I lived in Chicago for four non-consecutive years from 2006 to 2011. Despite growing up in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City and spending my formative years exploring that great city, I was always most obsessed with Chicago, that vast rusty metropolis of the interior. I always assumed that I'd live there someday. Despite being compelled back eastward by employment, Chicago will always be my favorite big city.
“Sense of place” and “city of neighborhoods” are as tedious and hoary and urban cliches get, and there's hardly a city out there that they haven't been applied to. Chicago wears them with the best, though. Chicago is a lot of things to a lot of people. To me it is always the long, weathered commercial thoroughfares, the brooding gray skies, the remnants of burly industry, and the fine array of vernacular housing (and also tacos, but I didn't take any photos of those). Chicago has an urban hugeness that sets it apart from the Midwest, but is still fundamentally Middle American in a way that New York and Los Angeles will never be.
I tried to balance what I thought were some of my better photos with geographic variety in order to show as much of the city as possible. Still, even with 216 photos, I feel like I'm leaving out a lot. Some really great neighborhoods got shorted. The difficulty I had paring down this retrospective is a testament to the vastness and depth of Chicago's urbanity.
Let's go.

The Loop

W. Lawrence Ave. | Albany Park

S. Ellis Ave. | North Kenwood

N. Lincoln Ave. | West Lakeview

Lake Michigan | Montrose Point

N. Milwaukee Ave. | Noble Square

W. 32nd Pl. | Bridgeport

Lincoln Park/Streeterville

Uptown

W. Diversey Ave. | Logan Square/Avondale border

Eisenhower Expy. | Near West Side

W. George St./N. Laramie Ave | Cragin

S. Ashland Ave. | McKinley Park

S. Berkeley Ave. | North Kenwood

Near North Side

W. Lawrence Ave. | Uptown

Douglas Park to South Loop

W. Cermak Rd. | Marshall Square

Ravenswood

Winston Towers | West Rogers Park

W. Wilson Ave. | Lincoln Square

S. Oakley Blvd. | Near West Side

N. Lincoln Ave. | West Lakeview

E. 91st St. | South Chicago

Hancock

Howard St. Beach | Rogers Park

Indiana Dunes

N. Lincoln Ave. | Lincoln Park

W. Agatite Ave. | Lincoln Square

W. Lawrence Ave.| Albany Park

Greater Bronzeville

Montrose Point

Loyola Park | Rogers Park

Wood St. Yard | West Side

N. Talman Ave. | Lincoln Square

N. Western Ave. | Humboldt Park/Wicker Park

W. Roosevelt Rd. | Lawndale

Rosehill Cemetery

Uptown and south

W. 18th St | Pilsen

W. Sunnyside Ave. | Ravenswood Manor

N. Milwaukee Ave. | Wicker Park

N. Halsted St. | Cabrini-Green

Indiana Dunes | Porter County, IN

W. Surf St. | East Lakeview

S. Baltimore Ave. | South Chicago

W. Bowler St. | Tri-Taylor

from Montrose Point

W. Cermak Rd. | Chinatown

S. Ellis Ave. | South Kenwood

W. Pershing Rd. | McKinley Park

E. Ontario St. | Streeterville

West Side

W. Cermak Rd. | Marshall Square

S. Kenwood Ave. | Hyde Park

W. Briar Pl. | East Lakeview

W. Devon St. | Rogers Park

W. Leland Ave. | Sheridan Park

W. Warren Blvd. | East Garfield Park

N. Lincoln Ave. | North Center

W. Wabansia Ave. | West Humboldt Park

W. 26th St. | Little Village

N. Noble St. | Noble Square

N. Clybourn Ave. | Near North Side

Near North Side

Wilson Ave. Beach

S. Kedzie Ave. | Lawndale

N. Pulaski Rd. | West Humboldt Park

W. 35th St. | Bridgeport

N. Halsted St. | River West

S. Racine Ave. | Near West Side

N. Winthrop Ave. | Edgewater

E. 53rd St. | Hyde Park

W. Irving Park Rd. | North Center

N. Hermitage Ave. | East Ravenswood

Streeterville

Hartigan Beach | Rogers Park

W. Lawrence Ave. | Lincoln Square

W. Fullerton Ave. | Logan Square

Davis St. | Evanston

Eisenhower Expwy | Austin

W. Irving Park Rd. | North Center

Montrose Point to Edgewater

W. Chicago Ave. | River West

N. Lincoln Ave. | Lincoln Park

W. 16th St. | Pilsen

W. Carmen St. | Budlong Woods

N. Noble St. | Noble Square

N. Winchester Ave. | Ravenswood

E. Chicago St. | Elgin

E. Galena Blvd. | Aurora

W. Armitage Ave. | Lincoln Park

S. Pulaski Rd. | Lawndale

North Ave. Beach

W. Wrightwood Ave. | Logan Square

S. Michigan Ave. | Motor Row

N. Claremont Ave. | Wicker Park

W. Madison St. | Near West Side

N. Pine Grove St. | Lincoln Park

N. Clark St. | Sheridan Park

Cabrini-Green

Evanston

W. 26th St. | Little Village

Eisenhower Expwy | Near West Side

E. Chicago St. | Elgin

N. Damen Ave. | North Center

W. Roosevelt Rd. | Oak Park-Cicero border

W. Devon St. | West Rogers Park

Burns Harbor, IN

Belmont Station | Lakeview

S. Rockwell St. | Douglas Park

North Branch, Chicago River | Ravenswood Manor

N. Lincoln Ave. | West Lakeview

S. State St. | South Loop

Montrose Point

W. Jackson Blvd. | West Loop

Whiting Park | Whiting, IN

W. North Ave. | Humboldt Park

S. Monitor Ave. | The Island

Lincoln Park

E. Van Buren St. | The Loop

W. 18th St. | Pilsen

from Montrose Point

Lincoln Park

S. Halsted St. | Bridgeport

N. Wolcott St. | Ravenswood

W. Berteau Ave. | North Center

School St. | Marketown, East Chicago, IN

W. Roosevelt Rd. | Lawndale

Edgewater

W. Leland Ave. | Uptown

W. Montrose Ave. | Ravenswood

Montrose Point

W. North Ave. | Hermosa

N. Spaulding Ave. | West Humboldt Park

S. Hohman Ave. | Hammond, IN

S. Drake Ave. | Little Village

N. Lakewood Ave. | Rogers Park

Lower West Side

W. Chestnut St. | Eckhart Park

W. Lawrence Ave. | Albany Park

Horner Park | Irving Park

Near North Side

Western Station-Pink Line | Heart of Chicago

N. Lincoln Ave. | West Lakeview

Rogers Park

Pratt Blvd. Beach | Rogers Park

Highland Ave. | Edgewater

W. Cermak Rd. | Marshall Square

Lincoln Park

Lake St. | Oak Park

Bronzeville

Evanston

W. Cullerton St. | Pilsen

N. Lake Shore Dr. | Lakeview

S. Genesee St. | Waukegan

from Montrose Point

W. Lawrence Ave. | Uptown

N. Milwaukee Ave. | Portage Park/Six Corners

Montrose Point

Eisenhower Expwy | Near West Side

N. Broadway St. | Joliet

W. Chicago Ave. | Eckhart Park

N. Central Ave. | Belmont-Central

W. Addison St. | East Lakeview

N. Harding Ave. | Avondale

Ravenswood

S. Ashland Ave. | Pilsen

Streeterville

N. Sheridan Rd. | Rogers Park

S. Forrestville Ave. | Grand Boulevard

W. Madison St. | Forest Park

Edgewater

E. 70th St. | South Shore

North Side

S. Commercial Ave. | South Chicago

S. Western Ave. | Near West Side

N. Pulaski Rd. | Avondale

W. Eddy St. | Lakeview

N. Lincoln Ave. | North Center

N. Milwaukee Ave. | Wicker Park

N. Lake Shore Drive

W. Cermak Rd. | Marshall Square

Loyola Park | Rogers Park

N. Lincoln Ave. | Lincoln Park

W. Irving Park Rd. | North Center

W. Briar Pl. | Lakeview

W. Taylor St. | Tri-Taylor

Front St. | Whiting, IN

W. North Ave. | Wicker Park

N. Western Ave. | Wicker Park/Humboldt Park

Montrose Point

W. Leland Ave. | Uptown

Grant Park

Cabrini-Green

South Branch, Chicago River

N. Western Ave. | West Rogers Park

N. Lake Shore Drive

W. Pierce St. | Humboldt Park

N. Noble St. | Noble Square

E. Jackson Dr. | Grant Park

Lakeview

South Evanston to Edgewater

W. Devon St. | West Rogers Park

Wicker Park

N. Springfield Ave. | Avondale

E. 119th St. | Whiting, IN

W. 15th Pl. | Douglas Park

W. Montrose Ave. | Albany Park

Devon/California | West Rogers Park

W. Warren Blvd. | East Garfield Park

W. Montrose Ave. | Lincoln Square

W. Windsor Ave. | Ravenswood Gardens

South from Evanston

Montrose Station-Brown Line | Ravenswood
Each dot is a photo I took from 2009-2011
If you made it this far, thanks!