Logan Square Neighborhood Association

8÷19÷11
Well, I have lived in the Logan Square neighborhood for about 16 years in four different apartments on Kedzie, Sawyer, Wisner Ave, and the last 8 years on Richmond St. I like the area because I have always lived within walking distance from Armitage Baptist Church. I can worship God at a Bible believing, faith growing, and Christ-​centered community which stands as a lighthouse for the lost and home for the faithful. The Logan Square neighborhood is a beautiful backdrop for living out my faith and life.
The Boulevards are great for taking walks, the people are friendly, I have wonderful neighbors. The younger home owners seem to be vested in upgrading their homes with substantial home improvements. My block has started a spontaneous front-​yard beautification that has caught on over the last three years.
The Sunday Farmers Market on Logan Blvd. & Milwaukee is my favorite neighborhood event. I can save gasoline get some exercise and buy great organic fruit & veggies.
The flowering trees in Spring, green grass and trees in summer, and the winter scenes can be picturesque with snow or ice-​covered trees; things of which postcards and calendars are made of.
Also the location is great being so close to ⁹⁰⁄₉₄ and the blue-​line and Milwaukee bus which gets me to the center of this big city.
I like the extra space between my building and the street.
I have a huge picture window facing east where sun and moon passes through their phases and I can see them. Being on the second floor I have a ring-​side seat to all the thunder-​storms, snow-​storms and what ever God dishes out and it is spectacular, at no cost. Seeing nature’s panorama of all four seasons seems to be vital to my feeling alive.
Plus I have a super landlord who has allowed me to turn the backyard into a vegetable garden with a bricked squared walkway in the center with a small flowerbed in the center of the walkway. It is a wonderful green retreat in the middle of a great city. Small-​scale urban farmers are all around me, I was raised on a small fruit & vegetable farm in Michigan. My place in Logan Sq. helps satisfy that yearning for the farm. by Sharon C.

I have been living in the neighborhood for 2 yrs now from Logan Square. The neighborhood is great and is just getting better. They put up the new Best Buy and opening the new Walgreens right on the corner and very curious as to what they put in place of the original Walgreens (crossing fingers for a grocery store). They are redoing the Dunkin Donuts in the mini strip mall, a much needed renovation. Now I wish if they can fix the flow of traffic on the Belmont/​Kimball intersection. There always seem to be an accident at that intersection.

I love how the white transplant kids get all bent out of shape about gentrification (see some of the other reviews here).
Go blow. Or better yet, move to Austin or Garfield Park. You’ll get your coveted grit.
I want businesses to come here. I want the schools to get better. I want money to come into the neighborhood. Frankly, I’ve had a house here for a few years and the 30+ year residents on my street are delighted by how the neighborhood is changing. If you pine for the gang/​drug-​ridden BS, well… you’re an idiot. I love my neighborhood. I like that it still IS a neighborhood. I like that some local merchants are tasting some success, and I think it’d be great if some of that blighted shit on Milwaukee got filled with stores of any stripe… chain or otherwise. I know…“waah chain stores”. Y’know what’s worse than chain stores? Empty store fronts and vacant buildings.
This is where I am raising my family, where I put my stake in the ground because I believe in the area. If all you want is a dive bar, cheap rent, and taco stand, well we pretty much have nothing to talk about since you’re probably going to flee the hood at some point anyway. If you are one of those whose ideal Logan Square consists of empty community centers, free health clinics, squatters, and dollar stores, welp i am actively working to makes sure your dream does not come to pass. Get involved with the community, get to know your neighbors, start building a life here and then we’ll talk. Otherwise shut your mouth.

Yesterday some guy called me a «faggot» while I was walking down Milwaukee Avenue back to my apartment. Other than that, I have no complaints.

Logan Square is one of the best places to live in the entire world. It’s got everyone from different parts of the world living here. If Logan Square annexed off and became its own city or town, I’d leave Chicago and run for mayor. I’ve lived in this neighborhood since I got out of college (8 years). I grew up really close to Logan Square and heard rumors of how «bad» it was in the 80’s and 90’s.. . but I think that was all made up to keep my family from moving here. I wish I grew up in Logan Square so I could brag that I’ve lived here my entire life. There’s tons of stuff to do… there aren’t a million bars & restaurants, but what we have is homey and ours.
I actually made the mistake of moving away for a year to (way overpriced) Andersonville, but I came to my senses and came running back into Logan Square’s open arms.
I love you Logan Square. You are the BEST!!!

Hey Everyone, Hello Logan Square!
I will be a new member to this neighborhood and moving in about a week. I will be in the area of Diversey and Cicero. Any input of that general area? Reviews, comments, etc. I am a total rookie to this neighborhood so any info would be appreciated.
Thanks!

The Logan Square Neighborhood Association needs to learn where the hell their neighborhood is. YOU ARE IN AVONDALE, NOT LOGAN SQUARE.
Whatever. Since most people are reviewing the neighborhood, and not the association, I guess I’ll do the same. I lived in Logan Square/​Humboldt Park for a hot minute (a little over a year) and I was decently happy. Close to the blue line, decent neighborhood, some cool stuff do check out. Then I moved way out to West Avondale, which is only now starting to see some of the conveniences that Logan Square has.
So I guess my attitude is that Logan Square is probably one of the best neighborhoods to live in in Chicago. The boulevards and the square itself are superbly awesome. The houses are nice and classy. There’s diversity, its convenient to downtown and the expressway, etc, etc.
The only thing that kind of annoys me is all the ceaseless onslaught of Columbia College art fucks that have flooded the hood in the last couple of years. But from what I’ve seen lately, a lot of people from all over the city have been making this burg their home.
And yes, DA HOT ZONE fucking rules.

Defend Logan Square!

Best place to live in the city… if you don’t mind that there are no supermarkets around. Great housing, interesting mix of people, close to a very convenient el stop (if you travel for a living… so close to O’Hare, relatively speaking). A great neighborhood to commute from — 10 minutes to 290 (via sacramento), 7 minutes to 90 (via california) and 20 – 30 minutes via el. Neighbors are pretty friendly, lots of opportunities for dog parties if you have your own precious pooch.
Reports of gentrification are both exaggerated and expected. Yeah, so rents are going up… well guess what, rents all over Chicago have gone up, so it isn’t just your landlord trying to get your sorry art student ass out. And as far as I can tell, the gangs are still here (hell, the Latin Kings and their arch enemies Orchestra Albany marked up my alley pretty well last week)! And if that ain’t a sign that gentrification has not completely arrived, I don’t know what is.
If gentrification means that art students and their parties that go until 5 am move to another neighborhood, I’m all for it. Because as far as I can tell, kids from Columbia College haven’t done a thing to make Logan a better place.
Also, for those of you freaking out about changes in the neighborhood: patterns of migration. This neighborhood, and neighborhoods all over Chicago, have ebbed and flowed with different immigrant and/​or ethnic groups over time. You may not like it, but it is life. Not just here, but all over the US.

Funny that the review of the Logan Square Neighborhood in located in Avondale. I think, «map-​wise», Logan² ends at Diversey. But, no matter.
Vice Magazine’s City Guide review Logan Square as such:
«Like the Queens of New York — Low rents, cool people, and absolutely nothing going on.»
Ouch. That’s not quite right, but hits a bit close to home.
This is a really nice neighborhood. It seems families and long-​time residents are friendly and happily co-​exist with the influx of younger apartment renters who are looking to expand further north and west down Milwaukee Ave from the now pricey and startlingly homogenized Wicker/​Bucktown area.
The only unfortunate part of the area is that there doesn’t seem to be much street activity. Whereas the aforementioned North & Damen area has people watching no matter what tine of day, near The Square only parts of Western, California, Kedzie, Logan Blvd, and Milwaukee Ave have even MODERATE foot traffic, even in commercial zones.
Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something about the neighborhood that’s not conducive to people walking around. Sometimes I’ll get off on the California EL exit instead of Logan Square stop and walk a mile further just so I can see that there are, indeed, other people in the neighborhood doing their own thing.

I love living in Logan Square. It’s quiet, there is a selection of great restaurants, close to the Blue Line, safe (at least my part), and plenty of green areas to spread a blanket on a warm day.

I’ve lived in Logan Square since moving to Chicago and I’ve been horrified at the amount of gentrification going on — my rent has sky rocketed in the past couple of years (by 70%) and the authentic stores and restuarants are slowly being replaced by chain stores. It was great, but it’s turning into Bucktown, which I absolutely hate (with much passion, it’s like a mini, plastic-​cast Lincoln Park).
Please respect the people who live here, go to the Spanish speaking only restaurants, go somewhere that looks a little scary, reach out, help support it before it is gone. The businesses in this area need help to stay affloat, especially now that the local grocery store on Milwaukee will be closing soon when that block is sold off and made into condos (
) and the barrio *really* starts to gentrify! And seriously, what other part of town can you go to and see such well dressed «ladies of the evening?» PLEASE HELP SAVE LOGAN SQUARE (IE KEEP IT HOW IT IS, UNGENTRIFIED)

I love Logan Square! I’ve lived here for 3 years and the neighborhood is just great. The boulevard is beautiful and the rent is still pretty affordable. There are also some really great deals to be had in this neighborhood – seek them out! Like most neighborhoods, some blocks are nicer than others, but overall I’ve never felt unsafe in this neighborhood.

The neighborhood is definitely moving up, going through gentrification, as Chicago is really famous for… There are some unique shops in this ‘hood and you can find some apartments for rather cheap… Its not the safest just yet, but the el is nearby.

We enjoyed living here, most people were pretty friendly. There were some break-​ins, nearby, though, and it seems like people move in and out a lot. It’s becoming more gentrified — lots of condo conversions going on.

I really enjoy this neighborhood. There are lots of old brick buildings and some mansions along Kedzie. The el stop is underground (drier and warmer in the winter). You will never run out of Mexican restaurants to try and many of the grocery stores have an unbelievable produce selection. What more could you ask for?