Description

Crawl through the historic dive bars of Wicker Park and meet the people who have loved and lost in these dimly lit spaces.

Starting Location

1201 N Ashland Ave

Duration

1 hour, 15 minutes

Map Image

Description

Wicker Park is a neighborhood filled with stories - and there is no better place ot discover them than the historic bars and taverns that have been backdrops for so many.

In the 1940s, Simone de Beauvoir, a French philosopher, came to Wicker Park to visit novelist, Nelson Algren. Algren took her on a tour of the neighborhood and its bars so she could see the "real Chicago" where working class folks, card sharks, and hustlers shared stories and drinks. Nelson and Simone fell in love in Wicker Park, but theirs isn't the only love story to be found here. There are stories of love for community, for a cause, for music, and for the bartenders who serve up drinks in good time...and bad.

Join Liz Mason, manager of Wicker Park institution Quimby's Bookstore, on a journey that explores them all - and wash them down with a few drinks along the way.

You'll walk the streets the Polish American community called home in the 40's and 50's. You'll dip into a tavern where they rented apartments upstairs by the hour, and a beer garden where German immigrants could bring the whole family. You'll visit a community garden named after a drug addict and hear from writers and musicians and locals with tales of their own. And by the time you order your last drink, you'll know why Simone fell in love with this place, and the man who showed it to her.

Tips & Hours

• This Detour is best between 4pm - Midnight.
• On this Detour you'll stop at 5 of Wicker Park's best bars where you can have a drink while listening to additional content or take your earbuds out and chat with friends or locals. Plan to spend between 80 mins and 2 hours, depending on how much time you'd like to spend lingering in each bar.
• Bring cash- all bars are cash only, and make sure to have your ID on you as most bars will card anyone who looks under the age of 65.
• Both CVS and Rite Liquors have ATMs if you need to get cash along the way.

Credits

Narrator: Liz Mason

Head of Content: Heather Schuster

Executive Producer : Stephanie Jenz

Advising Producer: Avi Glijansky

Writer: Paul Durica

Associate Producer: Sara Medlin

Production Assistant: Casey Hudetz

Sound Design: Julian Kwasneski, Connor Stock

Music Direction: Julian Kwasneski, Connor Stock

Featured Music: Whoopsie Daisy - The Coctails Working Holiday - The Coctails

Featured Voices: Mary Wiesnewski Steve Albini Kathy Moseley Bill Savage Paul Durica Tim Kinsella

Image Credits

Cover photo: Natalie O'Donnell 

Additional Photography: Danielle Scruggs 

Navigation photos: Sara Medlin Quotes from "The Man with the Golden Arm" Copyright, 1949 by Nelson Algren, used with permission

Special Thanks

Mark Greenberg Mary Wiesnewski Neil Olson, Donadio & Olson, Inc. Bill Savage Tim Kinsella Steve Albini The Staff and Patrons of Rite Liquors, Gold Star, Phyllis' Musical Inn, The Happy Village, and The Rainbo

Locations of All Detours

View Starting Locations Map