Far Southwest Side, Chicago: neighborhood guide

The Far Southwest Side covers Beverly, Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood, roughly from 99th Street down to 119th Street and west toward Cicero Avenue. It is residential Chicago: single-family houses, parish churches, schools and pub strips, not a museum district. Beverly and Morgan Park are among the city's few racially integrated neighborhoods, with a long-standing Irish-American community alongside a sizable African-American one.

Beverly is the reason most outsiders come. It sits on a ridge, so the streets actually rise and fall — the only real hills inside the city limits, which is where the local "Beverly Hills" nickname comes from. The housing stock is large and varied, and the Longwood Drive stretch is a pleasant walk on its own.

Mount Greenwood is further south and west, home to many police and fire families and to Saint Xavier University. Tourists are rare here; the pubs are the draw. The area's biggest event, the neighborhood Saint Patrick's Day parade, ended in 2009, but the Beverly Arts Center still runs an Irish film festival each March.

For a normal Chicago trip, no. The Loop, Near North and Lakeview put the lakefront, museums, architecture and most restaurants within walking distance or one train ride. The Far Southwest Side has almost no visitor accommodation and no quick rail link to downtown, so you would spend 60–90 minutes a day commuting each way.

Stay here if you have a car, want a quiet residential base with free parking, and are visiting family, Saint Xavier University or the pubs rather than the sights. It also works as a one-night stop if you are driving south on I-57 or around I-294 toward Joliet. If you want a South Side base with real transit, Hyde Park is the better choice.

The pub is the institution here. Western Avenue through Beverly and the 103rd and 111th Street strips hold most of them, and they run from old-school Irish bars with nightly music to neighborhood grills serving burgers, fish and chips and weekend breakfast. Mount Greenwood has its own cluster, busier on game days.

Beyond pubs, expect everyday Chicago food: thin-crust and deep-dish pizza, Italian beef, diners and Mexican taquerias along the main roads. The 103rd Street and Western Avenue corners are the easiest places to start if you are arriving by bus. Most kitchens close earlier than downtown, so eat before 21:00 unless you are only drinking.

Beverly Arts Center and the Ridge Historical Society area have cafés for daytime stops. If you want a full restaurant scene, plan your main meals downtown or in Hyde Park and treat this as a pub night.

By car is the practical answer. From downtown, take I-90/94 south to the Dan Ryan, then I-57 south, exiting at 111th Street or Halsted/US-1 to 103rd Street. From the western suburbs, I-294 to Cicero Avenue, then north to 111th or 115th Street. Pulaski Road and Western Avenue are the main north–south surface routes. Parking is free on most residential streets.

By train, Metra's Rock Island line from LaSalle Street Station stops at 103rd Street (Beverly) and 107th, 111th and 115th Street in Morgan Park. The ride is roughly 25–30 minutes and a one-way fare is about US$3.75 (2026 estimate); Metra is commuter rail, so service is sparse outside rush hour and almost nothing runs late at night.

By bus, CTA Route 49 (Western) runs south to 79th Street, where you transfer to Pace Route 349 (South Western) to reach the district. It is slow but cheap. CTA and Pace service in this area stops after midnight, so if you are out at a pub, line up a taxi or rideshare before closing — you will need to call one rather than flag it.