Buck town
Located just north of Wicker
Park between North and Fullerton avenues and from the Kennedy Expressway west to Western
Avenue. The neighborhood is made up of formerly humble cottages now sporting skylights and
new condos priced well into the six digits. As in nearby Wicker Park, affordable rents are
quickly becoming a thing of the past, and the local artist population is reluctantly
giving way to the yuppie crowd. Nevertheless, Buck town is still populated by artists
(those that can still afford the rising rents).
“Gallery Point,” the area’s central art colony, is bounded by Milwaukee,
Damien, Wabasha and North Avenues, and the "Buck town Arts Fest," attracts over
30,000 art lovers to the area every August as it has been for over 20 years.
Small neighborhood bars are found on every corner, and both North and Damien Avenue boast
smoky late-night clubs and stylish bars, shops, and restaurants. Both Wicker Park and
Buck town contain several remarkable churches, the legacy of early Polish immigrants (many
former farmers). In fact, “Bucktown” gets its name from the goats kept in the
backyards of its early residents.
The Poles have all but been replaced by a Latin community, which is in turn fleeing
Buck town for cheaper rents. Still, a walk north from the large six-way corner of Damien,
Milwaukee, and North Avenue will quickly take you from posh and hip to downright coarse.
All is not yet lost.
Modest cottages now sport skylights and sundecks, and mock Victorians are springing up on
vacant lots. Both Wicker Park and Buck town contain several remarkable churches, the legacy
of early immigrants to the area. In the past few years, Buck town has become home to the
second coming of Yuppies.
By far, the most frequent question asked is the origin of the name “Buck town.”
Though not documented, it is believed the term was coined early in the area’s
history, probably the 1830’s, since many of the Polish settlers raised goats (the
male is called a buck). The term faded away and emerged again in the 1920’s. Lending
credence to this version, a long-time resident of the area recalls, “when my mother
was little, there were only open fields where people raised goats. That’s how it
became known as Buck town. The Polish people called the area “kozie
prairie” or
“goat prairie.” Another version, again not documented and less credible, is that
young toughs, members of a turn-of-the-century Polish gang, were called “bucks.”
You will
find more information about Chicago
real estate if
you go to our home page.
Where exactly is Buck town? Those familiar with local history will argue that the
boundaries correspond to the original boundaries of Holstein. Time does have a way,
however, of distorting usage, and others will contend that Buck town encompasses a much
larger area. For the sake of harmony then, let us say that the Buck town area is
bounded roughly by Fullerton on the north, on the east by the Kennedy Expressway, the
Milwaukee Road railroad tracks on the south, and on the west by Milwaukee Avenue to
Western, and Western north to Fullerton. (As an aside, some latter-day real estate agents,
believing that the name “Bucktown” wouldn’t sell, once referred to the area
as West DePaul, or North Wicker Park. It is clear that trend has been over for some time.)
Buck town's history predates the 1833 incorporation of Chicago as a town. One of the
earliest settlements outside of Fort Dearborn was located here. Many Poles fled their war
torn homeland in 1831 and migrated to America, some to Chicago. Settling in and around the
suburb of Jefferson, some chose an area bounded by Fullerton, Damien, Armitage and Western,
which later came to be known as Holstein. One can only imagine the small houses built near
the groves of trees that punctuated the undulating terrain. Game was probably plentiful in
the marshlands that dominated the low areas, which became increasingly frequent as one
neared the north branch of the (now) Chicago River. Ideally situated near the river, the
settlement was just a few miles away from Fort Dearborn. To the west, a now well traveled
former Indian trail, now Milwaukee Avenue, helped to mitigate any feelings of isolation.
Buck town offers affordable housing, good transportation, and proximity to the Loop and
lakefront activities.
