All Uptown / Edgewater in Chicago

Uptown and Edgewater are adjacent official Chicago community areas on the North Side lakefront. Uptown is bounded by Foster Avenue to the north, Montrose Avenue and Irving Park Road to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, and Ravenswood Avenue and Clark Street to the west, covering about 2.33 square miles. Edgewater sits immediately north of Uptown, bounded by Foster Avenue to the south, Devon Avenue to the north, Ravenswood Avenue to the west, and Lake Michigan to the east, covering about 1.71 square miles; the two were a single community area until Chicago’s City Council separated them in 1980.

Development

Uptown rose to prominence in the early 20th century as Chicagoland’s largest commercial and entertainment center outside the Loop, spurred by the Northwestern Elevated Railroad’s 1900 terminal at Wilson and Broadway. Historic venues include the Aragon Ballroom at Lawrence and Winthrop, the Riviera Theater, the Rapp and Rapp-designed Uptown Theatre, and the Green Mill Jazz Club at 4802 N. Broadway; Essanay Studios on Argyle Street produced early films starring Charlie Chaplin and Gloria Swanson. Edgewater developed from agricultural land starting in the 1880s, when developer John Lewis Cochran built the area’s first residential subdivision in 1885 and named its streets after Pennsylvania Railroad stations from his hometown. The Edgewater Beach Hotel opened in 1916 at 5349 N. Sheridan Road and was demolished in 1970, though the adjoining pink Edgewater Beach Apartments building remains.

Parks & Recreation

Uptown’s lakefront includes Montrose Beach, Montrose Dog Beach, and the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary within the Montrose Beach Dunes Natural Area, along with Montrose Harbor and neighborhood parks including Clarendon, Chase, and Margate Parks. Edgewater’s lakefront includes Foster Beach, Osterman (Hollywood) Beach, George Lane Park, and Berger Park, part of the Chicago Lakefront Trail; Lincoln Park, Chicago’s largest park, extends seven miles south from Edgewater along the waterfront.

Transit

The CTA Red Line serves Uptown at Argyle, Lawrence, and Wilson, and serves Edgewater at Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Thorndale, and Granville. Metra’s Union Pacific North Line runs along the western edge of both neighborhoods, with a Peterson/Ridge station near Edgewater completed in May 2024.