Wicker Park, a neighborhood just west of downtown, has experienced continuous change since its original establishment.
Once a prominent home to incoming immigrants, it has faced everything from poverty and crime, to revolution and creativity.
During the past ten years, it has undergone the works of gentrification. The movement of a growing artist community eventually attracted the trendy storefronts and pricey condominiums, as does usually occur.

While some may oppose parts of this transformation, organizations such as the ACME Artists Community have shaped Wicker Park
in positive and innovative ways. The ACME Artists Community began their feasibility study, regarding limited equity condominiums,
in 1992. By 1996, they purchased a 46,000 sq. ft. unused warehouse for artists and their families to live and work in.

Laura Weathered, the project director, emphasized that she and other artists were worn out by unfinished, unreliable spaces and being constantly moved out of buildings by property value changes. ACME Artists is also a work space for non-profit organizations such as the Near NorthWest Arts Council (NNWAC). One important aspect of the building’s layout is that the apartments face the center of the building, which is a roofless space for gardens and walkways. Weathered mentioned that this created a sense of unity for artists and families living there. The criteria for becoming a member of ACME involves financial need, commitment to art as a professional pursuit, and commitment to cooperative values.

After touring the ACME Artists Community complex, Warren Lemming led a walking tour from Western Avenue to the corner of Damen and Milwaukee. He distributed his book, “Cold Chicago: A Haymarket Fable,” and began sharing the history of Wicker Park, with included everything from immigrants walking from Wicker Park to downtown with their lunch pails in hand, to Nelson Algren’s works and influence in the neighborhood, to the movement of artists into the community and its continual transformation.

Emily Zobel