Area around Aragon Ballroom? (Rock Island, Mokena: credit card, neighborhood, college)

[mscongeniality1]

Hi everyone,

I'm kinda new to posting to this forum so bear with me. I just bought tickets for my boyfriend and me (we're both college students) for a concert at Aragon Ballroom, and I just wanted to know if that general area was safe-ish at night. I've read that Uptown can be sketchy in parts and I'm hoping the area isn't too terrible to be around for a concert. We're driving in from out of town so parking is sort of an issue too. Thoughts?

[Manigault]

You can luck up on a street space near the Aragon but I would go with a commercial lot. It is in Uptown, so do not accept the various offers which may come your way on the street.

Going to a concert at the Aragon is like going to an attraction in any large urban area -- be aware of your surroundings and take reasonable precautions. Try to arrive and leave the area with the crowd from the ballroom.

[It'sAutomatic]

I'm not sure if it's one of the bad parts of Uptown or not, but regardless, you'll be fine if there's a crowd from the concert around.

[mscongeniality1]

Thanks very much! Very appreciated.

[Avengerfire]

There was a thread almost just like this a couple months ago. Hmmm, where is it? Let me try to find it.

No it. But related.

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...n-station.html

[mscongeniality1]

Wow, that is really helpful...not sure how I missed it, I thought I did a pretty thorough search of the forums. Thanks!

[ImaloneJill]

And just to take it a bit further, my husband and I (in our 40's-50) have taken the train in from Mokena, to downtown to the Aragon to see concerts. the "L" station is across the street, very close, was able to get on a train back downtown without any problems. I have always been a child of public transit in Chgo. My husband has not, so he was leery. The only thing we had to encounter was a wait for the Rock Island back home. Metra trains stop running at a certain time, also. But you might consider this an option.

[Drover]

Whenever I go to a show at Aragon or Riviera, I've had no problems parking about 3 or 4 blocks up the street on Broadway, and that way is the "safe" direction whereas the neighborhood gets dicey really quick just south of Lawrence and Broadway (where the Aragon is). Metered street parking is enforced until 9pm now, so you may have to feed the meter for an hour or two depending on when the show starts, and that will run you $1.25 an hour. The meter box takes credit cards so it's super convenient.