Lincoln Square
Lincoln Avenue Shops, The Brown Line, Malt Row
MEDIAN: $303,000
The Neighborhoods of Lincoln Square
Lincoln Square is the North Side's village: a walkable main street, tree-lined blocks of houses and flats, and a calendar full of festivals, about seven miles northwest of the Loop. The community runs from Montrose Avenue north to Bryn Mawr and Peterson, and from Ravenswood Avenue west to the Chicago River.
People move here for the pace. Lincoln Avenue was narrowed to one lane each way decades ago, so its stretch of cafes, bakeries, shops and German beer halls feels made for walking, with Giddings Plaza and its fountain at the center.
The area has several distinct neighborhoods withi Lincoln Square is the lively main street, Ravenswood mixes Victorian homes with a corridor of breweries and art studios, and Bowmanville is a quiet pocket of houses beside Rosehill Cemetery.
Bowmanville
A small, quiet pocket of single-family homes on well-kept lawns, tucked between Western and Ravenswood avenues just south of Rosehill Cemetery. It's residential by design, with community gardens and little through-traffic. Life here is calm and close to home, with Lincoln Square's restaurants and the Andersonville shops each a short walk or bike ride away.
Budlong Woods
The community's northwest corner, west of Western Avenue along Lincoln Avenue north of Foster, named for the Budlong family's pickle farm, which opened here in 1857. Brick bungalows, Georgians and two-story houses from the early and mid-1900s line its side streets, with two-flats and small condo buildings mixed in. Life here is quiet and close to the river, with Legion Park's riverside path for walks and runs, the Budlong Woods library branch on Lincoln Avenue, and shops and restaurants along Lincoln a few blocks away.
Ravenswood
One of Chicago's oldest commuter suburbs, founded in 1868 along the railroad tracks that now carry Metra. Victorian homes on wide lots line its residential streets, while the Ravenswood Avenue corridor holds art studios, workshops and Malt Row, a string of craft breweries and a distillery. Days here start with the Metra or the Brown Line and end with a pint on Malt Row, and every September the Ravenswood Art Walk opens studios that are usually closed to the public.
Ravenswood Gardens
One of Chicago's oldest commuter suburbs, founded in 1868 along the railroad tracks that now carry Metra. Victorian homes on wide lots line its residential streets, while the Ravenswood Avenue corridor holds art studios, workshops and Malt Row, a string of craft breweries and a distillery. Days here start with the Metra or the Brown Line and end with a pint on Malt Row, and every September the Ravenswood Art Walk opens studios that are usually closed to the public.
Lincoln Square
The heart of the community, centered on Lincoln Avenue between Montrose and Lawrence, where Giddings Plaza, the Old Town School of Folk Music and the DANK Haus German American Cultural Center sit within a few blocks. Bungalows, greystones, two-flats and vintage courtyard buildings fill the side streets. Weekends mean coffee on the plaza, a stop at the farmers market and a beer hall dinner, and the year runs on festivals, from Maifest in late spring to Apple Fest in the fall.
Getting Around Lincoln Square
Lincoln Square has both an L line and a Metra stop. Which one you use depends on where you're headed downtown.
The Brown Line runs through the middle. Western station sits at the heart of Lincoln Square, and Damen and Montrose serve Ravenswood and the south end. The Brown Line circles the Loop's elevated tracks, so many riders get to the office without a transfer, in roughly 25 to 30 minutes.
Metra is the faster ride to the West Loop. Ravenswood station, at Lawrence and Ravenswood avenues on the Union Pacific North line, was rebuilt in 2023 and runs to Ogilvie Transportation Center in about 15 to 20 minutes. It's a short walk from most of Ravenswood and Bowmanville.
Buses fill the grid. Western, Lincoln, Damen, Lawrence, Montrose and Foster each have their own route, connecting to the Blue Line, the Red Line and the lakefront.
Parking is easier than closer in. Most blocks are residential with street parking, many homes have a garage off the alley, and the main street has more than 1,000 parking spaces within a half mile of Giddings Plaza, in metered lots and on the street.
Bikes have a trail. River Park is the start of the North Shore Channel Trail, which runs north along the water into Evanston, and Lawrence Avenue has bike lanes.
Is Lincoln Square right for you?
John will help you narrow it down, then match you with a Chicago agent who knows these blocks, at no cost to you.
Housing in Lincoln Square
Lincoln Square is a house-friendly community, with single-family homes and two-flats on most residential blocks.
Lincoln Square: bungalows, greystones and flats. Brick bungalows, greystones and two-flats line the side streets, with vintage courtyard buildings near Lincoln and Western avenues. Condos in converted two-flats and courtyard buildings are the most common way in, and single-family homes come up regularly.
Ravenswood: Victorians on wide lots. As a planned 1800s commuter suburb, Ravenswood has some of the city's older single-family homes, many of them Victorians on larger-than-standard lots. Newer condo and loft buildings sit closer to the Metra tracks and the industrial corridor.
Bowmanville: houses on lawns. The blocks south of Rosehill Cemetery are mostly single-family homes with front lawns and garages, plus a few newer live/work condo buildings along Foster Avenue.
Budlong Woods and Ravenswood Gardens: brick homes by the river. Both are mostly brick bungalows, Georgians and two-flats from the early and mid-1900s, with some small condo buildings. Single-family homes and two-flats come up regularly on their side streets.
Across all five, houses are easier to find here than in the neighborhoods closer to downtown, and two-flats with a rentable second unit are a common choice for buyers who want help with the mortgage.
Living in Lincoln Square
Daily life here is walkable and unhurried. Lincoln Avenue handles most of it, and the parks handle the rest.
What you can walk to. Lincoln Avenue between Montrose and Lawrence has cafes, bakeries, a bookstore, specialty food shops and German beer halls, with the Old Town School of Folk Music for concerts and classes. On the Ravenswood side, Malt Row's breweries, Begyle, Dovetail, Half Acre and Spiteful among them, plus KOVAL Distillery, line the corridor along the Metra tracks.
Festivals all year. Maifest brings beer, brats and German folk dancing to Lincoln Avenue in late spring, Square Roots fills the street with live music in summer, Apple Fest arrives in the fall, and a holiday tree goes up over the Giddings Plaza fountain in winter. A new public plaza just north of the Western station opened in May 2026.
Parks and the river. There's no lake here, but there's plenty of green: Welles Park has a pool and tennis courts, Winnemac Park covers more than 40 acres with a natural prairie, and River Park runs along the Chicago River, where the North Shore Channel Trail begins. Rosehill Cemetery, with its 1860s gate, borders Bowmanville to the north.
Groceries. Harvest Time Foods on Lawrence Avenue is the neighborhood grocery, and a weekly farmers market and specialty shops like Gene's Sausage Shop & Delicatessen fill in the rest on Lincoln Avenue.
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Find Your Fit
Match what you want most to the neighborhood that does it best.
A walkable main street, festivals and a bungalow or two-flat nearby: start with Lincoln Square.
A quiet block of houses with lawns, close to everything but off the busy streets: start with Bowmanville.
A brick bungalow or Georgian near the river, with a library and park nearby: start with Budlong Woods.
A Victorian home, Metra to the West Loop and breweries down the street: start with Ravenswood.
A quiet residential block with the Brown Line and Horner Park close by: start with Ravenswood Gardens.
Still deciding? John can help you weigh them.