Beer Baron Row

Located in the up-and-coming Wicker Park neighborhood, Beer Baron Row is a stretch of opulent, historical homes on Hoyne Avenue around the Pierce intersection. Following the Chicago Fire, the area now known as Wicker Park was completely undeveloped, and thus ripe for real estate amid post-fire paranoia. The houses built here were composed largely of expensive stone and metal ornamentation (practical for the fire-weary mentality of the times, as well as beautiful). Among those that chose to settle in this area, a majority were wealthy brewery owners hence the name "Beer Baron Row." The sheer size and value of the homes is why Hoyne Avenue became one of the first paved streets in Chicago.