Washington Park

The Washington Park neighborhood is low-income and does have some crime issues. I wouldn’t consider it the most dangerous neighborhood in the whole city, but it does have its problems.

The main reason to visit Washington Park is…the park, of course! Washington Park is connected to Jackson Park via the Midway. It’s not quite as big as Jackson Park, but it’s still really nice. There are two really cool features in the park. The first is the DuSable Museum of African American History. Next is the sculpture towards the southern end called Fountain of Time. It’s huge and kind of eerie, but if you’re in the park don’t miss it.

The park is also home to the African Festival of the Arts. This weekend-long fest features music, art and a marketplace for the neighborhood. It’s a pretty big event.

Washington Park is an area not for the faint of heart, actually it's not for those who wish to be able to leave their residence after the sun goes down. I've walked through the area with friends familiar in Chicago and have felt completely uneasy. Coming from New York I've seen some rough neighborhoods, but have felt relatively safe dealing with and talking to those who call it home, that was not the case in this area in Chicago.

The food is terrible and most of the business have appeared to give up hope for any type of revitalization. The shelves of most stores were grimy, dirty and poorly stocked. The food service was horrid at best in the few areas I've eaten and would prefer never to dine in the area again. The bars that exist seem like they might just be covers for drug and gang activity. I just felt uneasy and unsafe in the area and would never be willing to call it home, no matter how incredibly cheap it can be. It's cheap because the odds of you making it out of a 1 year lease without having something stolen from you is slim. I'll pay a higher rent for some peace of mind.

Washington Park has, in the last few years, gone through some ups and downs. For a long time, the place has been dangerous, with drugs and gang activity, but a few years ago, when hope that the 2016 Olympics would come to town, a lot of interest was shown by developers, who saw the poor area possibly becoming center stage for a world wide event. Then came the down, Chicago is not going to be getting the Olympics any time soon. Most of the money and the developers have moved on, and while there is some hope that the few remaining, meaning those who have probably already put up some money, will continue to push to neighborhood forward and make it much more habitable.

As it stands, Washington Park is one of the most dangerous places in Chicago. If you aren't used to the city, I wouldn't suggest living there. And if you have the means to go elsewhere, please do. I don't want to write the review that convinces anyone to live in a place that is definitely not safe at night, and only moderately so during the day.

The University of Chicago is nearby, and some think of living in Washington Park for it's proximity to the school, but the U of C police force does not patrol in the area, meaning that it isn't anywhere near as safe as the area immediately around the school.

Not much for nightlife, and I'd be nervous going to any of the bars in the area. The restaurants are nothing special. Transportation, like most of Chicago, is decent, but nothing to write home about.

I will say you can get a decent place at a bargain. But remember why it's cheap. You don't find cheap in safer, cleaner, nicer neighborhoods. Check back in 15 years. Maybe some of the renovations will work. Maybe not.