Winter is finally upon us.  Snow has finally made an appearance and sub-zero weather might be biding its time, but it is certainly coming.  This is therefore the best time to hop on a bike to ride around the lakefront on the north side of Chicago. 

To that end, I have picked a wonderful spot for you to learn about the fascinating north side community of Edgewater.  Easily one of the most densely packed areas for fantastic architecture, the community has a variety of neighborhoods filled with unique homes, places of worship, schools, civic and commercial buildings.  There are building styles that stretch farther and wider than almost any other area can muster and there are exemplary works by the likes of Holabird and Roche, Dwight Perkins, Pont and Pond, Walter Burley Griffin, Henry Schlacks, William Carbys Zimmerman, and George Maher, and homegrown architects like Roy Knauer, John Pridmore, Edward Benson and Edmund Krause that helped build the Edgewater communities. 

From beginnings as uninhabited brush, to early roots as a farmland, the area was first developed by a Philadelphia tobacco salesman named John Lewis Cochran who bought some farmland and began subdividing his lots in 1885.  He named the area Edgewater, appropriate to its lakefront local, and developed much of the area.  He is responsible for naming many of the streets and some of the homes in his five original developments are still standing and will be on the tour.  Many other entrepreneurial developers contributed with their own developments, that along with Cochran’s helped Edgewater become known for its neighborhoods.  Edgewater Glen, Andersonville, Edgewater Beach, Lakewood-Balmoral and several other smaller neighborhoods and historic districts help make up this diverse Community. 

The best way to take it all in is on a bike, and of course the best time to do it is in the middle of a Chicago winter.  Won’t you join us?

Saturday January 21, 2012 at 1:00 PM

$10

Emmerson Park at 1820 W. Granville

All riders must wear a helmet.

You can also register online, buy a poster, or both and save some bucks.  Here are the links for that:

Buy Tour - $9

Buy Tour and Poster - $12

Buy Poster - $5

Finally, you can get more information on the event below, visit some of the nearly 500 photos I took in surveying and researching the area, or check out Ross Felten’s awesome poster at the links below. 

Selected Sites in Edgewater

Starting Spot

Photo Album

Ross Felten Poster

I look forward to seeing you.