At 6151 N. Sheridan Road there's a spiral cut into a patch of prairie grass, and it was planted to be seen from above. Melissa Barribeau lives in one of the condo buildings beside the park. She told Block Club Chicago that the design was deliberate: "There's hundreds of people staring down at this park, so we made a spiral into it, so it really is something to look at from above as well as ground level."
The Chicago Park District still calls it Park 559. Its neighbors would like the official name to be Edgewater Prairie Park. That request and a cafe's new storefront a mile west on Devon Avenue both come from the same place. On the north end of Edgewater this fall, the new shared spaces are the ones the people using them asked for or planted themselves. The next few weeks are when they become official.
A lawn that turned into a garden, a few volunteer mornings at a time
Park 559 has never had a field house or courts. The city acquired the land in 2002. Before that it had spent more than a decade owned by the Cook County Sheriff and a string of banks and real estate firms. The Park District took it over in 2010 and developed it as a "passive park," meaning natural space without the usual amenities.
According to Barribeau, the site was "really just a lawn" when neighbors began working on it. Over several years, volunteers with the Edgewater Environmental Coalition planted prairie grass, protected the wildflowers and kept aggressive weeds from crowding out the native plants. Her planting goal was a long season of color.
"My goal was biodiversity and having multiple bloom times at different successions throughout the season, so if you named a prairie plant, it's probably in our garden."
She said that to Block Club Chicago in its October report on the renaming. In the same story she described the name change as a way to show people that the plot is "an actual functioning garden" and not an unmanaged wild patch.
Nov. 18 is the next date the name can move
The renaming is following the Park District's standard process. A 45-day public comment period began at the board's Sept. 9 meeting and closed Oct. 25. The district's own review of the request found that "Edgewater Prairie Park" met its naming criteria. It cited substantial public support and said the name reflects the park's "ongoing ecological restoration."
The comment period is over, and the board makes the final decision. According to the Park District's board page, the next regular board meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 18. Until the board acts, the sign on Sheridan stays as it is and the name is still a proposal.
Barribeau has said she'd like to take the same restoration work to other lakefront parks that, like Park 559, have no park advisory council.
On Devon, a cafe grows into the storefront next door
The same pattern shows up at 1257 W. Devon Ave., near Lakewood Avenue, though there it started with customers. Janine Ramirez-Waszkowski and Mike Waszkowski own Rivers & Roads, the National Park-themed cafe at 1259 W. Devon that's known for house-made pastries and a seasonal drink menu. Ramirez-Waszkowski told Block Club Chicago that one of the requests they hear most often is for more seats. Earlier this year a pet supplies store next door closed, and the couple saw "the perfect opportunity right now to take a risk and get the space next door and do overflow seating for the cafe, and so that will give us an additional 20 to 30 seats."
The new space is called Little Wild, and it works differently from a typical cafe expansion:
- A stairwell to the apartments upstairs runs between the two storefronts, so the spaces can't be combined. You order anything on the Rivers & Roads menu and carry it next door.
- The shelves are meant for things the owners say the area is short on, including books, stationery and locally made pottery and art.
- Little Wild may stay open later than the cafe, so it will stock packaged to-go and take-and-bake food from Rivers & Roads, plus bottled drinks.
- A built-out stage will host live music and readings. Rivers & Roads already hosts those, but in a smaller room.
Mike Waszkowski told What Now Chicago in October that they hoped to open in early-to-mid November. The owners post updates on the @littlewild.chicago Instagram account. A third storefront on the block, 1253 W. Devon, is set to become Firefly Softserve, a walk-up shop selling vegan and dairy soft serve. Its target is spring 2027, and its operating months haven't been decided.
What Now places the storefront close to Nori Sushi At Edgewater and across the street from Ezankaya Thai. It also notes that the Loyola and Granville Red Line stations are about the same distance away. Coming from Park 559, you'd walk west from the lake, and coming from the train, east from either stop.
Sunday, Nov. 15, from the prairie to the plaza
The calendar shows these north-end spaces running on volunteer hours, and much of it falls on one Sunday. Nov. 15 starts with gloves and trowels and ends with a lighting ceremony on Loyola's campus.
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. to noon | Park 559 volunteer day, Edgewater Environmental Coalition | 6151 N. Sheridan Rd. |
| 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | Vedgewater Community Garden work day | 6300 N. Broadway |
| 7 to 9 p.m. | Loyola Tree and Campus Lighting | St. Ignatius Community Plaza, Gentile Arena |
The two morning sessions overlap and are about a block and a half apart along Broadway and Sheridan. The coalition lists both on its events page. Loyola's lighting is on the university's event calendar for that evening.
Two days later, on Nov. 17, Loyola's Community Relations office is hosting a sustainability tour, and its news and events page invites neighbors and community partners and links to a sign-up. The next day, Nov. 18, the Park District board meets.
Where the next project gets picked
This kind of work happens on a regular schedule. The Edgewater Environmental Coalition holds its monthly meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. It's a hybrid meeting at 6018 N. Kenmore Ave. and on Zoom, and the public can take part. If you want to know which lakefront parcel the coalition might take on after Park 559, this meeting is the place to ask.
Berger Park, at 6205 N. Sheridan Road and a short walk north of Park 559, has its own monthly volunteer day. The coalition scheduled the November session for Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, with no RSVP needed. The coalition also has a holiday party on its calendar for Thursday, Dec. 10, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Kenmore address.
Down Broadway, a neighbor from Evanston
Another arrival has a link to Evanston. WasteShed is a nonprofit that sells donated, reused arts and crafts supplies. It moved its Evanston location to 5200 N. Broadway after Rebuilding Exchange, which shared its Evanston building, closed and no suitable space turned up in town. Block Club Chicago reported that items usually sell for a quarter to half of retail, and that the Edgewater store adds a dedicated classroom area the Evanston location didn't have. Teachers get a free section and 25 percent off the rest of the store. WasteShed's locations page lists Edgewater hours of Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Quick answers
Is Park 559 now Edgewater Prairie Park? The name is still a proposal. Public comment closed Oct. 25, and the next regular Park District board meeting is Nov. 18.
Can I order from Rivers & Roads and sit in Little Wild? That's the plan. Anything on the cafe menu can be carried next door to the 20 to 30 overflow seats.
When does Firefly Softserve open? The target is spring 2027, at 1253 W. Devon Ave.
Where is the Vedgewater garden work day? It's at 6300 N. Broadway on Sunday, Nov. 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
From our office in downtown Evanston, Summerville Partners follows changes like these block by block, from a lakefront park's new name to a new reason to linger on Devon. If you own one of the Sheridan Road condos overlooking that spiral, or a home within walking distance of Rivers & Roads, and want to know where your property stands this season, request a free home valuation and our team will talk it through with you.
