Once the site of the historic Edgewater Beach Hotel, the Chicago neighborhood of Edgewater has undergone a noticeable transformation since the 1980s with the addition of trendy restaurants and stores, and the refurbishing of once-dilapidated storefronts and homes. The community boasts a wide range of housing options, panoramic views of the lakefront, numerous parks and beaches, and excellent transportation.
Edgewater borders the neighborhoods of Rogers Park to the north, Uptown to the south, Lincoln Square to the west and south, and West Ridge to the west and north, and lies seven miles north of downtown Chicago. According to 2000 U.S. Census figures, the population of Edgewater is 62,198. Now the site of a retirement community, the Edgewater Beach Hotel was once the place to go and be seen.
Built in 1916 between Sheridan Road and Lake Michigan at Berwyn Avenue, the hotel was a home-away-from-home for the rich and famous, including notable people like Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower. The sprawling complex had restaurants, tennis courts, playgrounds, indoor and outdoor dance floors, golf courses, and a well-known boardwalk along the beach, and many Chicagoans celebrated special occasions there. It closed in 1967, and all that remains are the pink-hued Edgewater Beach apartments at Bryn Mawr and Sheridan Road.
That area of Edgewater has been designated as the Bryn Mawr Historic District. Another historic district in the Edgewater neighborhood is the Lakewood Balmoral Historic District. It is a 12-square-block area stretching from Broadway to Glenwood, and from Foster to Bryn Mawr. At the northern edge of Edgewater sits Loyola University, and many students live in the surrounding area.
Edgewater has a large number of apartment buildings, condominiums and mid-rise homes, some of which dot Sheridan Road facing Chicago's lakefront. North Winthrop Avenue and North Kenmore Avenue stretching north to Loyola University contain apartments, condos and rehabilitated homes. Though prices are steadily rising, housing tends to be much more affordable in Edgewater than at addresses father south in the city. Housing types include Prairie style, bungalows, Victorian, stucco, and wood frame homes.
Students have a variety of public and private schools in Edgewater they can attend. There's a state-of-the art computer lab at the Helen C. Pierce School, an after-school academic program at the George B. Swift Specialty School, and at the William C. Goudy School, students study the American legal system with field trips to local courts. Nicholas Senn High School, a public high school, strongly emphasizes community service.
In August 2008, the average home sales price for a single family home or condo in Edgewater, IL was $265,691. While this data is collected from the MLS and deemed reliable, it is not guaranteed.
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