In 2011, Southport Corridor Chicago began as a Facebook page with a simple purpose: sharing what was happening around the neighborhood. The blog followed in 2013. Fifteen years later, an archive of roughly 4,500 posts traces the people, storefronts, traditions, arguments, and transformations that have shaped Southport and Lakeview.
A neighborhood recorded one storefront at a time
In those early years, the avenue mixed independent boutiques, neighborhood taverns, specialty shops and emerging national retailers. A new lease sign, a restaurant opening, a proposed development or a familiar business saying goodbye might have seemed like a small story. Together, those updates became a running history.
Our photo tours from 2013 and 2014 documented the storefronts that people remember: Perchance, Cerato, She One, M2 and other independent shops. They also captured the street as national retail continued to expand.
The bars that made the neighborhood feel like home
Ask longtime neighbors what they miss and the answers often begin with the same names: Mystic Celt, Justin’s, Cullen’s, Newport Bar & Grill, Southport Lanes and Schoolyard Tavern. Those places were destinations for Cubs games, spontaneous nights out, birthdays, and familiar faces. They weren’t interchangeable storefronts; they held people’s routines and memories.
Some closures came amid the redevelopment wave of the mid-2010s; others followed the turmoil of 2020. Together they changed what a night out on Southport felt like.
The boutiques before the big brands
Perchance, M2, Cerato, She One, Mint Julep and other small shops offered a retail experience built around independent taste and relationships. Larger retailers brought attention and investment, but the transformation also fueled debate about commercial rents and what makes a street distinct.
An archive worth keeping
The blog’s thousands of entries, many originally published on Blogger, make it possible to revisit an address before its current tenant, trace the history of a redevelopment proposal, and remember places that once anchored everyday life.
Southport in 2026 is busy and evolving: new restaurants, retailers, events and development proposals constantly add to the story. Change can bring welcome energy while still leaving genuine losses. Both deserve to be documented.
Thank you for 15 years
To everyone who has followed, sent a photograph, shared a tip, corrected a detail or joined a neighborhood conversation since 2011: thank you. This site began with curiosity about one Chicago neighborhood. It remains a place for the community to remember where we’ve been and discuss where we’re going.
What’s the first place you think of when you remember Southport in 2011? Tell us your story in the comments.
15 Years of Southport Corridor Chicago — Explore the Series