Marynook — pay attention now, preservationists — is a set-piece late-50’s, early-60s subdivision, right down to its curving streets and one of the city’s few cul-de-sacs.
It’s also a poster-child for Chicago’s history of racial segregation and racial change: a neighborhood that began life as all white is, today, nearly all African-American.
Urban observer Lee Bey describes Marynook as “a well-tended, mature working-class community” where homeowners “still cut their front bushes in geometric, Pop-Art shapes that play off the funky modernist vernacular of the houses.”
Marynook is part of Avalon Park, one of the city’s official community areas. It’s bounded by 87th St to 83rd St, Dorchester Ave (1400 E) west to the IC RR tracks, and lies within ZIP code 60619. Avalon Park — the park — lies within the boundaries of Marynook, the neighborhood.
Marynook is almost equidistant from I-90 and I-94. The Metra Electric Blue Island line has stops at the edge of Marynook at both 87th St and 83rd St. Train times to downtown run about 30-35 minutes. Zillow estimates home values in Marynook in the high $100s to low $200s.
See our Marynook photos at Flickr, or view them as a slideshow.
Correction: Metra Electric University Park (not Blue Island) line.
My god, what a great little neighborhood/community. People don’t seem to realize how much of the city is actually post-war (North Roseland Heights for instance, is superficially similar, but on standard city lots, for instance) and how much of the south side is both post-war and pleasantly middle class.
PS that’s the University Park mainline, not the blue island branch, btw. An interesting tidbit for those of you not familiar with the area, the South Chicago branch of the IC (Metra Electric) runs down the middle of the street along the distance of it’s route. 71st Street is a good place to see this.
DN,
Thanks for the catch on Metra. You are, of course, correct. I’ve added a note to our post.
Joe, Thornton Thanks for posting the photos! A hipster paradise on the southeast side. I have lived down here my whole life and never knew this neighborhood existed.
Joe you are swiftly taking this website to the top with info like this out there.
I am going to have to check this neighborhood out for myself.