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Going From Rainbo to Bro: A Brief History of Division Street

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In the constantly fluctuating cityscape of Chicago, few neighborhoods have history as rich, or venues that can summon as much nostalgia, as Division Street. Once a gathering place of the city's Polish community, and a center of the arts scene, the street now represents a burgeoning block of bro bars. A recent episode of WBEZ's Afternoon Shift covered that transformation over the decades, asking local residents, historians and callers to share the shifts and historical signifiers that have made a mark on the neighborhood.

From restaurants and neighborhood fixtures such as Busy Bee and Leo's Lunch Room to author Nelson Algren's literary contributions and clubs and bars such as the Rainbo (whose story our sister site Eater told a few years ago), it's a wide-ranging look at one of the centers of life on the city's northwest side.


Patrick Sisson
·Tracking Wicker Park from Polish to hipster to 'bro' [WBEZ]
·Getting to Know the Rainbo Club Through Its Regulars [Eater]