All Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park is a Chicago neighborhood and official community area on the city’s North Side, bordered by the Near North Side and Old Town to the south, Lake View to the north, and Lake Michigan to the east. The community encompasses several smaller named areas, including Lincoln Central, Mid-North, Old Town Triangle, Park West, RANCH Triangle, Sheffield, and Wrightwood Neighbors, as well as most of the Clybourn Corridor retail district.

The community area’s boundaries are Diversey Parkway to the north, the Chicago River to the west, North Avenue to the south, and Lake Michigan to the east, covering about 3.17 square miles.

Development

The U.S. Army built a small post near present-day Clybourn and Armitage Avenues in 1824, and the federal government ceded the land to Illinois in 1828. Chicago incorporated in 1837, and the state authorized a cemetery north of North Avenue; in 1860, residents petitioned to convert the burial grounds into a public park. The park was renamed from “Lake Park” to “Lincoln Park” in 1865 following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, and the surrounding Lake View Township was annexed by Chicago in 1889.

Parks & Recreation

The neighborhood’s namesake, Lincoln Park, runs along the lakefront and contains the Lincoln Park Zoo, Lincoln Park Conservatory, the Chicago History Museum, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, North Pond Nature Sanctuary, and North Avenue Beach. Smaller neighborhood parks include Oz Park, Bauler Park, Wiggly Field, and Jonquil Park.

Transit

The CTA Red, Brown, and Purple Lines stop at Fullerton, while the Purple and Brown Lines also stop at Armitage and Diversey. Metra’s Union Pacific North and Union Pacific Northwest lines serve the Clybourn station.