Logan Square
Community area
Community Area 22 – Logan Square
Illinois Centennial Memorial in neighborhood namesake Logan Square
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates:41°55.7′N87°42.4′W / 41.9283°N 87.7067°W /41.9283; -87.7067
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Named after	John A. Logan
Neighborhoods	List Logan Square Bucktown Palmer Square Belmont Gardens Kosciuszko Park
Area
• Total	3.23 sq mi (8.37 km2)
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	71,252
• Density	22,000/sq mi (8,510/km2)
Demographics (2022)[1]
• White	51.2%
• Black	5.6%
• Hispanic	34.7%
• Asian	4.5%
• Other	3.9%
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	parts of 60614, 60618, 60622, 60639, 60647
Median household income (2023)	$103,469[1]
Source: Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) July 2022 Release

Logan Square is an official community area, historical neighborhood, andpublic square on the northwest side of the City ofChicago. The Logan Square community area is one of the 77 city-designatedcommunity areas established for planning purposes. The Logan Square neighborhood, located within the Logan Square community area, is centered on the public square that serves as its namesake, located at the three-way intersection ofMilwaukee Avenue, Logan Boulevard andKedzie Boulevard.

Logan Square is, in general, bounded byMetra'sMilwaukee District North Line on the west, the North Branch of theChicago River on the east,Diversey Parkway on the north, and theBloomingdale Trail (also known as "The 606") on the south.^[2] The area is characterized by the prominent historicalboulevards, statelygreystones and largebungalow-style homes.

Logan Square is named after GeneralJohn A. Logan, an American soldier and political leader. The square itself is a large public green space (designed by architectWilliam Le Baron Jenney, landscape architectJens Jensen and others) formed as the grand northwest terminus of theChicago Boulevard System and the junction of Kedzie and Logan Boulevards and Milwaukee Avenue. At the center of the square is theIllinois Centennial Monument, built in 1918 to commemorate the 100th anniversary ofIllinois's statehood (geographic coordinates as shown above for this article). The monument, designed byHenry Bacon, architect of theLincoln Memorial inWashington, D.C., and sculpted byEvelyn Beatrice Longman, is a single 70-foot (25-meter) tall"Tennessee-pink" marbleDoric column, based upon the same proportions as the columns of theParthenon in Ancient Greece, and topped by an eagle, in reference to thestate flag and symbol of the state and the nation.^[3] The monument was funded by theBenjamin Ferguson Fund.^[4]Reliefs surrounding the base depict allegorical figures ofNative Americans, explorers,Jesuit missionaries, farmers, and laborers intended to represent Illinois contributions to the nation through transportation as a railroad crossroads for passengers and freight (represented by a train extending across the arm of one of the figures), education, commerce, grain and commodities, religion and exploration, along with the "pioneering spirit" during the state'sfirst century.

Originally developed by early settlers like Martin Kimbell (of Kimball Avenue fame) in the 1830s, forming around the towns of "Jefferson", "Maplewood", and "Avondale", the area was annexed into the city ofChicago in 1889 and renamed Logan Square. Many of its early residents were English or Scandinavian origin, mostly Norwegians and Danes, along with both a significantPolish andJewish population that followed.

Milwaukee Avenue, which spans the community, is one of the oldest roads in the area and remains both a cultural and commercial artery. The road traces its origins prior to 1830 as a Native American trail and became known as "Northwest Plank Road" when it was constructed with wooden boards in 1849. In 1892, a streetcar line was extended along Milwaukee Avenue and, in 1895, the electrifiedelevated rail line (today'sBlue Line) was built alongside the road up to Logan Square itself, stimulating a new building boom. Milwaukee Avenue was finally paved in 1911 to accommodate motor cars. A baseball stadium at the corner of Milwaukee and Diversey hosted the Logan Square Baseball Club, which defeated both theChicago Cubs andWhite Sox, who had just played each other in the crosstown1906 World Series.^[5]

The neighborhood is home to a diverse population including an establishedLatino community (primarily Mexican and Puerto Rican, with some Cuban), a number of ethnicities fromEastern Europe (mostly Poles), and a growing number ofmillennials, due togentrification.^[7][8] Known as the "Logan Square Boulevards District", the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and became a protected Chicago Landmark in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Logan Square has churches along its boulevards includingMinnekirken, a Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church, andSt. Mary of the Angels.

Belmont Gardens spans the Chicago Community Areas of Logan Square andAvondale like neighboring Kosciuszko Park, located within its northwest portion, where thePulaski Industrial Corridor abuts these residential areas. The boundaries of Belmont Gardens are generally held to be Pulaski Road to the East, theMilwaukee District North rail line to the West,Belmont Avenue to the North, andFullerton Avenue to the South.

Most of the land between Fullerton Avenue and Diversey Avenue as well as Kimball to the Milwaukee North rail line was empty as late as the 1880s, mostly consisting of the rural "truck farms" that peppered much ofJefferson Township. This began to change with the annexation of this rustic hinterland to the city in 1889 in anticipation of theWorld's Columbian Exposition that would focus the country's eyes on Chicago just a few years later in 1893.

Belmont Gardens' first urban development began thanks to Homer Pennock, who founded the industrial village of Pennock, Illinois. Centered on Wrightwood Avenue, which was originally laid out as "Pennock Boulevard", the area was planned to be a hefty industrial and residential district. The development was so renowned that the village was highlighted in a "History of Cook County, Illinois" authored by Weston Arthur Goodspee and Daniel David Healy.^[9] Thwarted by circumstances as well as the decline of Homer Pennock's fortune, this district declined to the point that theChicago Tribune wrote about the neighborhood in an article titled "A Deserted Village in Chicago" in 1903.^[10] The original name ofHealy station, "Pennock", was named after this now lost settlement.^[11]

While Homer Pennock'sindustrial suburb failed, Chicago's rapid expansion transformed the area's farms into clusters of factories and homes. At the turn of the 20th century as settlement was booming, Belmont Gardens and Avondale were at the northwestern edge of theMilwaukee Avenue Polish Corridor – a contiguous stretch of Polish settlement which spanned this thoroughfare all the way from the southern tip ofWicker Park'sPolonia Triangle at the intersection ofMilwaukee, Division Street and Ashland Avenue, north toIrving Park Road.

Belmont Gardens offered more than just a less congested setting for its new residents. Due to its proximity to rail along theChicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, the area developed a plethora ofindustry that still survives in the city's Pulaski Industrial Corridor. It was adjacent to his own factory that Walter E. Olson built what theChicago Tribune put at the top of its list of the "Seven Lost Wonders of Chicago".^[12]

TheOlson Park and Waterfall was a 22-acre garden and waterfall complex remembered by Chicagoans citywide as the place they fondly reminisce heading out to for family trips on the weekend. The ambitious project took 200 workers more than six months to fashion it out of 800 tons of stone and 800 yards of soil.

Latino settlement in the neighborhood began in the 1980s. Today the area still retains itsblue collar feel as much of surrounding Logan Square and Avondale undergo increased gentrification.

Bucktown is a neighborhood located in the east of the Logan Square community area in Chicago, directly north ofWicker Park, and northwest of theLoop. Bucktown gets its name from the large number ofgoats raised in the neighborhood during the 19th century when it was an integral part of the city's famedPolish Downtown. The original Polish term for the neighborhood wasKozie Prery (GoatPrairie). Its boundaries are Fullerton Avenue to the north, Western Avenue to the west, Bloomingdale or North Avenue^[13][14] to the south, and the Kennedy Expressway to the east. Bucktown's original boundaries were Fullerton Avenue, Damen Avenue (formerly Robey Street), Armitage Avenue and Western Avenue.

Bucktown is primarily residential, with a mix of older single family homes, new builds with edgy architecture, and converted industrial loft spaces.Horween Leather Company has been on NorthElston Avenue in Bucktown since 1920.^[15] The neighborhood's origins are rooted in the Polish working class, which first began to settle in the area in the 1830s.^[16] A large influx ofGermans began in 1848 and in 1854 led to the establishment of the town ofHolstein, which was eventually annexed into Chicago in 1863. In the 1890s and 1900s, immigration from Poland, the annexation ofJefferson Township into Chicago and the completion of the Logan Square Branch of the Metropolitan Elevated Lines contributed to the rapid increase in Bucktown's population density. Three of the city's most opulent churches designed in the so-called "Polish cathedral style" –St. Hedwig's Church, the former Cathedral of All Saints (nowCovenant Presbyterian Church) andSt. Mary of the Angels – date from this era.

The early Polish settlers had originally designated many of Bucktown's streets with names significant to their people – Kosciusko, Sobieski, Pulaski and Leipzig (after theBattle of Leipzig).Chicago's City Council, prompted by a Bucktown-based German contingent with political clout, changed these Polish-sounding names in 1895 and 1913. In its place the new names for these thoroughfares bore a distinctTeutonic hue – Hamburg, Frankfort, Berlin and Holstein.Anti-German sentiment during World War I brought about another name-change that left today's very Anglo-Saxon sounding names: McLean, Shakespeare, Charleston, and Palmer.^[16]

Polish immigration into the area accelerated during and afterWorld War II when as many as 150,000 Poles are estimated to have arrived inPolish Downtown between 1939 and 1959 asDisplaced Persons.^[17] Like the Ukrainians in nearbyUkrainian Village, they clustered in established ethnic enclaves like this one that offered shops, restaurants, and banks where people spoke their language. Milwaukee Avenue was the anchor of the city's "Polish Corridor", a contiguous area of Polish settlement that extended fromPolonia Triangle toAvondale's Polish Village. Additional population influxes into the area at this time includedEuropean Jews andBelarusians.

Latino migration to the area began in the 1960s with the arrival ofCuban,Puerto Rican, and laterMexican immigrants. Puerto Ricans in particular concentrated in the areas along Damen and Milwaukee Avenues through the 1980s after being displaced by the gentrification ofLincoln Park that started in the 1960s. The local Puerto Rican community lent heavy support for theYoung Lords and other groups that participated inHarold Washington's victorious mayoral campaign. In the last quarter of the 20th century, a growing artists' community led directly to widespreadgentrification, which brought in a large population ofyoung professionals. In recent years, many trendy taverns and restaurants have opened in the neighborhood. There also have been a considerable number of "teardowns" of older housing stock, often followed by the construction of larger, upscale residential buildings.

Bucktown has a significant shopping district on Damen Avenue, extending north from North Avenue (in Wicker Park) to Webster Avenue. The neighborhood is readily accessible via theBlue Line and has multiple access points to the elevatedBloomingdale Trail, also known as the 606.

Kosciuszko Park spans the Chicago Community Areas of Logan Square and Avondale like neighboring Belmont Gardens, located within its northwest portion, where the Pulaski Industrial Corridor abuts these residential areas. It is known by locals as "Koz Park", or sometimes the "Land of Koz".^[18]

Adjacent to Kosciuszko Park's border with Avondale proper near the intersection of George Street and Lawndale Avenue isSt. Hyacinth Basilica.

Dedicated in 1916, Kosciuszko Park is named forTadeusz Kościuszko who fought in theAmerican Revolution.

Logan Square is a neighborhood located in the north-central portion of the Logan Square community area in Chicago. The neighborhood boundaries of Logan Square were originally held to beKimball Avenue on the west, California Avenue to the east,Diversey Parkway on the north, andFullerton Avenue to the south. However, as memory of the village and later neighborhood ofMaplewood has receded, the boundaries have grown beyond these streets, with eastern boundary has now shifted to the North Branch of theChicago River, western boundary to approximately Pulaski Rd, southern border past Armitage Ave, and the northern border pastDiversey Avenue.

The area is characterized by the prominent historicalboulevards and largebungalow-style homes. At one time, Logan Square boasted a largeNorwegian-American population, centered along the historic boulevards. With relatively inexpensive housing and rent available, this neighborhood was a favorite for immigrants and working-class citizens. Logan Square was the site of theNorwegian-American cultural center,Chicago Norske Klub. Many elaborate, stylish, and expensive houses and mansions line historic Logan and Kedzie Boulevards where the club was once situated.Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church (Norwegian:Den Norske Lutherske Minnekirke), also known as Minnekirken, is also located on Kedzie Boulevard in Logan Square.^[19]

The Palmer Square neighborhood of Chicago is apocket neighborhood located within the Logan Square community, directly west ofBucktown, north ofHumboldt Park, and northwest ofWicker Park. Although there is no clear consensus on this neighborhood's exact boundaries, the City of Chicago Neighborhoods Map shows that it is generally bound by Fullerton Avenue (2400 N) to the north, Armitage Avenue (2000 N) to the south, Kedzie Boulevard (3200 W) to the west, and Milwaukee Avenue to the east.^[20]

The neighborhood takes it name from the 7.68-acre (31,100 m²) Palmer Square Park (pictured to the left) that sits near the western edge of the neighborhood and is the namesake ofJohn McAuley Palmer (1817–1900), a lawyer and Civil War General who served as the 15th Governor of Illinois, a United States Senator, and at age 79, was a candidate for president in 1896. Palmer was an avowedabolitionist, friend and supporter ofAbraham Lincoln, and, as the Military Governor ofKentucky in 1865–1866, aggressively commanded Federal forces to root out the remnants of slavery in that state.^[21]

As the bicycle craze swept Chicago beginning in the mid-1880s, the then-called Palmer Place oval became a popular track for bicycle-riding "wheelmen", also known as "scorchers", who competed with pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages.Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948), founder of theSchwinn Bicycle Company, lived at the corner of W. Palmer St. and N. Humboldt Blvd.^[22]

The City of Chicago in 2005 received a matching grant from theIllinois Department of Natural Resources to develop a children's play space, walking trails, soft surface jogging trail, open lawn areas, lighting, seating, and landscaping in Palmer Square. After extensive community input and prolonged design and construction periods, theChicago Park District (CPD) finished construction of the park and opened it to the public in July 2009.

A series of live music performances in Palmer Square Park takes place each Sunday during the summer of 2021.^[23]

TheChicago Public Library operates one branch located in the Logan Square community area, the Logan Square Branch at 3030 W. Fullerton. The branch inKosciuszko Park, one of the system's most utilized branches, was closed by the 1950s.

Logan Square has a number of diverse cultural centers, such as The Comfort Station, an art gallery and event space, and AnySquared Projects, a nonprofit art collective;^[24]St. Hedwig's Church, a strong cultural and civic institution for Chicago's multi-ethnicCatholic community; theHairpin Arts Center, managed by the Logan Square Chamber of Arts, located in nearby Avondale; as well asChicago's Polish Village. The Lincoln Lodge on Milwaukee Avenue presents live comedy most nights of the week.^[25] Next door is the office ofIn These Times, an independent magazine founded in 1976 which focuses onsocial justice.^[26]

Media organizations making their home in Logan Square include the Community TV Network – a youth media organization – and theChicago Independent Media Center. The neighborhood is covered by a number of neighborhood news blogs, including LoganSquarist.^[27]

A comprehensive redevelopment of the historicCongress Theater was approved by theChicago City Council in March, 2019.^[28] On June 28, 2021, David Baum announced thatBaum Revision had taken over the project and planned to redevelop the landmark theater, the surrounding apartments, and retail space, using the already approved plan (although excluding the associated 72-unit apartment building).^[29] On June 9, 2022, the project was approved by the city's Permit Review Committee.^[30]

In early December 2024, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved $6.2 million in Class L tax incentives for the first 12 years of project. Assuming approval by the full City Council, construction is slated to begin the first quarter of 2025 with completion by the end of 2026. The following week workmen began installing safety fencing on the roof in preparation for the first stage of restoration work to begin. Final plans call for a full restoration of the 3,500 seat theater as a performance venue, 13,000 square feet of restored retail spaces on the ground floor, and 16 affordable apartments on the upper levels.^[31]

TheRoberto Clemente Post Office is located in Logan Square.^[32]

Logan Square is served by three stops on theChicago Transit Authority (CTA)'sBlue Line:Western,California, andLogan Square. All three stations provide 24/7 service toO'Hare International Airport, downtown, andForest Park.

Residents are zoned toChicago Public Schools.

In the2016 presidential election, Logan Square cast 27,987 votes forHillary Clinton and cast 2,435 votes forDonald Trump (86.99% to 7.57%).^[33] In the2012 presidential election, Logan Square cast 22,608 votes forBarack Obama and cast 3,362 votes forMitt Romney (83.88% to 12.47%).^[34]

• Jessica Camacho (born 1982), actress (The Flash,Taken, andWatchmen), was a childhood resident of Logan Square^[35]
• Morris Childs (1902–1991),double agent for theF.B.I. against theSoviet Union, was a childhood resident of 3264 West Fullerton Avenue^[36][37]
• Eve Ewing (born 1986), sociologist, author, poet, and visual artist, was a childhood resident of Logan Square^[38]
• John Guzlowski (born 1948),Polish-American author and poet was a childhood resident of Logan Square^[39]
• Lori Lightfoot (born 1962), 56thMayor of Chicago (2019–2023), resides in Logan Square with her wife and daughter^[40]
• Adam Lizakowski (born 1956), a Polish poet, translator, and photographer, former resident, he founded theUnpaid Rent group, a collective of Polish language poets who were based out of his former home in Logan Square^[41]
• Richard Nickel (1928–1972), photographer and preservationist, was a childhood resident of Logan Square^[42]
• Knute Rockne (1888–1931), football coach, was a childhood resident of Logan Square^[43] He grew up in the Logan Square area of Chicago, on the northwest side of the city.^[44]
• William A. Redmond (1908–1992), 64thSpeaker of the Illinois House of Representatives (1975–1981), was a childhood resident of Logan Square^[45]
• Mike Royko (1932–1997), author andPulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist, was a childhood resident of Logan Square living at 2122 North Milwaukee Avenue^[46]
• Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948), a designer, a founder, and the eventual sole owner of the Schwinn Bicycle Company^[22]
• Shel Silverstein (1930–1999), author and poet, was a childhood resident of Logan Square^[47]
• Jacob Winchester (born 1987), writer, voice actor, and composer worked in a Logan Square warehouse^[48]

• Norwegian Americans
• Polish Americans
• Polish Cathedral style

Wikivoyage has a travel guide forLogan-Bucktown.

• Official City of Chicago Logan Square Community Map
• Bucktown Community Organization
• The Northwest Chicago Historical Society's history of Bucktown
• Logan Square Preservation
• Logan Square Chamber of Commerce
• Logan Square Neighborhood Association
• Wicker Park & Bucktown Chamber of Commerce
• Palmer Square
• Chicago Norske Klub

• Community areas of Chicago
• North Side, Chicago
• Populated places established in 1889
• 1889 establishments in Illinois

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