Elgin, IL: Chitown's Lil Homie

[OakAngeles]

Elgin, IL is a city on the far western edge of the Chicagoland Metro which I fell in love with on my first visit. It's a short(ish) train ride on the Metra from the city but stands well on its own rather than feeling like a suburb. With solid density, good diversity, beautiful architecture & delicious food for cheaper than in city limits, it's a nice spot to take a break from the city grind but still easy to navigate on foot. A bit off the beaten path & a hell of a hidden gem, I present a brief tour of the self proclaimed "Jewel of the Midwest"

[Murphy de la Sucre]

those hollow windows of the tall's, creepyy

[Cirrus]

That hexagon building is really something. Never seen that before. Thanks

[ColDayMan]

Elgin is probably my favorite of those ring satellite cities (Waukegan, Joliet, Aurora,...Gary) around Chicagoland. Thanks for showing it off.

[OakAngeles]

Originally Posted by Murphy de la Sucre

those hollow windows of the tall's, creepyy

There was a spooky vibe to Elgin & the have a massive Halloween festival every year so you might be on to something haha

[OakAngeles]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

That hexagon building is really something. Never seen that before. Thanks

It's a true art deco gem from Elgin's boom years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Tower_Building

[OakAngeles]

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

Elgin is probably my favorite of those ring satellite cities (Waukegan, Joliet, Aurora,...Gary) around Chicagoland. Thanks for showing it off.

Still need to check out Aurora & Waukegan but so far I'm inclined to agree

[xzmattzx]

I like that Elgin Tower Building!

[ChrisLA]

My cousins lived in Elgin for a while, but moved back to southern CA. I did visit them a few times and didn’t really get to explore much of it. What I did see was interesting as they picked me up from the Metra stop. Unfortunately it was very cold and their house was in a part of Elgin that was full of newer track homes and separated by corn fields from the rest of the town. Honestly I was so lost on the car ride from the train station to their house I would have gotten lost trying to figure out how to get back to the center of town.

Elgin did look nice where the main library was along the river. I hate that I didn’t get a chance to explore more, again no car. I’m pretty sure where my cousins house was there was no bus service. It felt a little isolated as I was left by myself while everyone went to work, so I only stayed two days and took the Metra back to the city and believe I met up with Segun and took photos around the city.

So with all that said thanks for sharing photos of an area within Chicagoland that we don’t often get the privilege to see. Elgin center is older and seems walkable, so IMO still worth checking out when it’s not as cold for a day trip from the city. It also seems quite diverse, and my cousins wanted to gift me with what they thought was some of the best chile relleno around for my flight home. This coming from my dad’s family who are Mexican American and from California where this dish is always one of the staples at a family gathering. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the place, they picked it up early in the morning while I was still sleeping, but I will say it was very good.

[Steely Dan]

Elgin (the old town center) is a perfectly charming, if a bit sleepy, old fox river valley town.

And as of 2020, Elgin was 47% Latino (the vast majority mexican), and rising fast, so it's probably now already majority Latino.

Though you might not expect such from an old Illinois river town, I'm sure the Mexican food is on point.

[OakAngeles]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

My cousins lived in Elgin for a while, but moved back to southern CA. I did visit them a few times and didn’t really get to explore much of it. What I did see was interesting as they picked me up from the Metra stop. Unfortunately it was very cold and their house was in a part of Elgin that was full of newer track homes and separated by corn fields from the rest of the town.
...
So with all that said thanks for sharing photos of an area within Chicagoland that we don’t often get the privilege to see. Elgin center is older and seems walkable, so IMO still worth checking out when it’s not as cold for a day trip from the city. It also seems quite diverse, and my cousins wanted to gift me with what they thought was some of the best chile relleno around for my flight home. This coming from my dad’s family who are Mexican American and from California where this dish is always one of the staples at a family gathering. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the place, they picked it up early in the morning while I was still sleeping, but I will say it was very good.

From what I saw on google maps and the train ride in, the city does seem to drop into suburbanism pretty soon after leaving the city center so that makes sense. If i remember right, the town kind of stagnated after WW2 but then saw a residential boom more recently, so it does seem like there is a stark divide in styles between the two eras.
As for the food, I went to a place called "Las Gorditas De Don Angel" and can confirm it was 10/10. The diversity was a nice surprise as well, although that also seems to also have a steep divide between the city center and the newer suburban neighborhoods

[OakAngeles]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Elgin (the old town center) is a perfectly charming, if a bit sleepy, old fox river valley town.

Definitely sleepy compared to the Loop or Wicker Park, but still fairly active for being outside of the city, at least when I was there around lunchtime. When i visited a second time (not photographed) they were setting up for their Halloween celebration which I've heard is a huge event every year and draws thousands of people. Gonna make a point to see what all the hype is about this upcoming October and Ill try and snap a few photos

[geomorph]

Thank you for the tour!