Chicago/Southwest Side

The Southwest Side of Chicago is far off the beaten path. Plenty of visitors know Midway Airport, but never see anything beyond. Truth be told, there isn't a lot to see. But the Southwest Side does hold some interest as the former home to the infamous Union Stock Yards, and a pretty long list of hidden culinary gems well worth the trek.

Understand
The Southwest Side is large enough where you cannot understand it without understanding its neighborhoods — it is united only by its blue-collar character, proximity to the airport, and of course, the White Sox.

The Back of the Yards is a loose term encompassing the community areas of McKinley Park, Brighton Park, and New City, referring to the area's history as the home to the vast hordes of immigrant laborers in the Union Stock Yards of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Though the stock yards are long gone, the blue-collar character remains. The actual stock yards were located in the heart of New City between Ashland Ave and Halsted from Pershing Rd (39th St) to 47th St. Today the site is marked by the Union Stock Yard Gate and a large industrial park. The area surrounding the park is comprised of predominantly Mexican-American neighborhoods and has some good food on offer. Canaryville (between Halsted and Wentworth from Pershing to 49th) is an Irish-American neighborhood with a notoriously violent reputation. McKinley Park, on the other hand, is experiencing gentrification as younger Chicagoans are priced out of "hipper" neighborhoods.

Centered on one very large and fabulous park, Marquette Park is an ethnically mixed neighborhood divided between mostly African-Americans east of the park and Mexican-Americans immediately west of the park, along with some Polish and Lithuanian-Americans. Further west, the area becomes more ethnically inclusive, with median income playing a more prominent role in residency. Aside from the park (and its golf course), the neighborhood is alluring mostly for its great Mexican food, as well its rare-in-America Lithuanian dining. This neighborhood was once dominated by a big, wealthy, Lithuanian-American community, but its demographics began to shift dramatically following Martin Luther King Jr's anti-segregation marches (which at the time met with violence from residents). Accompanying desegregation in this neighborhood was characteristic "white flight," which put an end to the "Lithuanian Gold Coast" and heralded a more open neighborhood which has been a major destination in the United States for Mexican immigrants.

Around Midway, you'll find Chicago's second airport, surrounded by an ethnically diverse collection of neighborhoods. This section of town is home to a large, established Polish community, and to the Mexican communities that arrived later. The neighborhoods of Archer Heights, Garfield Ridge, and Clearing are important centers of Polish culture in the United States; you are likely to hear as much Polish as English while walking around these neighborhoods. Polish Highlanders, or Górals dominate the local Polish population, with a unique cuisine and culture that is decidedly Balkan. A host of restaurants and cultural institutions visibly display the rustic touch of their Carpathian craft such as the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America at Archer Ave just northeast of its intersection with Pulaski Rd. Points of interest are pretty spread out, but the food and nightlife sure beats the airport hotels. And you don't have to venture too far to find one-in-a-million pizza, or some Croatian baked goods.

In the southeast are a couple of far-flung African-American neighborhoods: Auburn Gresham and Washington Heights. Aside from the Obama family's now famous church, they have far less of interest to travelers, but both are nice enough neighborhoods and have some good places to eat if you find yourself in the area.

Englewood also deserves a mention, but mostly as a warning — it is a large, impoverished, and relatively violent neighborhood with just about nothing to offer a traveler. It is generally best to just roll through on one of the main roads (e.g., 55th St) or to avoid the area altogether.

By plane
Midway Airport plays second fiddle to the Chicago giant that is O'Hare International, but it serves a lot of domestic flights (with Southwest & Delta) and some international flights from Canada, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, serving as a more convenient point of entry. Just about everyone coming into this part of Chicago goes through this airport on low-cost carriers:


 * Concourse A: Delta/Delta Connection, Porter Airlines, Southwest and Volaris
 * Concourse B: Southwest
 * Concourse C: VIA Airlines as Branson Air Express (to Branson, Missouri) and Regional Sky (to Manistee, Michigan)

Parking rates
 * Hourly parking: $4 for the first hour and $2 for each additional hour
 * Daily parking: $4 for the first hour, each day is $25.
 * Economy parking: $2 for the first hour, $5 for two hours, and $12 per day (or just over 2 hours!)

The Go Airport Express provides regular transfer service to Chicago O'Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago. Chicago taxis' metered rates for the Midway/O'Hare trip are in the vicinity of $65.

If time is not of the essence, the O'Hare to Midway trip can be made via CTA 'L' lines for $5 (and only $2.50 from Midway to O'Hare). The fully-accessible Midway station is just east of the airport terminal building and is connected to the airport via an enclosed walkway. Follow the signs to “CTA Trains” or “Trains to City” from the airport. An orange line painted on the ground will guide you there. Take the CTA Orange Line from to the Clark/Lake stop and follow the signs on the platform to go downstairs to the CTA Blue Line which goes to O'Hare. There is no charge for changing trains at Clark/Lake. The typical time is about an hour and a half, although extra time should be allowed for delays.



Parking charges are incurred after 10 minutes in all lots, save the cell phone waiting area.

By train
The CTA Orange Line runs through the district on its way from the Loop, providing quick and easy access to Midway Airport, as well as some northern areas of the Southwest Side from the Loop, but keep in mind that a bus transfer will likely be necessary to get you from the L station to anywhere other than the airport. Travel time is about 25–30 minutes from the Loop to Midway, but you may wait up to 30 minutes between trains during off peak hours. Check schedules since Orange Line trains do not run 24 hours.

The CTA Red Line (as does the slightly less convenient Green Line) runs along the eastern boundary of the district. While it is fairly far from anything of interest on the Southwest Side, you'll find an east-west bus route picking up right in front of each station (except 69th St!), running the length of that numbered street (e.g., #55 along 55th St, #63 along 63rd St, etc.).

Metra's Rock Island commuter rail line serves the southernmost neighborhoods of the district, and can get you to Auburn-Gresham or Washington Heights. But you will need to take a bus from the station to your destination. Trains depart from the downtown LaSalle Station. A ride to the Gresham station costs just over $2, to Longwood or Washington Heights, just over $3.

The Metra Southwest Service goes straight from Union Station in the Near West Side to the Ashburn neighborhood, where it stops twice at "Wrightwood" and "Ashburn." Only take this train if you are going to Ashburn, not if you are going to the airport, as its stops are on the other end of the district. Saturday service is extremely limited and there is no Sunday service.

By bus
CTA bus route #62, which travels along Archer Ave from McCormick Center in the Near South to Midway, is probably the most convenient route into the Southwest Side from downtown Chicago. Other important routes include the city-spanning north south routes along Halsted, Ashland, Western, Pulaski, and Cicero: #8, #9, #49, #54, and #53. The major east west routes are #47, #55, and #63, which as you might expect run the lengths of 47th, 55th, and 63rd streets.


 * 1) 62 Archer is the one bus that runs directly from downtown to the Midway Area, but it doesn't stop at the airport (except during the overnight hours when the Orange Line 'L' is not running), so if you're coming from that way, the 'L' is a better option. From the West Side, there are convenient and direct routes along Cicero and Pulaski (#53 and #54). Bus route #55 is by far the best way to travel to Midway from the South Side, which leaves from the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park.

By car
The Dan Ryan Expressway runs down the eastern edge of the district, and heading west on the 55th/Garfield exit will take you directly to the airport. To get to the Union Stock Yard Gate, take the Pershing Rd exit from the Dan Ryan. The Stevenson Expressway lacks exits on the main roads leading into the eastern parts of the area, but the Damen Ave exit will get you on Archer, from which you can easily get onto Western, Ashland, or Halsted. For Midway take Cicero; Pulaski is useful for exploring the areas just east of the airport.

By bus
Pretty much the only way to get around the Southwest Side by public transport is by bus, but if this is the route you choose, make a point of it to plan your route ahead of time, as distances are fairly long and the bus routes generally only run along the main streets.

By car
A car is a handy travel companion in the Southwest Side indeed. Attractions, activities, and restaurants are generally spread apart over long distances, and free on-street parking is available just about everywhere. Taxis are also a good option, but do not expect to be able to hail one off the street — you will need to call and arrange rides in advance.

See
The one big sight on the Southwest Side is the Union Stock Yard Gate, and even that is a pretty small attraction for how out of the way it is. Other sights appeal to narrow sections of society. The Chicago Blues Museum has a magnificent collection for anyone interested in blues history, but it remains to be seen whether it will ever have regular hours. The Balzekas Museum is of obvious interest to Lithuanian-Americans, the Indian Building to Wayne's World fanatics and roadside kitsch-seekers, and the Archives to, well, archivists (and to those who want to trace their roots in the Midwest).



Buy
The Southwest Side is not an enticing shopping destination, unless the endless strip malls on Cicero are your thing. Even Midway Airport lacks a duty-free shop, as it only serves a few international flights to Mexico. But if you find yourself here and need something, you can almost certainly find it on Cicero.



Eat
The Southwest Side excels in three culinary areas: Mexican, Polish/Bohemian, and Chicago-style fast food. Avoid the airport hotel restaurants like the plague — there are far better (and more fairly priced) places to eat nearby. If you have a car, drop whatever you are doing and head down Pulaski Ave to Vito & Nick's for the "best pizza, anywhere."

Drink
The Southwest Side does not rank prominently in the minds of Chicagoans when they think of city nightlife, but there are a handful of worthwhile spots, with good live music.



Sleep
As it is an airport neighborhood, the Midway Area has a ton of hotels, which mostly fall in to two categories: bland, mid-range, three star business/airport hotels and cheap, but not seedy, motels.

Midway Hotel Center
The Hotel Center is a hotel campus in Bedford Park, of 7 mid-range options, two blocks south of the airport (about a half mile from baggage claim) at 65th St and Cicero Ave. Shuttles run between all the hotels and the airport, although (despite claims to the contrary) you cannot always get a shuttle to/from the L station, so expect to have a long trip if you are heading to the city center. If you're here and looking for food, it would be a travesty of taste to go to the center's chain restaurants. Walk a block north to Giordano's for some quality Chicago-style pizza or solid Italian dishes. Better yet, get a taxi to Vito and Nick's.



Connect
Midway Airport offers high speed wireless in several lounges, restaurants, and gates, but it is only available to Boingo subscribers. All the following branches of the Chicago Public Library also offer free public internet access.



Stay safe
As you would expect in such a large district of the city, crime levels vary throughout. The northern and western neighborhoods, while sometimes looking gritty, should not worry you in the slightest. Marquette Park is quite safe as well, although it deteriorates a bit southeast of the actual park. Englewood, on the other hand, is a huge neighborhood notorious among Chicagoans for murders, random beatings, and what have you. Auburn-Gresham and Washington Heights rest somewhere in the middle, but they're fairly quiet and peaceful — violent crime is not happening on main streets during the day.

Go next

 * If your flight is not on the departures display, perhaps you were looking for O'Hare International Airport? If so, grab a cab and hope for the best. Most taxis have special rates for the MDW-ORD trip, which should cost about $50–60 at the cheapest and take about an hour. If time is not an issue, you can take the Orange Line to the Loop and transfer to the Blue Line to O'Hare for just $2.25, but it will take two hours or more.
 * If you are staying downtown and just want to get some authentic Mexican food, there are great options closer by in the West Side's Pilsen neighborhood.
 * While you are out this far from the city center, why not head even further south to the Far Southwest Side to dig the Irish pubs and brogues.
 * Hop on the CTA Orange Line and head downtown to the Loop to escape the outskirts and see the city you recognize from the postcards.
 * For more Polish culture, the mother lode is on Chicago's Far Northwest Side.