Everything Chicago. Mostly random. Always local.

Everything Chicago. Mostly random. Always local.

Living in Lakeview: A Local’s Guide to Chicago’s Community Area 6

Lakeview (the City spells community area 6 “Lake View”) runs inland from Lake Michigan on the North Side, with Diversey Parkway as its southern edge. Living there means masonry walk-ups, 1920s courtyard buildings and high-rises near the lake, seven L stations on the Red, Brown and Purple lines, and Wrigley Field at Clark and Addison setting the traffic schedule for every home game.

Housing: three-flats, courtyard buildings and lakefront towers

Most of Lakeview’s housing is brick and stone: three-flats, courtyard apartment buildings, row houses and, closer to the lake, high-rises.

The history explains the brick. Lake View was its own township from 1857, incorporated as a city in 1887 and annexed to Chicago in 1889. Just before annexation, the town passed a fire ordinance requiring masonry construction in part of the town, which pushed East Lake View toward brick.

Three City landmark districts show the range. The Surf-Pine Grove District (designated 2007) has 1891 graystone row houses on Pine Grove, three-flats on Surf, U-shaped courtyard buildings from the 1920s and apartment hotels like the 10-story Surf (1917). The Newport Avenue District (2005) is one block of three-flats between Halsted and Clark. Alta Vista Terrace (1971), on the 3800 block, two blocks north of Wrigley, is a row of Samuel Eberly Gross townhouses nicknamed “A Street of Forty Doors.” Mid-century high-rises and four-plus-ones filled in the rest.

Getting around: seven L stations on three lines

Lakeview has seven L stations, and Belmont is the hub: Red, Brown and Purple lines all stop there. Addison (Red) sits half a block east of Wrigley Field; Sheridan (Red) is the one stop without step-free access. The Brown Line adds Southport, Paulina, Wellington and Diversey, with Purple Line trains also stopping at the last two.

North of Belmont, the Red-Purple Bypass opened November 19, 2021. It lifts northbound Brown Line trains over the Red and Purple tracks, replacing the 1907 Clark Junction where trains used to sit and wait for each other. On home-game days, plan your own errands around first pitch.

Wrigleyville, Boystown and the rest of the map

The City’s unofficial neighborhood map splits community area 6 into Lake View, Wrigleyville and Boystown, with approximate lines.

Wrigleyville is the blocks around Wrigley Field, which opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park, became the Cubs’ home in 1916 and took the Wrigley name in 1926. The ivy and the hand-operated center-field scoreboard date to 1937; lights arrived in 1988, the last in the majors. It became a National Historic Landmark in November 2020.

Boystown is the North Halsted corridor, Chicago’s LGBTQ+ commercial and cultural district. The City installed its rainbow pylons in 1998, and since 2012 the Legacy Walk has turned them into an outdoor museum of bronze plaques on LGBTQ+ history. In 2020 the Northalsted Business Alliance switched its marketing to “Northalsted,” even though 58 percent of its survey respondents preferred “Boystown.” Both names are in use.

Names like Lakeview East, Central Lakeview and West Lakeview come from business districts, not official lines. Roscoe Village, despite the shared chamber of commerce, is officially in North Center.

Main streets: Broadway, Halsted, Clark, Southport, Lincoln and Belmont

Lakeview’s daily shopping happens on a handful of long commercial streets, and the City lists four Lakeview special service areas, each run by a local business group.

The Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, on Broadway, manages the Lake View East and Central Lakeview districts. The Northalsted Business Alliance runs North Halsted. The Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber manages West Lakeview.

The west side’s retail pattern is old. Lincoln, Belmont and Ashland formed a shopping district anchored by Wieboldt’s Department Store, which opened in 1917. On Southport, the Music Box Theatre at 3733 N. Southport opened August 22, 1929, as an “atmospheric” movie palace built to feel like an outdoor garden, and it still shows films.

Broadway and Halsted also carry the Pride Parade. In 2025 it stepped off at Broadway and Sheridan Road, ran down Broadway and Halsted, turned east on Belmont and finished on Broadway at Diversey.

Parks, libraries and the lakefront

Lakeview’s parks are mostly small, and its big green space is the lakefront it shares with Lincoln Park.

The Chicago Park District counts 17 parks centered in the community area. Gill Park has an indoor pool and gym; Sheil, Kelly, Wang and South Lakeview parks and a scatter of mini-parks fill out the list. The long strip of Lincoln Park along the lake is officially one park centered in the Lincoln Park community area, but it is Lakeview’s shoreline too, with Belmont Harbor on the Lakefront Trail.

That trail runs about 18 miles, from Ardmore on the North Side to 71st Street, and since the 2019 season it has had separate paths for walking and biking. In January the separation matters less than the wind.

Two Chicago Public Library branches serve the area: Merlo at 644 W. Belmont Ave. and Lincoln Belmont at 1659 W. Melrose St. Ten CPS schools are located in the community area, including Lake View High School; they are listed below.

Lake View at a glance

Lake View is official community area 6 of Chicago’s 77. Inside its lines: 7 CTA L stations, 17 Chicago Park District parks, 2 public library branches and 10 Chicago Public Schools buildings. Neighborhood names on the City’s map that fall at least partly inside: Boystown, Lake View, Wrigleyville.

L stations

  • Addison: Red Line (accessible)
  • Belmont: Red, Brown and Purple lines (accessible)
  • Diversey: Brown and Purple lines (accessible)
  • Paulina: Brown Line (accessible)
  • Sheridan: Red Line (not accessible)
  • Southport: Brown Line (accessible)
  • Wellington: Brown and Purple lines (accessible)

Purple Line trains stop here only on weekdays during rush periods, when the Purple Line Express runs past Howard to the Loop.

Parks

  • Gill Park: 2.4 acres; indoor pool, playground, gymnasium
  • Wang Park: 2.0 acres; playground
  • Kelly Park: 1.4 acres; playground, community center
  • South Lakeview Park: 0.80 acres; playground
  • Donahue Park: 0.53 acres; playground
  • Sheil Park: 0.47 acres; playground, gymnasium
  • Smaller parks and mini-parks: Weisman Park, Klein Park, Juniper Park, Wieboldt Park, Zatterberg Park, Merryman Park, Wendt Park, Warner Garden, Kenmore Park, Martin Park, Evergreen Park

Library

Public schools

These are the Chicago Public Schools buildings located inside the community area. Being near a school is not the same as being in its attendance boundary: to see which schools serve a specific address, use the CPS School Locator.

More on the neighborhood

Sources: Encyclopedia of Chicago: Lake View; City of Chicago: Surf-Pine Grove District Landmark Designation Report (PDF); City of Chicago Landmarks: Surf-Pine Grove District; City of Chicago Landmarks: Newport Avenue District; City of Chicago Landmarks: Alta Vista Terrace District; City of Chicago Landmarks: listings; City of Chicago: Special Service Areas and provider list; CTA: Red-Purple Bypass to go into service (Nov. 17, 2021 release, PDF); CTA: Getting to Wrigley Field; MLB.com: Wrigley named National Historic Landmark; National Park Service: Wrigley Field; Block Club Chicago: Boystown will now be known as Northalsted (Sept. 2020); WTTW: Legacy Walk (Oct. 11, 2012); Chicago Sun-Times: City seeking landmark status for Boystown Legacy Walk (June 22, 2018); Windy City Times: Guide to the 2025 Chicago Pride Parade route; WTTW: Roscoe Village is in the North Center community area; WTTW: Music Box Theatre celebrates 90th anniversary; Choose Chicago: Chicago’s Lakefront Trail; WTTW: Lakefront Trail users adjusting to newly separated paths (May 28, 2019); City of Chicago, community area boundaries; City of Chicago, neighborhood boundaries; City of Chicago, CTA ‘L’ stops; Chicago Park District parks; Chicago Public Library locations; CPS school locations, 2025–26. Lists checked October 19, 2026; park features are from Park District data last updated in 2022.