The Story of Ravenswood

WTTW Chicago by "L" / by Daniel Hautzinger / January 2025

Chicago neighborhood names can be tricky; Ravenswood is a perfect example of that. For a long time, what many people today consider Lincoln Square was known only as Ravenswood. The Ravenswood elevated train, now the Brown Line, has stops in Ravenswood at Montrose and Damen but extends all the way to Albany Park. And Ravenswood Manor? Not part of Ravenswood – it falls into Lincoln Square and Albany Park.

Ravenswood began as an exclusive commuter suburb when developers bought land eight miles north of Chicago in 1868. Building a hotel to let potential residents visit the area before buying one of the large lots and restricting access by the cost of rail tickets, the developers ensured wealthy clients – although they didn’t build any infrastructure. Ravenswood got sewers only after Chicago annexed it as part of Lake View township in 1889.

As with other far-flung Chicago neighborhoods, Ravenswood saw population growth and diversification around the turn of the century as streetcar lines and the elevated railroad reached it. An industrial corridor sprang up along Ravenswood Avenue next to the rail line, while Ravenswood itself remained mostly residential, leaving commercial development to neighboring Lincoln Square. That industrial corridor now houses various creative businesses that have repurposed factory lofts: breweries, a distillery, art studios, architecture firms, and more. Read More Here.