoln Square and passes by the Indian restaurants on Devon ending at the Howard Street, the city limits.
• 84 Peterson runs between the CTA Red Line at Bryn Mawr and the northwest side at Central/Caldwell primarily along Peterson Avenue.
• 92 Foster connects with the Red Line at Berwyn and is the best way to reach Andersonville from the train. It runs along Foster Avenue, the border between Edgewater and Uptown. It also ends up west at the Jefferson Park Blue Line station.
• 93 California/Dodge runs between the northern end of the CTA Brown Line at Kimball in Albany Park and the Davis Purple Line Station in downtown Evanston primarily along California Avenue.
• 96 Lunt runs between the Morse CTA Station and Devon/Kedzie makes stops at the Rogers Park Metra and the Lincolnwood Town Center.
• 97 Skokie runs from the Howard CTA Station through south Evanston & Skokie, connecting with the CTA Yellow Line and ending at the Old Orchard Shopping Center.
• 147 Outer Drive Express runs express on Lake Shore Drive to and from the Magnificent Mile, becoming all-stops for Edgewater and Rogers Park.
• 151 Sheridan is a local route from downtown, running all-stops down Sheridan Road. It's an all-night route.
• 155 Devon connects with both the Morse and Loyola Red Line stations, and travels through the length of the Indian neighborhood on Devon.

A few Pace suburban routes depart from the Howard Street bus terminal.

• 215 Crawford-Howard runs west down Howard Street, ending up at the Old Orchard shopping complex in Skokie.
• 290 Touhy travels through the Orthodox Jewish community in West Ridge, crossing into the suburbs and later back to the Far Northwest Side.

By car

The best way to reach Edgewater and Rogers Park by car is the fabled Lake Shore Drive, which ends at Sheridan and Hollywood in Edgewater. The Edens Expressway has exits at Peterson and Touhy just west of the two neighborhoods.

The intersection of Sheridan and Devon can be confusing if you're trying to follow directions. Coming from Rogers Park, although it looks as though Sheridan continues south past Devon, that's where it becomes Broadway; Sheridan actually veers left at that point and then right along the lake. From the other direction, this is the eastern border of Devon Avenue, even though it looks like it continues further east — that's where the Sheridan name has taken over.

Parking is generally no problem in Edgewater and West Ridge, but Rogers Park is never easy. Watch for permit-only streets near Loyola University, and check street signs on Sheridan before parking overnight there. They're usually full, but there are meter parking lots near the beach at the end of Touhy and between Lunt & Greenleaf, and on the western side of the L tracks on Glenwood.

Stay safe

Edgewater and West Ridge are low crime areas, but Rogers Park has some rough spots at night. Chicagoans tend to overstate the crime rate there, largely because it's surrounded by neighborhoods where crime is comparatively unknown. By overall city standards, it's not particularly dangerous, but don't carry anything irreplaceable on your person (or in your car) if you plan to go roaming after dark. (That said, trouble by day is virtually non-existent.) Campus police patrol the area near Loyola University around the clock, but some visitors may feel uncomfortable walking alone on Morse, Jarvis, Glenwood, Howard, and the side streets late at night. There are police cameras on the streetlights at Morse and Howard, so wave and say 'hello'.

Wandering the beaches and parks is fine after dark, but don't go swimming after hours, particularly at the smaller beaches--certain property owners thrive on calling the cops on late swimmers. Climbing the breakwater rocks between beaches can be a lot of fun, but it is not allowed by the Chicago Park District lifeguards.

Go next

• Evanston is the next city north, offering more beaches, lovely tree-lined residential areas and a thriving downtown.
• Many visitors continue up Sheridan Avenue through Evanston to Wilmette in order to see the spectacular Baha'i Temple.