Opening of the Ogden Park bicycle program in Chicago, 1956.

Dr. Paul White riding in the front of the tandem bicycle and Mayor Richard J. Daley riding on the back. 1956

The History of Lincoln Village Shopping Center at 6199 North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.

Before Lincoln Village was built, the Christianson Riding Stables occupied the property. You could rent a horse and ride up the bridle path along McCormick Boulevard and the North Shore Canal.

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I'd like to correct the record. For all who thought, all these years, that Bounce Land Trampoline Park was at Hollywood Kiddidland, or next to it, should definitely read my article.

When Lincoln Village opened in 1951 in the Peterson Park neighborhood of Chicago, its motto was "You'll find it at the Village." The 15-acre (not including the Hollywood Kiddieland property) shopping center, which cost $2 million, was designed with the automobile in mind. 

The parking lot, which could accommodate 1,300 cars, originally had eight entrances: five on Lincoln, two on McCormick, and one on Devon.

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Lincoln Village Shopping Center opened 5 years before Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie opened.

The arrival of the Lincoln Village Shopping Center in this area marked a significant shift in the neighborhood. What a contrast to the old, cramped, dark storefronts lining Bryn Mawr between Kimball and Kedzie. Parking was a problem on Bryn Mawr, where no public lots existed.

When Lincoln Village first opened, it had four buildings. Building 'A' was the larger strip that ran more or less parallel to Lincoln, and the small 'B' ran perpendicular to Lincoln, backing up to the North Shore channel. Buildings 'C' and 'D' were small triangles facing Lincoln. Building 'D' housed a restaurant; I don't recall what business occupied Building 'C.' At the west end of building 'A,' closest to McCormick Boulevard, there was a two-story medical office center with Lee's Pharmacy on the ground floor.

A combination of limestone, Roman face brick, and redwood gave each storefront a different look.

Roman Face Brick

A broad canopy extended from the top of the buildings over the walkways held up with decorative wrought iron pillars. The sidewalks were made of pumice, ground glass, and cement for a mosaic effect. There were several built-in flower gardens. Most storefronts had large display windows, just like downtown Chicago. Loudspeakers were also attached to the canopies and placed inside the stores for piped-in music.

The Mandel Brothers were an original anchor store at Lincoln Village. When Wieboldt's department store (including an S&H Green Stamps redemption center in the basement) bought out Mandel Brothers in 1960, they assumed their lease. The S&H Green Stamp Redemption Center was in the basement and anchored the plaza until the 1980s.

Office Depot took the long-vacant anchor store after Wieboldt went bankrupt, and then It was replaced by TJ Max.

Neighborhood commercial districts like Bryn Mawr, between Kimball and Kedzie, came about in the days before most families in the neighborhood owned a car or a refrigerator. Until women started working outside their homes and every family bought a car, the mom-and-pop merchants enjoyed a captive audience.

Back in the sixties, Lincoln Village was a beloved mall with favorite businesses like Harmony Hall Hallmark Gold Crown Store, Bagel and Tray Deli-Restaurant, the Village Nut Shop, Eric Salm Men's Store, and a drive-thru Peterson Bank branch was built as an outbuilding.

There was a record store in the 1960s and 70s that became the Lincoln Village Theater.

The Lincoln Village Theater was the Last Movie Palace built in Chicago.

In 1968, the fabulous, single-screen with a balcony Lincoln Village Theater opened.

The restaurant, located at 6181 North Lincoln Avenue (in building 'D'), first opened as:

"Sammy and Lisa's What's Cooking," then Zelda's, the Village Inn, the Village Cart, which closed after a fire in the late 1970s, and finally, What's Cooking, which opened in 1978 and closed in 2012.

The restaurant, located at 6181 North Lincoln Avenue (in building 'D'), has undergone several name and ownership changes over the years. It first opened as "Sammy and Lisa's What's Cooking," then transitioned to Zelda's. The Village Inn followed, and then the Village Cart, which unfortunately closed after a fire in the late 1970s. Finally, it reopened as What's Cooking in 1978 and remained in operation until its closure in 2012.

Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley posing with the staff of What's Cooking in the Lincoln Village Shopping Center after his breakfast meeting. (early 1990s)

Lincoln Village shopping center was rehabbed in the late 1980s. It benefitted from an excellent location at Lincoln Avenue and McCormick Boulevard's intersection within a dense city. A rehab of the property was necessary to raise rents.

Negotiations were started with Borders Books and Barnes and Noble to replace the aging Lincoln Village Theater and act as an anchor for the rapidly upgrading shopping center in this neighborhood. A lease with Borders was signed, and plans were prepared for a complete façade renovation in December 1999.

At the turn of the 21st century, Lincoln Village shopping center included the recently built building on and facing McCormick Boulevard, Just north of the original center buildings. It housed Subway, Quiznos, and a couple of other stores.

The original center consisted of these businesses: The Baby's Room, Fannie May Candy, Joseph's Shoe Clinic, Old Country Buffet, P.S. Plus Shoes, Kale Uniform, Sally Beauty Supply, Pierce Interiors, Bestcom Wireless, and GNC.

The property, which now encompassed five buildings and some outbuildings, included Starbucks, Panera Bread, Famous Footwear in an outbuilding on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and McCormick Boulevard, and Fifth Third Bank in their own building. The Boarder's bookstore closed in November 2016 and was replaced by a Ross Dress for Less store.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.