East Village
Real Estate and Neighborhood Information

Like so many of its West Town counterparts (Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Noble Square, etc.) East Village saw the largest population boost after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, when refugees began to make their new homes west of downtown. The name East Village comes from being situated east of Ukrainian Village. Clever, eh? In fact, it was originally considered part of Ukrainian Village.

East Village's population continued to expand in the late 1800s, as the Logan Square and Humboldt Park Rapid Transit lines were completed and the Paulina Street trolley was installed. East Village's proximity to the "L" trains (so-named for its elevated tracks) caused the area to be more densely populated and working-class than its West Town neighbors. East Village began to gain its own identity as older buildings were rehabbed and re-inhabited, and small mom-and-pop shops and restaurants appeared on the Village streets in the early twentieth century.

Through the years, East Village has seen demographics ebb and flow, and crime rates soar and then drop. But one thing has stayed consistent: the Eastern European influence is still evident.