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Lake View — or Lakeview, as it is increasingly spelled — is a North Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is designated as Community Area 6 of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east. The Uptown community area is to Lake View's north, Lincoln Square to its northwest, North Center to its west and Lincoln Park to its south. The 2000 population of Lake View was 94,817 residents, making it the second largest of the Chicago community areas by population, following Austin which has 117,527 residents. Lake View, though, has a higher population density than the larger (area-wise) Austin neighborhood.

North Boundary:	3600 N	Addison
South Boundary:	2800 N	Diversey
East Boundary:	~200 W	Lake Michigan
West Boundary:	~2400 W	Chicago River

Neighborhoods

Lakeview East
North Halsted
West Lakeview
Wrigleyville

While actual territorial limits and colloquial names are not definite depending on local sources and usage, Lake View is unofficially divided into smaller neighborhood enclaves: Lakeview East, West Lakeview and Wrigleyville. Lakeview East (more commonly just Lakeview) forms the area popularly known as Boystown. It holds the distinction of comprising the first gay village to be officially recognized as such by a civic body in the United States. New Town is a formerly-used community name designating the area centered at the intersection of North Clark Street and West Diversey Parkway. The Northalsted Merchants Association is centered on the North Halsted Street strip between West Belmont Avenue and West Grace Street and is the dominant merchants association in Lake View.

Lake View is most recognized nationwide as home to Wrigley Field and its Chicago Cubs. Neighboring the field is one of the most famous gay villages in North America. Held on the last Sunday of each June, the Chicago Pride Parade, one of the largest gay pride parades in the nation, takes place in Lake View. The community area has also been host to several other major events: In 2006 it played host to an international sports and cultural festival, Gay Games VII, with its closing ceremonies held at Wrigley Field and headlined by Cyndi Lauper.

History:

Settlement
According to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, prior to its township era, Lake View was used as a camp and trail path for the Miami, Ottawa, and Winnebago Native American tribes. In 1837, Conrad Sulzer of Winterthur, Zürich, Switzerland, became the first white settler to live in the area. In 1853, one of the first permanent structures was built by James Rees and Elisha Hundley on the corner where present-day West Byron Street (or West Sheridan Road) meets North Lake Shore Drive and was called the Hotel Lake View, named for the hotel's unobstructed view of the shore of Lake Michigan. It gained what was characterized as a resort atmosphere.

The early settlement continued to grow, especially because of increased immigration of farming families from Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden. Lake View experienced a population boom as Chicago suffered a deadly and devastating cholera outbreak. The Hotel Lake View served as refuge for many Chicagoans but became filled to capacity. Homestead lands were sold and housing was built. Access to the new community was provided by a wooden plank road connected to present-day West Fullerton Parkway, which was called Lake View Plank Road and is the present-day North Broadway. With infrastructure and growing population, residents realized it was time to organize formal governance to provide essential public services.

Lake View Township
Town Hall on the corner of North Halsted Street and West Addison Street was the former administrative center of Lake View Township. The site is now the 23rd District Chicago Police headquarters.

A rainbow pylon on North Halsted Street at West Cornelia Avenue, like others along Halsted, welcomes visitors to the landmark gay village.
Sculptures serve as entrances to Lakeview East residential streets. This sculpture stands on North Halsted Street at West Cornelia Avenue.

Also according to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, Lake View became an incorporated Illinois civil township with a charter granted by the Illinois General Assembly, independent of neighboring Chicago. Lake View's first township election was held in 1857. The main building was Town Hall on the intersection of present-day West Addison and North Halsted streets. A building still bearing that name stands today as the headquarters of the Chicago Police Department's 23rd District. Lake View Township includes land east of North Western Avenue, between West Devon Avenue and West Diversey Parkway, generally encompassing the community areas of Edgewater, Uptown, and Lake View.

During the Civil War, the present-day bustling intersection of North Broadway, North Clark Street and West Diversey Parkway was home to Camp Fry. When the camp opened in May 1864, it served as a training facility for the volunteer 132nd and 134th Illinois Infantry regiments. Shortly after their deployment to Columbus, Kentucky, the camp was converted to a prison for Confederate soldiers, where conditions were markedly different from those of many other prisoner-of-war camps. The few residents of the area known as Lake View Township often complained of rebel sing-alongs held in the camp from time to time.

Lake View's early industry was farming, especially crops of celery, and at the time it was considered a celery-growing capital. From 1870 to 1887 the population of the township grew from 2,000 citizens to 45,000. As a result, there was growing need of more public-service access, and Lake View was absorbed into Chicago in 1889 as a way of meeting those demands.[4] In 1889, a real estate boom became a major economic stimulant. According to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, over forty percent of the neighborhood's present-day buildings were constructed during that time.

Streets
Lake View street names have great historic importance. West Addison Street was named after 18th-century publisher Joseph Addison of The Spectator. West Barry Avenue was named after the commander of the Continental Navy ship Lexington during the Revolutionary War, John Barry. West Belmont Avenue was named after the American Civil War's Battle of Belmont on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. North Broadway, which used to be called Evanston Avenue after the nearby municipality of Evanston, Illinois, was renamed after Broadway in New York City. North Clark Street was named after the legendary frontier explorer George Rogers Clark. West Diversey Parkway was named after beer brewer Michael Diversey. William Butler Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago, named North Halsted Street after financiers William H. and Caleb Halsted. It was formerly called Dyer Street, in honor of Thomas Dyer, mayor of Chicago. West Irving Park Road was named after the author Washington Irving.

Philip Sheridan features prominently on the corner of West Belmont Avenue and North Lake Shore Drive, memorialized as a towering statue depicting Sheridan on horseback. The U.S. Army general is the namesake of North Sheridan Road. In 1871 he brought troops to Chicago in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire and was authorized by Mayor Joseph Medill to take control of the city under martial law. He was later made commanding general of the U.S. Army by President Chester A. Arthur.

- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia