City Neighborhood Tours Return To Beverly This Weekend

CHICAGO, IL - The "Chicago for Chicagoans" walking tours that take a look at a different Chicago neighborhood every month with events geared toward Chicago residents from throughout the city will return to Beverly this weekend. The walking tours, which are three miles long beginning at the 103rd Street Rock Island station and ending at the tracks on 99th Street, are planned to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11 and Sunday, Aug. 12.

"I am so excited to come back to Beverly," said Patti Swanson, founder of the non-profit Chicago for Chicagoans. "It's a really beautiful neighborhood that's unique in Chicago."

This will be Chicago for Chicagoans' second stop in Beverly. The group's first Beverly Walking Tour held last October included visits to many neighborhood landmarks, including outside the Beverly Unitarian Church, Ridge Historical Society, St. Barnabas Church and Walter Burley Griffin Place (104th Place, east of Wood Street).

The route this year will be nearly identical as the previous one, but new topics will be discussed and several local businesses will be highlighted during the two-hour tours that will cover much of the residential area of the neighborhood between 107th and 99th streets.

Swanson will lead the tour, with your Beverly-Mt. Greenwood Patch Editor Tim Moran on board as the guest collaborator. Both Saturday and Sunday tours will end with a meal at Janson's Drive-In at 99th and Western.

Swanson, an Albany Park resident, created Chicago for Chicagoans in 2016 to offer an inside look at Chicago neighborhoods, both from a historical and contemporary perspective. So far - in addition to Beverly - she's led tours in Albany Park, Wicker Park, Chinatown, Pilsen, Prairie Avenue, Rogers Park, Edgewater, Printer's Row, Roscoe Village, McKinley Park, Old Town, Boystown and Andersonville.

"Right now, Chicago for Chicagoans is trying to expand our South Side offerings, so in addition to my excitement about sharing local history with those it impacts most, I'm looking forward to meeting residents and hopefully making some connections to broaden our reach south of Cermak," she said.

The tours are offered on a "pay what you can" basis, with tips of $10-$20 are suggested and appreciated. Sign-ups are required, and each tour caps at 40 participants.

Patch file photo / Tim Moran