Wicker Park & Bucktown

Exert taken from The New York Times

"Creative types cluster in the hip, somewhat grungy enclaves called Bucktown and Wicker Park, centered on Milwaukee, Damen, and North avenues. Locals flock to this area for its intriguing mix of nightclubs, cafes, theaters, coffeehouses, cutting-edge galleries, small businesses, and a bizarre bazaar of shops -- plus an increasing parade of sightseers drawn by what is arguably the best people-watching in the city. Musicians, artists, and young professionals call this area home, and an abundance of Latino American-run shops and restaurants is evidence of the strong ethnic influences.

Bucktown -- which is said to have taken its name from the goats kept by the area's original Polish and German immigrants -- encompasses the neighborhood surrounding Milwaukee Avenue north of North Avenue. The area south of North Avenue is Wicker Park -- named for Charles Wicker, who, with his brother Joel, established the community in the 1870s. The summer of 2001 brought MTV's real world cameras to a rehabbed apartment on North Avenue, right smack in the heart of the neighborhood. Creative types cluster in the hip, somewhat grungy enclaves called Bucktown and Wicker Park, centered on Milwaukee, Damen, and North avenues. Locals flock to this area for its intriguing mix of nightclubs,cafes, theaters, coffeehouses, cutting-edge galleries, small businesses, and a bizarre bazaar of shops -- plus an increasing parade of sightseers drawn by what is arguably the best people-watching in the city. Musicians, artists, and young professionals call this area home, and an abundance of Latino American-run shops and restaurants is evidence of the strong ethnic influences."

Read more on Bucktown/Wicker Park:
http://www.nytimes.com/Chicago/Bucktown_Wicker_Park