So let’s continue our mental stroll, shall we?
Andersonville is a 10 minute walk west and has the majority of Edgewater’s nightlife (too many hip shops, bars, restaurants, and antiques dealers to mention). A'ville was settled by and still has a very large Swedish population. So many Swedes King Carl XVI Gustaf visited to officially open the Swedish American Museum in 1988. You’ll see Swedes there when you go to the Midsommerfest, but there are people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Asian, and other decent too.
Magnolia Glen and Edgewater Glenn (10 minute walk north-west and west) has Senn High School and is mostly single family homes with its boarders housing a good deal of the unsung 9-5 businesses which contribute so much to the neighborhood. Think of it as our bedroom community. Father and Sons Barber Shop is there and I’ll get a cut from them once in a while.
I’m not sure if the Armory is technically in the Glenns, but I’ll tell you about it here since I don't really know much more about the Glenns. So the Armory was once just that, an Illinois National Guard Armory which is pretty boring. But since 1998 it officially became “Broadway Armory Park” (just call it the Armory), the Chicago Park District's largest indoor recreational facility which is not boring at all and really pretty great when you don't want to play outside in Chi-beria. It has 5 gyms, locker rooms with shower, a dozen community rooms, a gymnastics center, and home of the Trapeze School of NY in Chicago (the city-whose- name-shall-not-be-spoken oddly does’t have the School). I made a lot of my friends playing volleyball at the Armory. So the Armory is used indoor all year. In winter I’ve heard you can get kitted for cross country skiing at Margate Park, but I’ve not been so inclined and can't promise its true.
Clear you mind and get ready to stroll on...
The next neighborhood north is up-n-coming Rodgers Park, home to Loyola University Lakeshore Campus and a wonderfully eclectic mix of people and places. It is a 7 minute EL ride. It is fast becoming my favorite place to attend a summer street festival or two since it's less congested, shows more new ideas, and is has a grassroots feel like the street festivals of old. I think too many of the local chambers of commerce who used to actively organizing the street festivals have outsourced the heart of the affair. Too many seem to be hiring the same company to set-up the same cookie-cutter show who simpley changes the name and address.
I hope to make “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits” at Loyal Park an annual event. My first was in 2015 when some neighbors and I took the 151 northbound. It was much, much more enjoyable than I expected! Having season tickets to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, I was anticipating something more traditional (not that ChicagoShakes is traditional!). I anticipated something like "And now from 'Romeo & Juliet', the Balcony Scene", performed in period costume. Followed by another introduction of the next scene, etc.. And of course you can't have any of The Bard’s titillating material. For the first time that year I was wrong! The show was packed with updated music and costumes; had wonderful staging, an energetic cast who engaged with the audience; and flowed from one scene in one play to a another scene from other play seamlessly to make an entirely new story! Those who didn’t already know didn’t understand the more mature content - it flew over their heads like the seagulls in park. It was very well attended by all sorts of people, very representative of the surrounding neighborhoods. My THANKS to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Park District, and the many sponsors (Boeing, BMO/Harris, ArtWorksChicago, BCBSIL, and more!) for this free event.