Andersonville
At the turn of the 20th century, Chicago had the largest Swedish population of any city outside of Stockholm, and many lived in the area known today as Andersonville. They came because the area—then a suburb—was not beholden to the city’s ban on wood construction, enacted after the Great Chicago Fire, and Scandinavian carpenters and craftspeople wanted to continue building using traditional wooden methods.
It’s unclear where the Andersonville name comes from, however. Two men are thought to be its founder. One is farmer John Andserson, who lived nearby in the late 1840s. But recent research by the Edgewater Historical Society suggests that John Anderson’s farm was located too far north from the subdivision that became known as Andersonville for him to be its original developer. The other is immigrant community leader Reverend Paul Andersen Norland, a Norwegian.
Complicating things further is the fact that the area’s old 1850s schoolhouse at the corner of Foster and Clark was recorded with both the Anderson and Andersen spellings. It could be that neither men were behind the neighborhood’s name. It is, after all, a common Scandinavian name.
Below is our list of districts, community areas, and neighborhoods. They are organized by district with the community area in bold followed by the neighborhoods in the community area in parenthesis.
Far North Side
Rogers Park (Loyola, Rogers Park))
West Ridge (Nortown, Peterson Park, Rosehill, West Ridge, West Rogers Park)
Uptown (Clarendon Park, Buena Park, New Chinatown, Sheridan Park, Uptown)
Lincoln Square (Bowmanville, Budlong Woods, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Ravenswood Gardens)
Edison Park (Edison Park)
Norwood Park (Big Oaks, Norwood Park, Old Norwood, Oriole Park, Union Ridge)
Jefferson Park (Gladstone Park, Jefferson Park)
Forest Glen (Edgebrook, Forest Glen, Middle Edgebrook, Sauganash, Wildwood)
North Park (Hollywood Park, North Park, Pulaski Park)
Albany Park (Albany Park, Mayfair, North Mayfair, Ravenswood Manor)
O’Hare (O’Hare, Schorsch Forest View)
Edgewater (Andersonville, Edgewater, Edgewater Glen, Epic, Lakewood/Balmoral)
North Side
North Center (Northcenter, Roscoe Village, Saint Ben’s)
Lakeview (Lake View East, North Halsted, West Lakeview, Wrigleyville)
Lincoln Park (DePaul, Old Town Triangle, Park West, Lincoln Park, Ranch Triangle, Sheffield Neighbors, Wrightwood Neighbors)
Avondale (Avondale, Jackowo, WacÅ?awowo)
Logan Square (Logan Square, Bucktown, Palmer Square)
Northwest Side
Portage Park (Portage Park, Six Corners)
Irving Park (Irving Park, Kilbourn Park, Old Irving Park, The Villa)
Dunning (Belmont Heights, Belmont Terrace, Dunning, Irving Woods, Schorsch Village)
Montclare (Montclare)
Belmont Cragin (Brickyard, Cragin, Hanson Park)
Hermosa (Belmont Gardens, Hermosa, Kelvyn Park)
Central, Near North, and Near South Side
Near North Side (Cabrini-Green, Dearborn Parkway, The Gold Coast, Goose Island, Magnificent Mile, Near North Side, Old Town, River North, River West, State Parkway, Streeterville)
Loop (The Loop, New Eastside, Printer’s Row, South Loop)
Near South Side (Dearborn Park, Near South Side, Museum Park, Central Station, Prairie Avenue Historic District)
West and Near West Side
Humboldt Park (Humboldt Park)
West Town (East Village, Noble Square, Ukrainian Village, Smith Park, West Town, Wicker Park)
Austin (Austin, Galewood, The Island)
West Garfield Park (West Garfield Park)
East Garfield Park (East Garfield Park, Fifth City)
Near West Side (Columbus Circle, Greektown, Little Italy, Medical Center, Near West Side, Tri-Taylor, Fulton River District, University Village)
North Lawndale (North Lawndale)
South Lawndale (Little Village, South Lawndale, Marshall Square)
Lower West Side (Heart of Chicago, Lower West Side, Pilsen)
Southwest Side
Garfield Ridge (Garfield Ridge, Le Claire Courts, Sleepy Hollow, Vittum Park)
Archer Heights (Archer Heights)
Brighton Park (Brighton Park)
McKinley Park (McKinley Park)
New City (Back of the Yards, Canaryville, New City)
West Elsdon (West Elsdon)
Gage Park (Gage Park)
Clearing (Chrysler Village, Clearing)
West Lawn (Ford City, West Lawn)
Chicago Lawn (Chicago Lawn, Lithuanian Plaza, Marquette Park)
West Englewood (West Englewood)
Englewood (Englewood, Hamilton Park)
South Side
Armour Square (Armour Square, Chinatown, Wentworth Gardens)
Douglas (Bronzeville, Douglas, Groveland Park, Lake Meadows, Prairie Shores, South Commons)
Oakland (Oakland)
Fuller Park (Fuller Park)
Grand Boulevard (Grand Boulevard)
Kenwood (Kenwood)
Washington Park (Washington Park)
Hyde Park (Hyde Park)
Woodlawn (Woodlawn)
South Shore (Jackson Park Highlands, South Shore)
Bridgeport (Bridgeport)
Greater Grand Crossing (Grand Crossing, Greater Grand Crossing, Park Manor)
Far Southwest Side
Ashburn (Ashburn, Ashburn Estates, Beverly View, Crestline, Parkview, Scottsdale, Wrightwood)
Auburn Gresham (Auburn Gresham, Gresham)
Beverly (Beverly, West Beverly)
Washington Heights (Brainerd, Longwood Manor, Washington Heights)
Mount Greenwood (Mount Greenwood, Talley’s Corner)
Morgan Park (Beverly Woods, Kennedy Park, Morgan Park, West Morgan Park)
Far South Side
Chatham (Chatham, West Chesterfield)
Avalon Park (Avalon Park, Marynook, Stony Island Park)
South Chicago (South Chicago)
Burnside (Burnside)
Calumet Heights (Calumet Heights, Pill Hill)
Roseland (Fernwood, Princeton Park, Roseland)
Pullman (Cottage Grove Heights, Pullman)
South Deering (Jeffrey Manor, South Deering)
East Side (East Side)
West Pullman (West Pullman)
Riverdale (Altgeld Gardens, Eden Green, Golden Gate, Riverdale)
Hegewisch (Hegewisch)