Your Chicago: Logan Square Resurgence
CHICAGO (CBS) – For many years, it has been a neighborhood in transition on the Near Northwest Side. Now, Logan Square is transitioning into a place on the move, where businesses are moving in and people are investing.
CBS 2's Rob Johnson reports.
Logan Square is a neighborhood known for its boulevards: Kedzie, Logan, Palmer and Humboldt. It boasts neighborhood icons like Margie's Candies and Sam's Red Hots.
A once lower-income neighborhood has given way in part to a growing, more diverse middle class, evidenced by a newer restaurant, Longman & Eagle, which just earned a prestigious Michelin star.
"I've seen a lot of development of business, and I've seen a lot of foot traffic and a lot of movement and energy that I didn't see in other places of the city," says Mario Correa of the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce.
There's also the Logan Theatre, a four-screen cinema, where what's old is new again.
Once run-down, the theater is seeing a rebirth, thanks to the vision and the money of businessman Mark Fishman, who owns rental units in the area.
"I'm a movie guy, and I thought it would be a fun project. And it's been a fun project so far," he says.
Fishman, who once lived in Logan Square 20 years ago, turned the theater showing second-run movies into a first-class entertainment facility. He has renovated the lobby, ticket booth, restrooms and theaters by replacing the screens and making the projectors all digital. He added a lounge and a concession stand not far from a bar.
For Logan Square residents, the revival of the theater is somewhat emblematic of the comeback for this entire neighborhood.
"I remember going to this theater before and it was not that good, it needed to be redone," Robert Bud says. "And just like this neighborhood, I remember five years ago this wasn't a neighborhood I would necessarily feel safe in."
