a cultural playground

Chicago Magazine recently featured a checklist  of the "20 Essential Chicago Activites."  Not surprisingly, one can experience more of the quintessential Chicago activities right here in Hyde Park than in any other single neighborhood!

Chicago Magazine's 'essentials' in Hyde Park include a visit to:

 

• The coal mine at the Museum of Science and Industry.
• Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House.
• The new and improved bikepath along Lake Michigan shoreline.
• Any of Hyde Park's restaurants serving deep dish pizza.
• The New Checkerboard Lounge in Harper Court.

Boasting some of the city's most popular attractions, Hyde Park is a magnet for regulars as well as newcomers who visit from nearby neighborhoods, suburbs, and distant countries wanting to spend an interesting day in the city. 

Arts and Culture is everywhere in Hyde Park. Popular Hyde Park cultural destinations include... Court Theatre, David & Alfred Smart Museum of Art, DOC Films, DuSable Museum of African American History, Experimental Station, Hyde Park Art Center, Little Black Pearl, Muntu Dance Theatre, Oriental Institute, The Renaissance Society, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel Music Series, and The University of Chicago Presents (Chamber and Early Music Series).

architecturally significant

Stroll through the handsome Gothic campus of the University of Chicago and along the streets of Hyde Park with its diverse architectural styles. View houses and apartment buildings from the 1860s to the 1950s as well as major new additions to the University of Chicago's campus by Rafael Vignoly, Cesar Pelli and Ricardo Legorreta. Framed by gothic edifices, modern high rises, and the largest concentration of mansions in the city, Hyde Park is a community of architectural significance.

Kenwood (47th - 51st Streets, between Ellis and Blackstone) offers a remarkable collection of mansions from the 19th and 20th centuries. This South Side landmark district features works by many prominent architects, including Howard Van Doren Shaw, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Washington Maher, John W. Root and Alfred S. Alschuler.

Wright's Robie House, located in Hyde Park, was designated by the American Institute of Architects as one of the top five buildings in the United States.  The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust offers a guided tour of the house and guided or self-guided audio tours of Hyde Park-Kenwood communities.  In addition, both the Chicago Architecture Foundation and Chicago Neighborhood Tours offer walking tours of the Hyde Park and Kenwood communities.

parks and outdoor activities

Hyde Park is not only architecturally significant for its physical structures, but for its beautiful parks and gardens as well.  Time Out Chicago recommends taking a walk through the Osaka Garden in Jackson Park, a Japanese garden complete with a waterfall, ponds and footbridge designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.  Time Out also suggests Promontory Point (known simply as "The Point" in Hyde Park), a peninsula on the lakeshore with panoramic views of the Chicago skyline, and catching a game of cricket at Washington Park.

Other outdoor options include the Midway Plaisance, home to the Columbian Exposition, the 57th Street and 63rd Street beaches and the South Shore Cultural Center, surrounded by a golf course and landscaped gardens.

Seasonal outdoor activities include a skating rink on the Midway in the winter, the Harper Court Farmer's Market (June-October), the 57th St. Art Fair (June) and the 57th St. Children's Book Fair (September).

a wealth of educational institutions

Hyde Park is home to the internationally esteemed University of Chicago.  Founded in 1892 by John D. Rockefeller, the private institution currently enrolls about 15,000 students.  The school has attained a worldwide reputation for rigorous academics.  One indicator: 69 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with the University, more than any other institution of higher learning.

Many of Chicago's best cultural attractions are located on campus, including: Court Theatre, David & Alfred Smart Museum of Art, Oriental Institute and The Renaissance Society.

In additon to the Divinity School at the University, Hyde Park is home to five other theological schools including the Catholic Theological Union, the Lutheran School of Theology and the McCormick Theological Seminary.  The Hyde Park - Kenwood Community Conference has more information on religious institutions in the area.

The University of Chicago Hospitals, the largest medical research institute in the state of Illinois, was selected as one of the best hopitals in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.  Further, it was ranked among the best in 11 specialty areas and received more top rankings than any other hospital in the state.

live among giants

Over the years, Hyde Park has been the residence-of-choice to an enviable number of notable personalities.  Among these luminaries are: Muhammad Ali, Steve Allen, Blue Balliet, Saul Bellow, Carol Moseley Braun, Gwendolyn Brooks, Clarence Darrow, Kurt Elling, Louis Farrakhan, Enrico Fermi, Marshall Field, Milton Friedman, James Heckman, Sue Miller, Barack Obama, Sara Paretsky, Carl Sandburg and Harold Washington as well as other notable authors, celebrities, politicians, people of science and letters, and more Nobel Prize winners and entries in Who's Who than any other community in the United States.

 transportation to and within

 

It's easy to get to Hyde Park... Direct routes on major highways put Hyde Park just 15 minutes from downtown Chicago. From Lake Shore Drive you can exit at 47th Street (for historic Kenwood), 51st, 53rd or 57th Streets. In addition, both the CTA bus and Metra trains offer quick, convenient access day and night.

It's easy to get around Hyde Park... On foot. By bicycle. By car or by bus. The CTA operates bus routes within Hyde Park serving the University of Chicago and the Hyde Park/Kenwood communities.

Parking is available throughout the neighborhood, both metered and non-metered.  Convenient parking for Harper Court, 53rd St. and many restaurants is available in the City of Chicago metered lot at 5230 S. Lake Park. Additionally, there is a public parking lot at 53rd St. & Lake Park behind Borders. 

Visitor parking for the University of Chicago is available along the Midway and in the University of Chicago's parking lot at 55th and Ellis. Visitor parking for U. of C. Hospitals is available at 58th and Maryland.