The Lake View Saga 1985-2005

THE LAKE VIEW SAGA only going to be used to settle a bet on what was the date of the first night game at Wrigley Field or what was the name of the bookstore 1985-2005 that stood next to the Biograph Theater. Lake View has numerous buildings of landmark status. Some of the interiors may By the middle of the 1980s, have changed, and other buildings retain their redevelopment was on the rise in various indoor ambiance, but the outside entrance has pockets of Lake View, as they had been in changed its look or name. The ornate older other neighborhoods—such as Lincoln Park— constructions sitting side-by-side with sleek a few years earlier. Three-flats and single new designs is part of the architectural charm homes alike were either being restored to their of Lake View. former glory by forward-thinking “urban As of the 2000 census, the population pioneers” or else being razed to make way for of Lake View was 98,814, making it the condominiums by savvy developers as second largest community in Chicago. neighborhoods-within-the-neighborhood such Demographics break down into a population as Wrigleyville and Northalsted tried not so that is 79.5% White, 4.42% African- much to “redefine” themselves as to “reassert” American, 8.72% Hispanic, 5.4% Asian, with themselves. the remaining two percent falling into the “Yuppie”–young urban professional–- category of “Other.” The was a new word in the city vernacular, and as median income per the initial influx of singles flooded Lake View household is $53,811. while families moved to the suburbs, changes The one constant were both subtle and stark. Many newer is the multitude of diverse residents, while loving the abundant shopping, faces, from those who restaurants and nightlife opportunities, had have run successful little idea of Lake View’s rich history. The businesses for twenty- period from 1985-2005 was when those two plus years to Lake Views began to merge together to entrepreneurs who have become the one diverse and vibrant followed the influx of neighborhood that exists today. Vito Guistino, Historian reasonably affluent Where once a street dead-ended into residents into the neighborhood, from sharp- an abutment for the Milwaukee Line railroad minded homeowners who have lived here for tracks, it is now a cul-de-sac lined with more than half a century to young people identical townhouses. And the view from the getting their first taste of “city life” in one of elevated train shows a sky broken by both the most accessible and welcoming spires of churches a century old, along with neighborhoods in the city. towers of rebar and steel that are the shells of million dollar condominiums yet to be finished. Yet, that very dichotomy is also GENTRIFICATION & what helps make Lake View so unique. REVITALIZATION It is now the age of information, and even elderly residents with no need for a home The previous editions of THE LAKE VIEW computer can go to the Levy Senior Center SAGA were missing two key words that are further north on Lawrence and learn to point now synonymous to Lake View’s 3.1 square and click to access any knowledge about Lake mile boundaries: “Yuppie” and View they might need, even if that data was “Gentrification.” Whereas gentrification was 84 a term used in other sections of the city, Old business owners on North Halsted. Jim Town and Lincoln Park being examples, the Ludwig, owner of Roscoe’s, Mick Levine of word yuppie made its appearance in San the Ninety- Francisco long before it came into common Ninth Floor, usage here. and Mickey Yuppie describes a demographic of Hornick people primarily compromising the children and his and grandchildren of the baby boomer vegetarian generation. They are most commonly in their Chicago late twenties and early thirties, although one Diner were can be either younger or older and still fall all there in Chicago City Diner into this statistical label. The word emerged 1985, when in the early 1980s as an iconic echo of earlier “North Halsted” was still considered two labels such as ‘hippies’ and ‘yippies.’ words. Syndicated newspaper columnist Bob Roscoe’s remains at ground zero of Greene is generally credited with having used what is still called ‘Boystown” by many long- the term in one of his human interest columns, time residents. Jim Ludwig bought the without giving credit to the word being coined building on a Good Friday, April 1st, 1987; by Alice Kahn, who wrote a column about previously the location had been a young urban professionals in a 1982 article for convenience store. He is one of the the East Bay Express, a newspaper available individuals who helped shepherd the changes free to several San Francisco communities, to the area, including what has become much like Chicago’s own Windy City Times. perhaps the most iconic symbol of this area of The first known citation in Chicago lore was the city: the rainbow pylons on bronzed in a May 13, 1983, article in the Chicago bases, with one word etched into each: Tribune, written by R. C. Longworth and Northalsted. titled “Chicago: City on the brink.” Gentrification initially spread across NORTHALSTED Lake View in a checkerboard fashion. The word itself is defined as “when dilapidated Most people would say that Wrigley neighborhoods are restored and refurbished in Field, with its attendant restaurants, bars and conjunction with changing demographics and shops is the chief economic engine of Lake the influx of wealthier View, as well as the unofficial “capital.” residents. Starting in the However, a persuasive argument can be made mid-1980s, Clark Street, that the area which really defines the changing Diversey and Lincoln demographics and spirit of Lake View would Boulevards saw the first, be “Northalsted.” The area long known as slow changes. Soon, “Boystown” has always been centered around Ashland and Belmont Roscoe and Halsted, though now it is simply a would see nickname, such as “gayborhood. While the redevelopment arrive, southern boundary was previously considered and, recently, Southport to be Diversey Parkway––gentrification and a Clark Street, Looking South Avenue has seen the broader mix of residents have blurred some of biggest changes with the traditional boundaries. Today, Northalsted both residential and commercial development is equally home to the young couples with thriving. children who claim part of the attraction is the One of the keys to the new renaissance “Disneyfied” look to some storefronts as it is can be attributed to dedicated and long-time 85 to longtime residents who still refer to it as were investing in properties in increasing “Boystown.” numbers, bringing explosive growth, yet the “An urban Eden,” is how Jim Ludwig area remained pedestrian-friendly, with characterizes Northalsted. Two decades back, sidewalks widened and outdoor patios and the intersection of Roscoe and Halsted was service areas establishing a presence for the somewhat of a ramshackle area—when he nightclubs and restaurants. Antique shops purchased the building that today houses multiplied on Belmont Avenue and stylish Roscoe’s, while historically significant, was storefronts prospered up and down Broadway. dilapidated and had three pages of code Mick violations. The late 1980s was a time to Levine is the develop a vision, an anchor for what was owner of The being increasingly recognized as a “gay- Ninety-Ninth friendly” neighborhood. How, within that Floor, a shoe context, many challenges existed: AIDS- and apparel related stories were in the news every day, and store up the fear of the disease had brought fear and street from Ninety-Ninth Floor uncertainty into an already-depressed Roscoe’s. economy. Across the street is Mickey Hornick’s Ludwig opened Roscoe’s at 3356 vegetarian Chicago Diner. Both opened in North Halsted 1986, at a time when Levine said the area had patterned after a vibrant “bohemian vibe.” The area was so 1970s-style San eclectic that John Waters, director of Francisco HAIRSPRAY and CRYBABY, took to the buildings: clean streets to film there. Levine rattled off the and bright, with names of many of the earliest gay-themed many windows businesses, starting with Little Jim’s, which facing the street. opened in 1975 and was Northalsted’s first In the fall of 1989, gay bar. The owner, Jim Gates was inducted he opened the back into the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame room as a dance in 2002. Sidetrack, which opened at 3349 hall. In the distant North Halsted in April of 1982, had a new past, it had been a concept for the times, overhead monitors so Jim Ludwig, Owner of “Roscoe’s” stable for seven patrons could enjoy video projected horses. entertainment while dancing and socializing. As neighborhood began to fulfill the The Orbit Room was located at 3708 North promise of gentrification in the 1980s, Broadway, lending its exteriors to the NBC development—by those targeting both gay and television show CRIME STORY. The art deco straight audiences—began to accelerate in sign above the doors perfectly fit with the earnest. By 1995, most of the dilapidated gritty drama’s 1962 setting. buildings had been resurrected as It was sometime in the 1990s that the area condominium started to make a dramatic shift from being developments, “Boystown”—simply an enclave of gay- and the themed destinations—to “Northalsted”—a character of shopping and entertainment destination that Northalsted appealed to gays, straights and all people in was changing. between. Young people Construction on Belmont 86 A PARADE ABOUT festivities. At the about the same time, another type of celebration was becoming “PRIDE” increasingly popular in Chicago: the street festival.

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