Nelson Algren's House

Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village


On the 3rd floor of this apartment building writer Nelson Algren created some of his greatest works about life in the once down-and-out neighborhood. A plaque marks the spot, though unfortunately you can't go inside. Algren won the 1950 National Book Award for his novel The Man with the Golden Arm, about a drug addict hustling on Division St near Milwaukee Ave (a half-mile southeast).

His short Chicago: City on the Make summarizes 120 years of thorny local history and is the definitive read on the city’s character.

Transportation

  • metro: Blue Line to Damen

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village attractions

1. Wicker Park

0.11 MILES

The neighborhood's favorite green space is home to softball fields, a children's water playground, a winter ice rink, an active dog park, and indoor and…

2. Flat Iron Building

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Galleries, studios and workshops fill the landmark Flat Iron Building, with contemporary painters, realist photographers, digital animators, pop-art…

4. Paseo Boricua

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The Paseo Boricua, aka Puerto Rican Promenade, is a half-mile-long stretch of Division St where many Puerto Rican shops and restaurants do business. It’s…

6. Document Gallery

0.78 MILES

Document organizes exhibitions of contemporary photography, film and media-based works by emerging national and international artists. It shares its large…

7. Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art

0.85 MILES

Founded in 1971, this collection acts as the westernmost anchor to a string of West Town art galleries. Two rooms display a permanent collection of…

8. Sts Volodymyr & Olha Church

0.86 MILES

This church was founded by traditionalists from nearby St Nicholas cathedral, who broke away over liturgical differences and built this showy church in…

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