Districts/scenes within River North (Chicago, Lincoln: hotels, neighborhoods, living)

[ChiTownYoungProfessional]

How would you identify (based on location - i.e. streets or intersections) the different segments of River North such as the lounges, clubs, art galleries, and any other aspects of the neighborhood one might find relevant? Moving there soon from NYC and want to be semi-familiar when I move in

Excited to explore...

Any tips, recommendations, or information about the neighborhood would be much appreciated, too.

[Link N. Parker]

Well, as far as Chicago neighborhoods go, neighborhoods have official boundaries, and from there, are broken down into smaller neighborhoods known as "pockets". These smaller areas tend to have unofficial or ambiguous boundaries, and are subject to personal interpretation.

As far as RN goes, I guess one could think of it as a neighborhood, but really it is one of the downtown 'areas' and as far as I am aware, does not have any smaller districts within it, or at least none that I have heard of. Although, there are certain areas with RN that cater to different industries; for example, Hubbard street, as well as Ontario streets, are amazing nightlife areas.

Chicago's downtown is broken into several districts:

The Loop
West Loop
South Loop
New East Side
River North
Streeterville

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Link N. Parker

Well, as far as Chicago neighborhoods go, neighborhoods have official boundaries, and from there, are broken down into smaller neighborhoods known as "pockets". These smaller areas tend to have unofficial or ambiguous boundaries, and are subject to personal interpretation.

Actually, neighborhoods do not have official boundaries. Most of them have disputed boundaries, but community areas are static and officially recognized by the government. Community Areas have official boundaries and within community areas are contained neighborhoods. For example, "Near North Side" is a community area, and "River North" is a neighborhood contained within that.

Community areas in Chicago - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



For the areas of River North, there is Hubbard Street starting from State Street on the East and moving West, which has its fair share of bars/lounges on it and also the street south of there, Illinois, has it as well. Ontario and Erie has clubs such as Y, Bevy, Ontourage, Castle, Sound Bar, Spy Bar, etc. It should be noted though that there are restaurants, bars, and clubs almost everywhere in River North.

[chet everett]

Lots of cars pour through most of the area -- the volume of vehicles headed to/from expressways and areas of more focused retail along Michigan Ave mean you do 't have as quaint a street scene as in LincolnPark or perhaps something like NY's Greenwich Village.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Lots of cars pour through most of the area -- the volume of vehicles headed to/from expressways and areas of more focused retail along Michigan Ave mean you do 't have as quaint a street scene as in LincolnPark or perhaps something like NY's Greenwich Village.

Half agree, but this is untrue of some areas of River North. There are areas of RN with a lot of outdoor seating at restaurants and such. The streets may not be as narrow as ones in Lincoln Park on average, but there's still a lot of outdoor stuff that doesn't make it feel like, well...The Loop.

[jonnynonos]

Well, by some definitions, including the unofficial "official" city neighborhood map, "River North" now encompasses a huge swath of downtown--basically everything north of the Loop and west of Michigan Avenue.

That's Chicago's most densely populated, urban area--the most like Manhattan--so you would really have to cover a lot of ground to list everything in it.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

That's Chicago's most densely populated, urban area--the most like Manhattan--so you would really have to cover a lot of ground to list everything in it.

Not to get off topic, but is it? I know Edgewater is actually, officially, the most densely populated community area at 33,000 per sq mile (NNS, Rogers Park, and Lakeview are 30,000 per sq mile)

[jonnynonos]

Well, I could be wrong. I guess it would probably depend on where you drew the boundaries. In terms of actual people living there, I'm not sure. In terms of traffic, buildings built on top of each other, people working there, etc., I would guess it is right up there.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Not to get off topic, but is it? I know Edgewater is actually, officially, the most densely populated community area at 33,000 per sq mile (NNS, Rogers Park, and Lakeview are 30,000 per sq mile)

This is true, although Edgewater is nearly 100% built out, and the Near North Side has vast swathes of vacant land (i.e. much of the formerly Cabrini Green area), or exclusively industrial land (i.e. Goose Island), and in addition to people has quite a lot of commercial development - tens of millions of square feet of office space, for example - that Edgewater doesn't have. For that reason, the parts of Near North that are actually visited by most people "feel" much more dense (and are much more dense) than Edgewater. And Edgewater is 37% smaller than the Near North Side.

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Well, by some definitions, including the unofficial "official" city neighborhood map, "River North" now encompasses a huge swath of downtown--basically everything north of the Loop and west of Michigan Avenue.

That's Chicago's most densely populated, urban area--the most like Manhattan--so you would really have to cover a lot of ground to list everything in it.

I would say that the Gold Coast is actually more dense than River North overall, as is the Michigan Avenue corridor.

I live in River North, and while it's quite dense, overall I think it's not as dense as the Gold Coast or the Michigan Avenue corridor. This is partly because the average height in River North is lower (although it's growing) but also because River North still has a lot of undeveloped parking lots.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ChiTownYoungProfessional

How would you identify (based on location - i.e. streets or intersections) the different segments of River North such as the lounges, clubs, art galleries, and any other aspects of the neighborhood one might find relevant? Moving there soon from NYC and want to be semi-familiar when I move in

Excited to explore...

Any tips, recommendations, or information about the neighborhood would be much appreciated, too.

I've lived in River North for almost 9 years, and nearby another 3, so about a dozen years in the general vicinity.

The map below is how I'd draw the boundaries for the sub-areas of River North. Some of the boundaries would be a little smudged here and there, but overall I'd stand by this. I live in the part I've labeled "Gallery", which more or less aligns with the City's official "River North Gallery District" definition. The dashed boundaries for River North as a whole are provided by Google's interpretation. Some people also scoop in 2-3 blocks north of Chicago Avenue, at least west of Lasalle, especially since the big warehouse/office/residential complex just north of Chicago Avenue on the east bank of the River has grown in popularity.

Personally, I kinda think that neighborhood boundaries should be reconsidered and that the Green area plus the east bank of the River all the way to Division Street should be removed from "River North" and just called "Kingsbury Park" or "East Bank" on its own. The reason it's included now is that it had very little residential until about 10 years ago and so didn't really have a name and no one to advocate for it anyway. Now the "brand" of River North is so strong that Kingbury Park doesn't want to break away from it even though the "feel" of the area west of Orleans (or even of Franklin St) is quite different from the area east of it. The Merchandise Mart and, because it's associated, the Apparel Mart, should always remain in River North (they create the westward dogleg in the orange part) because they were instrumental in the art and design feel of the area and in providing a lot of the workers who initially supported restaurants in the area. I also personally think River North's east boundary should be Wabash, not Michigan.

To elaborate on the legend below:
Gallery is the "River North Gallery District" as defined by the City. The epicenter of the galleries are Superior and Franklin. There are some nice restaurants along Wells and on Huron in this area.
Kingsbury Park is the area along Kingsbury. It could also be called "East Bank" due to the East Bank Club that is in the little southern dogleg. North of this area, north of Chicago Ave, is sometimes included in River North, but neither Google nor I think it should be - see my notes above. The main restaurant/bar strip for this area is Ontario. There's a small grocer just north of Chicago Avenue.
Hubbard/State has a lot of nightlife, some office buildings, a bunch of hotels, and some residential high-rises. It's a great night-life area, and maybe should stretch up to Erie. As you might guess, both Hubbard and State dominate the bars/clubs part of this, but nearly all the streets have at least some bars, clubs or restaurants. There's a grocery store at State/Grand.
Cathedral is just named that because of Holy Name Cathedral and the Episcopal church on Huron. It's not really as big as I drew it, but the western half of it is kind of no-mans land. It's a fairly quiet part of River North although Clark Street has some activity. There's a Whole Foods grocer at Huron/Dearborn.
Design has the Merchandise Mart, the Apparel Mart and a bunch of smaller design studios and showrooms. It also has a lot of tech startups these days. Wells Street and, recently, Kinzie Street contribute the most to the bars/restaurant scene in this district although there is some activity on Lasalle.
Mag Mile is the western half of the Mag Mile corridor and I don't personally consider it to be part of River North. What's there to say - it's Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile, with something for every shopper.