Wicker Park & Bucktown

Polish, German and Scandinavian immigrants built these streets around Milwaukee Avenue, and for decades this was the heart of Polish Chicago, with its churches, taverns and a steam bath. When they moved out, artists, writers and indie bands moved in, drawn by cheap rent and big old flats, and the neighborhood became the coolest corner of the city before the boutiques arrived. This walk takes you up Milwaukee Avenue past the record store corner from High Fidelity, the club where the Rolling Stones played a small show, the brewers' mansions of Beer Baron Row and a steam bath open since 1906, then onto the 606, an old railway turned park, to a candy shop that has served sundaes since 1921.