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Bucktown
Community Info
Bucktown, IL,
Website
Bucktown Located
just north of Wicker Park between North and Fullerton avenues and from the Kennedy
Expressway west to Western Avenue. The neighborhood is made up of
formerly humble cottages now sporting skylights and new condos priced well into
the six digits. As in nearby Wicker Park, affordable rents are quickly becoming
a thing of the past, and the local artist population is reluctantly giving way
to the yuppie crowd. Nevertheless, Bucktown is still populated by artists (those
that can still afford the rising rents).
“Gallery Point,” the area’s central art colony, is bounded
by Milwaukee, Damen, Wabansia and North Avenues, and the "Bucktown Arts
Fest," attracts over 30,000 art lovers to the area every August as it
has been for over 20 years.
Small neighborhood bars are found on every corner, and both
North and Damen Avenue boast smoky late-night clubs and stylish bars, shops,
and restaurants.
Both Wicker Park and Bucktown contain several remarkable churches, the legacy
of early Polish immigrants (many former farmers). In fact, “Bucktown” gets
its name from the goats kept in the backyards of its early residents.
The Poles have all but been replaced by a Latin community, which is in turn
fleeing Bucktown for cheaper rents. Still, a walk north from the large six-way
corner of Damen, Milwaukee, and North Avenue will quickly take you from posh
and hip to downright coarse. All is not yet lost.
Modest cottages now sport skylights and sundecks, and mock Victorians are springing
up on vacant lots. Both Wicker Park and Bucktown contain several remarkable
churches, the legacy of early immigrants to the area. In the past few years,
Bucktown has become home to the second coming of Yuppies.
By far,
the most frequent question asked is the origin of the name “Bucktown.” Though
not documented, it is believed the term was coined early in the area’s
history, probably the 1830’s, since many of the Polish settlers raised
goats (the male is called a buck). The term faded away and emerged again in
the 1920’s. Lending credence to this version, a long-time resident of
the area recalls, “when my mother was little, there were only open fields
where people raised goats. That’s how it became known as Bucktown. The
Polish people called the area “kozie prery” or “goat prairie.” Another
version, again not documented and less credible, is that young toughs, members
of a turn-of-the-century Polish gang, were called “bucks.”
Where exactly is Bucktown? Those familiar with local history will argue that
the boundaries correspond to the original boundaries of Holstein. Time does
have a way, however, of distorting usage, and others will contend that Bucktown
encompasses a much larger area. For the sake of harmony then, let us say
that the Bucktown area is bounded roughly by Fullerton on the north, on the
east by the Kennedy Expressway, the Milwaukee Road railroad tracks on the
south, and on the west by Milwaukee Avenue to Western, and Western north
to Fullerton. (As an aside, some latter-day real estate agents, believing
that the name “Bucktown” wouldn’t sell, once referred to
the area as West DePaul, or North Wicker Park. It is clear that trend is
over.)
Bucktown's history predates the 1833 incorporation of Chicago as a town.
One of the earliest settlements outside of Fort Dearborn was located here.
Many Poles fled their war torn homeland in 1831 and migrated to America,
some to Chicago. Settling in and around the suburb of Jefferson, some chose
an area bounded by Fullerton, Damen, Armitage and Western, which later came
to be known as Holstein. One can only imagine the small houses built near
the groves of trees that punctuated the undulating terrain. Game was probably
plentiful in the marshlands that dominated the low areas, which became increasingly
frequent as one neared the north branch of the (now) Chicago River. Ideally
situated near the river, the settlement was just a few miles away from Fort
Dearborn. To the west, a now well traveled former Indian trail, now Milwaukee
Avenue, helped to mitigate any feelings of isolation.
Bucktown offers affordable housing, good transportation, and proximity to
the Loop and lakefront activities.
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