Beverly & Morgan Park

Beverly and Morgan Park are the far Southwest Side neighborhoods on Chicago’s only real hills, the Blue Island Ridge, with the Ridge Historic District’s large houses, the Beverly Arts Center and a South Side Irish parade that runs down Western Avenue each March. Police officers, firefighters and teachers who must live in the city make up a large share of the residents, and the neighborhoods are more integrated than most of the city thanks to deliberate community work since the 1970s. Western Avenue is the main street, Metra’s Rock Island line runs through the middle, and the feel is closer to a suburb than to the rest of the South Side.

Where it is

Beverly runs from 87th Street south to 107th and from the Rock Island tracks west to Western and the city limit; Morgan Park continues south to 119th and east to Halsted. Metra’s Rock Island line stops at 91st, 95th, 99th, 103rd, 107th, 111th and 115th along the Beverly branch, about 30 minutes to LaSalle Street Station. The 49 Western and 112 Vincennes/111th buses run through, and drivers use Western Avenue or I-57 at 111th. There is no L service.

What to know if you’re moving here

These are single-family neighborhoods with yards, hills and long-tenured neighbors.

• Housing is large single-family homes on hilly lots, from 1890s Victorians to 1960s ranches, with typical prices of roughly $250,000 to $900,000 as a broad editorial estimate as of September 2026.
• Parking is a driveway and a garage; street parking is never a problem.
• Public schools fall under Chicago Public Schools, with Morgan Park High School and Sutherland and Kellogg elementary schools, plus several Catholic schools including St. Barnabas and Christ the King.
• The Ridge Historic District, one of the largest urban historic districts in the country, limits exterior changes on many blocks.
• Metra’s Rock Island line is the commute, with stops every four blocks and a monthly pass that costs less than downtown parking.
• The drawback is distance and a car-first layout: the Loop is 30 minutes by train and longer by car, and most errands mean driving.

What to do if you’re visiting

Drive or take the Rock Island line; the sights are spread along Western and Longwood Drive, and the food and beer are on Western.

• Burgers grilled in beef tallow since 1942 are the order at Top Notch Beefburgers on 95th.
• The five-flavor cone at The Original Rainbow Cone on Western at 92nd has been sliced, not scooped, at that corner since 1926.
• Provolone-stuffed meatballs on the Stenger sandwich at Calabria Imports on 103rd are the lunch to carry to the Metra platform a block away.
• The Givins Castle at 103rd and Longwood, an 1886 limestone house built to look like an Irish castle, is the neighborhood’s landmark.
• Gold-medal Little Wing pilsner and smoked ribs at Horse Thief Hollow Brewing Co. on Western at 104th have made the brewpub the South Side’s most decorated brewery since 2013.
• A rooftop deck, house pizza and Tuesday trivia with $5 pints are the draw at Open Outcry Brewing Co. on Western at 109th.
• A 400-seat theater, a gallery and the Music Monday series fill the Beverly Arts Center at 111th and Western, open since 1967.
• Dan Ryan Woods at 87th and Western has the sledding hill and the Cook County forest preserve trails, and the South Side Irish Parade runs down Western from 103rd to 115th on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day.