Although they account for just one-sixth of the city's actual landmark designations, Chicago Landmark districts have a far more tremendous impact in the protection of the city's greatest architectural resources. Their boundaries include more than 4,500 individual properties.

Some of these districts, like Alta Vista Terrace, Five Houses on Avers, or Washington Park Court, are only one-block long. Others, such as Calumet-Giles-Prairie, Mid-North, or Wicker Park, are self-contained little villages, including hundreds of residences and dozens of blocks. Each district also possesses a distinctive character that tells a story of the development—and continued rebirth—of Chicago.

Prairie Avenue and Jackson Boulevard recall the fashionable Near South and Near West sides of the 19th century, while Astor Street and Kenwood are fashionable Near North and South side neighborhoods. Old Town Triangle tells of the rebuilding of the city after the Fire of 1871 (and of the community conservation movement following World War II), while Printing House Row captures one segment of the city's industrial growth (as well as the recent recycling of those buildings for residential use).

Other districts capture a sense of the city's wealth of architecture, ranging from rare surviving mansions along Lake Shore Drive to the Prairie-style houses on Hutchinson Street, Griffin Place, Longwood Drive and in the Villa. Still other districts tell the story of planned communities, from the incredible industrial town Pullman to the railroad suburb of Old Edgebrook to the distinctive McCormick Row House and Jackson Park Highland developments.

Several districts are geographically unique, in that they don't have actual boundaries, but, rather, are collections of buildings unified by a common theme. These include a group of turn-of-the-century railroad stations strung, each blocks apart, along a rail line through the neighborhoods of Beverly and Morgan Park, as well as the hundreds of protected historic buildings that serve as anchors for the redeveloping North Kenwood-Oakland communities.

Finally, as you take this "district tour," try not to simply look at the individual houses, but try to visualize how they relate to one another and how, like notes in a song, they are part of an entire streetscape and community. Better yet, try to visit some of these neighborhoods in person.

Alta Vista Terrace District Arlington & Roslyn Place District Astor Street District Beverly/Morgan Railroad District Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District Burling Row House District Calumet/Giles Prairie District East Lake Shore Drive District Five Houses on Avers District Four Houses By F.R. Schock Walter Burley Griffin Place District Hawthorne Place District Hutchinson Street District Jackson Boulevard District and Extension Jackson Park Highlands District Kenwood District Longwood Drive District

McCormick Row House District Mid-North District North Kenwood District Oakland District Old Edgebrook District Old Town Triangle District Old Chicago Water Tower District Prairie Avenue District Printing House Row District Pullman District Seven Houses on Lake Shore Drive District Villa District Washington Park Court District Washington Square District and Extension Wicker Park District Historic Michigan Boulevard District Motor Row District Jewelers Row District Ukranian Village District Armitage-Halsted District

You will find tour links in this location on every page. Look for this arrow to continue the Districts tour.