Did you know this about Lincoln Park?

Did you know this about Lincoln Park?

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 ravaged the city, the section of Lincoln Park between Clark Street and Fullerton Avenue was left devastated and in need of rebuilding, while residences in the portion of the neighborhood north of Lincoln Avenue and west of Larrabee Street were spared. A construction boom following the terrible tragedy resulted in 10,000 new inhabitants in Lincoln Park as folks feverishly worked to reconstruct their lives or start new ones. (In fact, more than half of the neighborhood's existing structures were built in the period between 1880 and 1904.) Well-to-do German immigrants -- many responsible for establishing the area's breweries -- put up magnificent mansions along the waterfront, east of Clark Street and one of the neighborhood's most impressive residences was constructed at this time on Wrightwood Avenue called the Dewes Mansion, which still stands to this day. Still, the majority of Lincoln Park's residents were families of working class immigrants who lived in simple cottage-style homes and were employed at the massive industrial plants that sprang up alongside the North Branch of the river.