'Iconic': Tour Guide Talks Up Beverly Ahead Of Walking Tours

CHICAGO — This coming weekend will be the Chicago for Chicagoans tour's third stop in the Beverly neighborhood in as many years. Patti Swanson, the founder of the tour organization that hits up a different city neighborhood on a frequent basis, will again lead the tour along with myself. I will again be the guest collaborator providing a contemporary look at the neighborhood from a resident's point-of-view while Patti will provide a detailed historical aspect.

Chicago for Chicagoans is a non-profit that seeks to educate Chicago residents about the history of their own city. The group leads tours in several Chicago neighborhoods throughout the city.

The Beverly tour will be a three-mile walking trek that starts at the 103rd Street Metra station and wind up at Janson's Drive-In at 99th and Western. Tours will go from 1-3:30 p.m. on both Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug 18. It's a "pay-what-you-can" tour. Sign up here.

As we were organizing this weekend's event, Patti agreed to answer a few questions for Beverly-Mt. Greenwood Patch about our neighborhood. Here's our Q&A:

Tim Moran: Patti, thanks again for returning to Beverly in 2019. Three years in a row is quite a treat. What have you learned about the Beverly neighborhood since you started these tours back in 2017?

Patti Swanson: Everything. I had never been down here before. I feel like the entire process of exploring the neighborhood with you, researching it and updating things as they came along was interesting. Now when I meet someone from Beverly I feel like I can connect with them.

Tim: What's your favorite part, or your favorite aspect, of the neighborhood? What makes us stand out from other Chicago neighborhoods you lead tours on?

Patti: I can probably narrow this down to two things. I have always had a soft spot for Walter Burley Griffin, who has a street named in his honor in the neighborhood and his wife, Marion Mahony Griffin who was a vital part of everything he did. I love how they didn't care much for Frank Lloyd Wright. But I also love the history of the Beverly Area Planning Association, which is important to talk about. How in the 1970's there was a lot of blockbusting going on but BAPA and the neighborhood really came together to fight that.

Tim: With so many iconic Chicago neighborhoods, you've still made it a point to return to Beverly three years in a row. What keeps you coming back?

Patti: We are always trying to maintain our South Side programming. Beverly is an iconic neighborhood on the South Side and people ask for it. They want to know the stories behind the mansions and homes in the neighborhood. And people are willing to travel all the way down here. Most of our tour-goers are from the North Side and this is a great way to expose North Siders to a part of the South Side they've either never seen or heard about. It's also popular and we get a lot of support from this tour. (As of Monday) we haven't even promoted it at all but are already halfway sold out. Plus, repeat tours are always easier.

Tim: Our neighborhood covers a large area, and we only have two-and-a-half hours for the tour. So we can't cover it all. But what spots in the neighborhood that aren't on the route do you wish were the most?

Patti: All of it. It's such a big neighborhood and people can only walk so far. But I like the homes north of where we start. The ones north of 99th Street, in North Beverly and the Dan Ryan Woods itself. The homes are so cute in that area and I wish we could spend more time there.

Tim: How in the world did the Original Rainbow Cone not come up in your answer to that one?

Patti: Everyone loves Rainbow Cone, for sure. But looking at old photos of it surrounded by nothing, I feel frustrated seeing it now surrounded by so much development.

Tim: For many of us Far South Siders, we consider this whole area one neighborhood. The 19th Ward. It covers Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park, too. Might we see Chicago for Chicagoans hold tours in either of those neighborhoods in the near future?

Patti: We'd love to. It all comes down to me finding someone really passionate about the neighborhoods and someone who has a strong connection. We are open to exploring every neighborhood in Chicago, and often times to comes down to the process of finding someone wable to collaborate. That's part of the reason we love doing it.

Tim: See you Saturday.