Edgewater
Lakefront Towers, Historic Houses, Four Red Line Stops
MEDIAN: $303,000
The Neighborhoods of Edgewater
Edgewater is one lakefront community with several very different neighborhoods inside it, about seven miles north of the Loop. It runs from Foster Avenue up to Devon Avenue, and from Lake Michigan west to the Metra tracks along Ravenswood Avenue.
The neighborhoods share the same beaches and the same Red Line stops, but they live differently. A high-rise condo on Sheridan Road and a 1905 house with a front porch in Edgewater Glen sit less than a mile apart.
Use this page to compare them on what decides a move: how you'll get around, what you can buy and what's outside your door. Then click through to the one that fits.
Andersonville
A small-town main street on Clark Street, lined with locally owned shops and restaurants. Vintage two-flats, three-flats and courtyard condos fill the side streets.
Edgewater Glen
People move here to get a house, a yard and a block that knows their name without leaving the city. The neighborhood is a National Register historic district, and residents have run their own garden walk every summer since 1973.
Edgewater Beach
The lakefront blocks east of Broadway. High-rise condos line Sheridan Road, vintage apartment buildings sit behind them, and the beach is at the end of the street.
Getting Around Edgewater
Every part of Edgewater is close to a train. What changes by neighborhood is which train, and how far you'll walk to it.
The Red Line is the backbone. It runs 24 hours and stops four times in Edgewater: Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Thorndale and Granville. Berwyn and Bryn Mawr were rebuilt in 2025 with elevators and escalators, and the ride to the Loop takes roughly 25 to 30 minutes.
Edgewater Beach is a block or two from a station. Lakewood-Balmoral is about three blocks away. From Clark Street in Andersonville or the west end of Edgewater Glen, plan on a ten-minute walk.
Metra is the faster ride to the West Loop. The Peterson/Ridge station opened in 2024 on the Union Pacific North line, about 20 minutes from Ogilvie Transportation Center. It sits on Edgewater's western edge, so it's closest to Edgewater Glen and the blocks west of Clark Street.
Buses fill the gaps. The 22 runs Clark Street through Andersonville and the 36 runs Broadway. On Sheridan Road, the 147 and 136 expresses take DuSable Lake Shore Drive downtown, which makes Edgewater Beach the easiest place to commute by bus.
Parking depends on the building. Street parking is tightest near the lake and along Broadway and Sheridan, so Edgewater Beach buyers should check whether a garage space comes with the unit. Andersonville has meters on Clark Street and permit zones on many side streets, while most houses in Edgewater Glen have a garage off the alley.
Drivers get one more perk on the east side. DuSable Lake Shore Drive begins at Hollywood Avenue, in the middle of Edgewater Beach.
Is Edgewater right for you?
John will help you narrow it down, then match you with a Chicago agent who knows these blocks, at no cost to you.
Housing in Edgewater
Housing changes as you walk west from the lake: towers first, then vintage apartment buildings, then houses.
Edgewater Beach: condos and co-ops by the lake. Sheridan Road is lined with high-rises, most built from the 1950s through the 1970s, with lake views and building amenities. Behind them, Winthrop and Kenmore avenues mix courtyard buildings and vintage walk-ups with newer condo buildings.
This is also where you'll find the most homes to choose from.
Andersonville: vintage flats and condos. Brick two-flats and three-flats, greystones and courtyard buildings date to the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many condos are full-floor units in converted flats, and there's little new construction and no high-rise living.
Lakewood-Balmoral: historic houses. The blocks from Foster to Bryn Mawr between Magnolia and Wayne avenues are a National Register historic district of single-family houses, many from the 1890s with Queen Anne and Shingle-style details.
Edgewater Glen: houses on wider lots. About 290 of the 350 residential buildings in its historic district are detached houses, most of them American Foursquares and Queen Annes built between 1900 and 1915. Lots run about 33 feet wide against the standard 25-foot Chicago lot, with two-flats mixed in toward Broadway.
Living in Edgewater
Most errands in Edgewater can be done on foot. The difference is whether your front door opens onto a main street, the lake or a quiet block.
What you can walk to. Andersonville puts you on Clark Street itself, with restaurants, bookstores and bars within a few blocks. In Edgewater Beach, Broadway and Bryn Mawr Avenue handle dinner and everyday stops.
Lakewood-Balmoral and Edgewater Glen are residential by design, with no shops on their own blocks. Each sits between Clark Street and Broadway, so both streets are a few blocks away.
The lake. In Edgewater Beach, the sand is at the end of the street. Foster, Osterman and Lane beaches line the shore, and the Lakefront Trail starts at Osterman Beach and runs south past downtown.
From Lakewood-Balmoral and Edgewater Glen, the lake is roughly a ten-minute walk. From Clark Street in Andersonville, it's closer to fifteen.
Groceries. Full-size stores sit on every side: a Mariano's at Foster and Sheridan, a Jewel-Osco on Broadway at Berwyn, another Jewel on Clark Street in Andersonville and a Whole Foods on Broadway next to Edgewater Glen. From most blocks in these four neighborhoods, one of them is about a ten-minute walk.
LetsMovetoChicago.com founder John knows how to find the right real estate agent because he has been one since 2015. When it’s time to start your home search, John can connect you with a local real estate agent who specializes in the neighborhoods you’re focused on, at no cost to you!
Get Personalized Guidance
Find Your Fit
Match what you want most to the neighborhood that does it best.
A main street outside your door and vintage character: start with Andersonville.
A historic house on a quiet block, with Clark Street and the Red Line both close: start with Lakewood-Balmoral or Magnolia Glen.
Lake views, building amenities and the shortest walk to the train: start with Edgewater Beach.
A single-family house with a yard and a garage, and Metra nearby: start with Edgewater Glen.
Still deciding between two? John can help you weigh them.