The last in the Noble Square series. I can hear you saying “finally!” This is the part of Noble Square I know the best, just because I ride the Ashland bus a lot. My favorite part is Arandas. Most car lots and service businesses have flags and flags and more flags, but Arandas choose to go with palm trees. And not just any palm trees, palm trees that light up at night. Quite a sight to see.

Previously in Noble Square:
» Northeast
» Southeast
» Chicago Ave.
» Ashland South of Division

Other neighborhood walks:
» Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4
» East Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4

[Read more →]

In northern Noble Square there are more signs of Wicker Park, if you will. There are still an old Polish school and church and the old fieldhouse at Pulaski Park, but there are also new condos signs of gentrification leaking in. I was surprised and excited to see the cobblestone street, I think it was on a stretch of Le Moyne. I hardly see cobblestone here in Chicago. The dogs were in a big enclosed area by the highway. I love weimaraners. A guy there was teasing me and telling me I could have any dog I wanted and I was having a hard time getting a straight answer about why the dogs were all there. Two other workers made it seem as though it was some sort of doggy daycare.

Previously in Noble Square:
» Southeast
» Chicago Ave.
» Ashland South of Division

Other neighborhood walks:
» Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4
» East Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4

[Read more →]

In the southeast corner, Noble Square has Eckhart Park. The houses and church that line the park looked really nice in the late afternoon light. To the east Noble Square ends at the Kennedy Expressway, which I obviously didn’t walk on. I sort of weaved in and out, trying to stay near the freeway. Going north, there’s the Polish American Museum and just north of that some low-income housing? I think? It’s housing that all looks the same, with uniform numbering and run down yards. At Division St. and Noble St. there’s Holy Trinity, a Polish church that was built in 1873.

Previously in Noble Square:
» Chicago Ave.
» Ashland South of Division

Other neighborhood walks:
» Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4
» East Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4

[Read more →]

Noble Square’s southern border is Chicago Ave. There are a lot of hispanic homes, stores and restaurants that have been around forever, it seems. And then around Greenview Ave. you stumble onto Flo, a popular restaunt for brunch, I hear, and Green Zebra, a high-end vegetarian restaurant. In the far southeast corner of Noble Square is a Eckhart Park, which is huge.

Previously in Noble Square:
» Ashland South of Division

Other neighborhood walks:
» Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4
» East Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4

[Read more →]

One day it was about 45 degrees out, so instead of going to the gym, I took a walk around Noble Square. Even thought this neighborhood is just to the east of mine, I never fully walked the circumference of it. Noble Square’s borders are Ashland Ave on the west, Chicago Ave on the South, the Kennedy Expressway on the east, and North Ave on the north.

Like a lot of the neighborhoods around here – Ukrainian Village, East Village, Wicker Park – Noble Square is gentrifying at a rapid speed so there’s a mix of really old school shops and restaurants with new condos and restaurants. One thing that surprised me was there are several nice big parks and schools in the neighborhood. But still, there are pockets of sketch, even in the daytime. I keep an open mind. I’ve lived in America’s largest cities for a long time, but I know that if your gut tells you to get out of somewhere, you need to get out of there, and that happened one time during my walk.

Also, it’s hard to walk down the Kennedy! Go figure! So on the eastern edge of the neighborhood I kind of cut in and out, staying near the freeway, but obvs not on it.

These first photos are of Ashland Ave south of Division Street. I’ll have additional posts of other parts of the neighborhood coming up.

Other neighborhood walks:
» Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4
» East Ukrainian Village: 1 2 3 4

[Read more →]