Pilsen and Chinatown

Take the Pink Line to the Damen El stop. On the north side of the train stop, glance at local artist Juan Chavez’s Pilsen-themed mural (1)—the perfect intro to this artsy Latino neighborhood. Go north on Damen Avenue, turn east on 18th Street and peep into the art-filled spaces like painter Rodrigo Alverez’s studio (2)(1255 W 18th St). Make a right on Halsted Street and check out art studios like Dubhe Carreño’s (1841 S Halsted St) ceramics gallery (3). Turn east on Cermak Road and you’ll get a slight change in elevation by heading under the highway and over a bridge in this industrial zone. Emerge in Chinatown and turn north on Wentworth Avenue; loop around the animal sculptures (4) that represent the Chinese Zodiac signs—be sure to read the plaques. Continue north on Wentworth Avenue, take a left on Cullerton Avenue and head into Chinatown Square. Marvel at the bright posters advertising heaping plates of Szechuan pork and lo mein. Head out on Princeton Avenue, turn east on Cermak Avenue, and go south on Wentworth Avenue through the Chinatown Gate (5). Check out the many tea and herbal-medicine shops, Chinese groceries and bakeries (and maybe even stop in for a quick treat). Around 24th Street, double back up the other side of the street to see more Chinese wares. Cross Cermak and take a left at 19th Street, which dead-ends at the pagoda (6) in beautiful Ping Tom Memorial Park. Run north through the park until you hit 18th Street and turn left. Go southwest on the diagonal Canalport Avenue until you end up back on Halsted Street in Pilsen.—Madeline Nusser

Map illustration: Headcase Design