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The divider between Chicago and Evanston is poised to make a comeback.

Wednesday Jan 21, 2004.     By Vanessa Nichols

Lifestyle Feed

If you’ve written off Howard Street as a “won’t go there, no thank you” location, it may be time to change your tune. The occasionally unpleasant divider between Chicago and Evanston isn’t the hotspot it once was, but it’s making a comeback.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Howard Street was a bustling entertainment district whose latitude marked the northern-most entrance or “gateway” into Chicago's city limits. Most suburbs were dry at the time, making the decidedly un-dry Howard Street a vibrant entertainment hub for North Shore residents.

Today, the area is much changed. Hard economic times have taken their toll on the once bustling street. Garbage now litters the sidewalks and “For Lease” signs pepper store windows. A prosperous area has turned into what most would call a bad neighborhood. Crime and drugs threaten area youth and stifle private business investment, making the neighborhood mantra of the past decade to get kids "off the streets."

That’s not the case anymore. Community developers are now trying to bring people back to the street in a movement is called "Howard Street Live!" The slogan now graces Howard Street on hundreds of banners and store windows, a testament to the changing attitude.

Property managers have started calling this area "The Gateway," a reference to its history and, perhaps, its future. The shift is visible beyond slogans and mottos, though. A recent city streetscape project included a $3.5 million investment split between the city of Chicago and the city of Evanston to provide new streetlights, sidewalks, gutters, banners and planters aimed to attract more retailers into the area. A huge shopping center at the corner of Clark and Howard was completed after nearly 10 years of construction delays; the pristine brick building and clean sidewalks has already attracted retailers like Marshall's, Bally's and Subway.

Stavros Dorizas owns the restaurant adjacent to the new Gateway Center. He decided to change the name of his restaurant from My Place 4 to Gateway Bar and Grill almost eight years ago because he thought, "patrons associated the name with a bad neighborhood." He did not want to be stigmatized by the name as he saw the area progress. Dorizas also embraces the area's unique nature as a city gateway. "People learn to live together here, there are about 29 languages spoken in this area. It is a very diversified community."

It is also a community that comes together. One of the most noticeable changes along Howard Street is the Gale Campus Park, which replaced a strip mall. Karen Hoover is a 20-year resident of the "Gateway Area," and aided in the strenuous work of building the Gale playground. "I helped them build all-day to cut down on labor costs," said Hoover. She has seen many changes in the area since moving to Roger's Park in the early 1980s, but is most surprised by the dramatic increase of community involvement over the past 10 years.

Turning Howard Street into a larger transportation hub also seems to be a part of the plan for area development. According to Joanna Barnhart of DevCorp North (an economic and community development group for Rogers Park) the CTA has plans to renovate its Howard station “possibly in spring of 2004.” It is hoped that a renovation will bring more people into the area, and decrease the amount loitering that currently happens at the station.

In addition, the Howard Windows Project, which featured the work of 23 local artists last year, will once again beautify area store windows in summer 2004. These efforts, combined with the city's investment, have brought new life to Howard Street.