The early years of Irving Park were plagued by torrential rains that, owing to bad drainage, turned its streets to mud and kept its development at bay through much of the 1880s. In 1889 it was annexed by Chicago and gradually attracted wealthy families who enjoyed its suburban quietude but commuted by rail to the busier parts of town for work and shopping.
The population of Irving Park was largely German and Swedish until around the 1920s, when Polish and Russian immigrants began to settle in the area. Substantial Irish settlement contributed to the ethnic mix; the Irish-American Heritage Center honors the Irish segment of Irving Park's cultural blend.
The Irving Park Historic District contains a plethora of well-preserved Victorian, Italianate, and Queen Anne-style buildings, including the Race House, originally built for Irving Park's founder, Stephen A. Race. Though Race House was subsequently relocated and modified, it still represents the early architectural character of the Northwest Side when it was still considered suburban. The landmark Whistle Stop Inn is a surviving wooden structure that has at various times been a toll station, a drugstore, and a neighborhood tavern.
Nowadays, Irving Park caters to both working-class families and young professionals. Rehabbed residential and commercial constructions provide for affordable living and convenient shopping, and there are many beloved restaurants and bars that keep the neighborhood hoppin'. The expanses of Independence Park offer classic Chicago summer outdoorsy activity.
Fun Facts
- Irving Park was originally named “Irvington” after the author Washington Irving, until it was learned that the name had already been taken by another Illinois town.
- The Peoples Gas Irving Park Neighborhood Store, designed by George Grant Elmslie (a student of Louis Sullivan), was built in 1926 and designated a Chicago landmark in 1987.
- The Villa Historic District in Irving Park contains more than 120 historic bungalows.
- Irving Park Cemetery is the final resting place of many of the gangsters gunned down in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929.
