In the late 1800s, Chicago donned the "Emerald Necklace" of its boulevard system. The sweeping boulevards were designed to create wide green spaces at a time when large families commonly lived in small apartments. The boulevards gave urban dwellers the opportunity to escape, to expand and breathe open air. They helped preserve the neighborhoods that were lucky enough to be part of the system, and the sweeping expanses bordered by classic greystones are still draws for home owners and real-estate investors in neighborhoods such as Logan Square.
Logan Square has been an integrated melting pot since the nineteenth century. In its earlier days, the community was dominated by Jewish merchants centered around Kedzie between Armitage and Diversey. Swedes and Norwegians also populated the neighborhood‹and apparently didn't get along very well. Evidence of former Scandinavian residents, statues and dedications to various Svens and Bjorns, is still scattered from Logan Square down through Humboldt Park.
Logan Square continued to be a destination for immigrants through World War II. In the sixties, however, the make-up of the neighborhood began to change. The upwardly mobile lures of suburbia, as well as race riots that caused Chicago's West Side to burn, resulted in white flight, and many of Logan Square's long-time residents bolted. At the same time, large numbers of Hispanics found themselves being pushed west, and many settled in Logan Square. The 1990 census found Logan Square to be the fifth-largest of Chicago's seventy-seven neighborhoods, and the population has continues to expand from the 90,000 counted in that census. Ethnically, Logan Square has a little bit of everything, including sixteen distinct groups of Hispanics. Puerto Ricans and Mexicans are the two largest segments, while Cubans, the Hispanic group that has lived in the community the longest, now own many of the businesses. Socially, the community remains diverse with blue-collar workers, students and artists, and, increasingly, yuppies.
Today, Logan Square encompasses an area defined by the Bloomingdale viaduct on the south (four blocks below Armitage), Fairfield and Western on the east, Hamlin to the west, and a floating northern border that meanders between Diversey and Belmont. Logan Square's culinary community reflects the neighborhood's lively ethnicity and ongoing gentrification. Restaurant and dance club Tania's is the grand dame of the neighborhood, with its extensive Cuban menu and dance floor, which remains packed long after the kitchen closes. Another late-night option is Abril, with its generous portions of traditional Mexican favorites, margaritas and atole, a warm cornstarch-based drink. Kids eat free on Wednesdays, and candy-filled pińatas are hung nightly.
The restaurant 911 is owned by a former policewoman who dishes up hearty servings of Mexican and Puerto Rican dishes to many of her former colleagues. On the southern end of the neighborhood, offering some of the most southern gastronomic options, lies El Nandu, an Argentinean restaurant that serves some nine varieties of flaky empanada. If you've still got room left after the appetizers, order a steak or a breast of chicken smothered in chimichurri, a traditional sauce made from garlic, parsley, oil, vinegar and spices.
The artistic element of the neighborhood is served by Logan Beach Café, a coffeehouse known for its breakfasts and Friday-night seven-course Indonesian Nase Rames for $10.75. The opening of a cozy trattoria or supper club seems to be a mark of full-swing gentrification, and Logan Square's step in that direction is represented by The Boulevard Café & Lounge, which serves "traditional and eclectic American" dishes, including a daily special meatloaf.
If you're looking for an introduction to Logan Square, take advantage of two annual summer events. The Taste of Logan Square will be held August 23-24 at Logan and Kedzie. Proceeds go to local community youth groups. The Logan Square Historic Mansion House Walk, an opportunity to see some of the city's premier architecture, is also held every September. For more information, call the 35th Ward Office at (773)276-3535.
by A. LaBan
Abril, 2607 North Milwaukee, (773)227-7252, is open Sun-Thu Open until midnight, Fri-Sat until 3am.
The Boulevard Café & Lounge, 3137 West Logan, (773)384-8600, is open Tu-Thu 5pm-2am, Fri-Sat until 3am, Sun brunch 11am-2pm. Reservations recommended.
El Nandu, 2731 West Fullerton, (773)278-0900, is open Mon-Wed 11:30am-10:30pm, Thu-Sat until 2am, Sun 4:30-10:30pm. Live music Thu-Sat.
Logan Beach Café, 2537 North Kedzie, (773)862-4277, is open Mon-Thu 8:30am-10pm, Fri 8:30am-11pm, Sat 7am-11pm, Sun 7am-10pm.
911, 2523 North Milwaukee, (773)489-9111, is open daily until 10pm.
Tania's, 2659 North Milwaukee, (773)235-7120, is open Mon-Thu 11am-midnight, Fri 11-4am, Sat 2:30pm-4am, Sun 3pm-midnight. Live music on weekends.
copyright 1998 New City Communications, Inc.