The following blog entry was contributed by: Sam Marts and Dina Petrakis - he's Bucktown, she's Wicker Park - who compare their two ‘hoods.

Bloomingdale or North Avenue- where do YOU think the boundary between Wicker Park and Bucktown lies?

This issue has been a controversy for decades, so the property in this photo is more than just a unique use of former railroad land AND a planned residential development with a lovely streetscape all its own: it's in the no-man's land, the DMZ between two 'hoods!  Wicker Park AND Bucktown both claim it’s theirs- on the east side of Hoyne Avenue, south of Bloomingdale.

*Clearly contemporary in style, this handsome complex makes its own neighborhood.  It’s not gated- but doesn’t invite you in.  The streetscape rising gently due to the man-made topography of the railroad (soon to be the Bloomingdale Trail); absence of sidewalks between buildings; orientation of the two buildings towards each other- and away from the city street; all serve to keep pedestrians outside, even with no actual gate.*

In future postings we’ll compare specific Bucktown and Wicker Park buildings, to answer the perennial question - which is best?

That’s right, it’s sibling rivalry- it’s Isaac and Ishmael- it’s fighting with the neighbors!  To kick our debate off, do you think the building above is in Bucktown…or Wicker Park?  (Them’s fightin’ words… no matter what you think!)