Real Estate In Andersonville

Andersonville is located a half square mile of the southwest corner of Edgewater. It?s an old Swedish neighborhood that was first settled in the mid- 19th century. Most of the Swedes are long gone now, but Andersonville has kept it?s ethnic flavor with it?s architecture and it?s many neighborhood bakeries, gift shops and the Swedish American Museum located at 5211 North Clark Street. The neighborhood has evolved into an ethnic mix easily seen in it?s restaurants ranging from old Swedish(Svea) to Persian(Reza's) to Asian(Tipanan). You can grab a Swedish treat, with a shot of espresso, hear some radical feminist poetry at an avant-garde theater, and finish your night eating Andean or Persian, all within just a few blocks.

Andersonville could have been named after two different Andersons. According to the Chicago Historical Society, it was named after the Andersonville School, which took its name from a Reverend Anderson, whose church was a hub for recent Scandinavian arrivals around 1900. Another possibility, according to the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, is that it was named after local farmer and landowner John Anderson, and became known as Andersonville back in the 1850s. Whichever Anderson it was named after, it remains true to its Scandinavian heritage, and is where you still hear Swedish spoken by many shopkeepers. But if you don?t know Swedish, don?t worry, you can come to this neighborhood to take lessons.

The neighborhood is a sort of mecca for women business owners, many of whom own restaurants, shops and book stores on Clark Street. The rainbow flags of the gay and lesbian community also line Andersonville streets. There is an open, progressive, relaxed, even homey feel to Andersonville, where everyone is valkommen (Swedish for welcome).