UNIV 101 Connections to Chicago Project

1. UNIV 101: CONNECTIONS
TO CHICAGO
Amanda, Christian, Sarah, & Syed
Let us take you
around Wicker
Park!

2. DEMOGRAPHICS
• Wicker Park is no doubt the home for many middle aged bachelors. The
median age for this neighborhood is around 33.31 years and the population
chart shows that a vast majority of the population is in the 20s and 30s.

3. LET'S TALK ABOUT MONEY
• The average household in Wicker Park has two people, and only about 15%
of homes have children.
• The median income of people in Wicker Park is around $90,000 a year.
• This explains why there are so many brand name stores in the neighborhood
as we saw for ourselves. People have money to spend!

4. HISTORY
• Incorporated 1837
• Rolling Mill Steel Works - 1857
• Industrial based
• Irish - first residents
• Population increase following Great Chicago Fire
• Germans, Norwegians, and Jews
• Decline 1930-1975
• Slow rebirth

5. ATTRACTIONS... WHAT CAN I DO
THERE?
• Wicker Park fest: July 25th-26th
• Music from both big bands and small, unique food stalls, and art from local artists
• Green Music Fest:
• A music festival with completely biodegradable cups, forks, and plates for a
minimal environmental impact festival
• Wicker Park Farmers Market:
• So many fresh and seasonal fruits, vegetables, jams, handmade pasta all from
local farms (if you’ve got the money, because $4.00 a lb for green beans is
crazy)
• Corbett vs. Dempsey:
• An art gallery for contemporary, 20th century, and midwestern art

6. ATTRACTIONS... WHAT CAN I DO
THERE?
• There is a huge variety of restaurants in Wicker Park, so you're bound to find
anything you might have a taste for!
• Mexican: Big Star, Antique Taco, Las Palmas
• Southern/American: Lillie's Q, Schwa, Smoke Daddy, Trenchermen
• Vegetarian/Vegan: Mana Food Bar, Native Foods Café, Handlebar
• PIZZA: Piece Brewery and Pizzeria, Lou Malnati's
• and many, many more!
• A lot of restaurants are BYO

7. SHOPPING
• There are tons of vintage and second hand shops, which even at these
stores everything is unsurprisingly very expensive. Vintage Underground,
Second Time Around, Kokorokoko, Crossroads Trading Co. are a few
examples on N. Milwaukee Ave.
• They have a Chrome store which is apparently a big thing in Chicago
• There are also chain stores such as Marc Jacobs, Aldo, and Urban Outfitters

8. WAIT...WHERE IS THIS PLACE
AGAIN? HOW CAN I GET THERE?
• Take the Red Line to Lake from Loyola
• Transfer to Blue Line
• Get off at the Damen stop

9. One of the first things we saw
after getting off the Damen
Blue stop was a man
drawing a mural on a wall..
Wicker Park is famous for its
art scene, as you will see

11. On the day we
came, there was a
farmers' marker
going on.
Unfortunately it
ended before we
got there. We
highly considered if
we should take
these guys as our
souvenirs to Loyola.

13. Who said art was
only pictures? This
fine piece of
engineering was like
a motion detector,
except it only made
a noise when
someone walked
AWAY from it. We
realized that this was
kind of sad!

14. Since we went on a Sunday, there was a
Bears game going on. As we were
walking through Wicker Park (the actual
Wicker Park. not the neighborhood,
someone yelled at us and said the Bears
had just won. What an awesome day.

15. Wait... the Bears won
AND we got free donuts?
Well, only one of those is
true. Remember, $89,000
median income.

16. SYED'S PERSONAL REFLECTION
• I really enjoyed the experience at Wicker Park because it showed me a view
of Chicago which I rarely see. I live in West Ridge, which is still Chicago but
my surrounding blocks are very residential so not much goes on. In Wicker
Park, I was fascinated with the culture of art, fashion, sports, etc., everything
that Chicago is known for. We went on a Sunday, and the day was beautiful
so there were so many people walking around with their pets. People were
saying hello to each other randomly, so overall it was a very welcoming
feeling when we were walking. One thing that did surprise me was a couple
that was walking around and had a sign that said "need money for food and
weed". Now that I think of it, we should probably have taken a picture of
them. wicker parkdonuts are tasty

17. AMANDA BETHANCOURT-
SZYMANOWSKA (ABS)' REFLECTION
• I have been to wicker park only a few times,once to
go to shopping at urban outfitters and another time
to work at Green Music Fest. Green music fest was
really cool and you really go the feel of the people
there. I'm glad I got to explore more in depth this
time around and show my classmates a little piece
of my city.

18. SARAH'S REFLECTION
• Going to Wicker Park was a really cool experience! Although I am not from
the city, I grew up only 40 miles from here, and all I know is the downtown
area. It was awesome to explore a new part of Chicago. I enjoyed the
culture of Wicker Park. It was very different from the parts of Chicago that I'm
used to. I enjoyed going into all the vintage shops and looking at cool street
art.
• It was an authentic Chicago experience for me because Chicago's
neighborhoods are so diverse, and getting to explore that diversity is what
exploring Chicago is all about. It's more than just a big silver bean.

19. CHRISTIAN'S REFLECTION
• Enjoyed being in Wicker Park
• No real impact on opinion of Chicago. Just putting a face to a name
• Not an authentic Chicago experience: too many childless young couples
• Learned more about my independent nature during the experience
• Surprised at the size and nature of commercial district

20. RESOURCES
• Coorens, Elaine. "History of the Wicker Park District." Neighborhood History. Wicker Park
Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
• https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-
8#q=corbett%20vs%20dempsey%20gallery
• http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=restaurants&find_loc=Wicker+Park%2C+Chicago%2C+IL
• https://www.google.com/search?q=restaurants+in+wicker+park&ie=&oe=#q=restaurants+in+
wicker+park&rflfq=1&tbm=lcl
• "Find Your Perfect Home." Chicago Neighborhoods. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.