Overview:
Wrigleyville is the neighborhood around the "friendly confines" of Wrigley Field, home of the hapless Chicago Cubs. This legendary Nati... more »onal League team has fans around the world despite not having played in a World Series since 1945 and not having won a World Series in more than 100 years.
Local lore has it that the team's consistently poor showing is the result of the "Billy Goat curse." As the story goes, Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis hexed the Cubs in 1945 during the last World Series ever played at Wrigley Field. Sianis had brought his pet goat to the game, but was asked to leave after other fans complained about the goat's smell. Outraged at the insult to his goat, Sianis declared the Cubs would never win another World Series.
It seems to have worked. The Cubs were up two games to one in that 1945 series but ended up losing Game 4 and the best-of-seven series. Over the years, Sianis kin have been invited to the ballpark in several failed attempts to "reverse the curse." (For another slice of Chicago stop in for a beer and "cheezborger" at the grubby Bill Goat Tavern, which still operates on lower Michigan Avenue.)
Even if you're visiting when the Cubs are out of town, or during baseball's October-March off season, Wrigleyville is a worth a visit. You can still tour the venerable ballpark, the oldest in the country, and there are plenty of bars, restaurants, clubs and some decidedly un-Chicago-like architecture to entertain you in this vibrant North Side neighborhood.
This easy walking tour will show off one of Wrigleyville's hidden architectural gems and offer plenty of options for food and drink. Clark Street is one of the great sightseeing streets in Chicago, so take a stroll and drink in the urban atmosphere where hippies, punks, comics, artists and urban professionals all mix it up together. less «
