Roger’s Park just feels different. Located on the northernmost point of Chicago, it’s a unique place as elements of both a college and beach town converge. With Loyola University as a huge part of the neighborhood, Rogers Park remains a young and vibrant community with students spilling out of train stations and coffee shops. The many street end beaches are incredible to see and experience, especially as someone who grew up on the industrial west side where nature was more a destination rather than an integrated and accessible element of everyday life. It’s also a really diverse place, as represented by the wide variety of multicultural restaurants from Ethiopia to Peru and everywhere in between. Rogers Park is the home of artists, writers, hippies, and activists and it shows as streets are lined with cool bookstores, public murals, and theaters. This utopian community is as idyllic as it is devoted to uplifting Chicago and its residents and it’s an amazing place to spend the day.
Helen Doria Beach
1040 W Columbia Ave, Chicago, IL 60626
A very quiet and peaceful stretch of beach where you can appreciate both the lake and Chicago’s skyline from afar.
The Rogers Park Historical Society
7363 N. Greenview Ave, Chicago, IL 60626
If you’re interested in immersing yourself in the neighborhood, consider the annual House tour they host taking place in late September.
Leather Archives & Museum
6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago IL, 60626
This unique space is both an archive and museum dedicated to preserving the leather, BDSM, and kink community and history. A place that would no doubt make Robert Mapplethorpe proud.
Rogers Park Social
6920 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60626
Beloved by the community for it’s cocktails and atmosphere, it’s also a welcoming place that regularly hosts Drag and Burlesque shows.
Caribbean American Bakery
1539 Howard St, Chicago, IL 60626
This Jamaican bakery is also a neighborhood favorite for its breads and pastries that will definitely hit the spot and perfect for our cold Chicago winters.
The Armadillo’s Pillow
6753 N Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL, 60626
Okay, this place is amazing. It’s quirky, unique, stacks-upon-stacks-kind of bookstore. You never know what you’ll find and that’s the absolute charm of a bookstore like this.