Explore Bridgeport, the most political neighborhood in the most political of cities--home to five Chicago mayors and parades of politicians honoring its power at national conventions. Once a Native American village traversed by Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, as Chicago grew the area was called Hardscrabble, then Cabbage Gardens, and finally Bridgeport. Immigrants built it: the Irish dredged a canal and mined a quarry that led to slaughterhouses, cooperages, rolling mills, and breweries that were worked by Germans, Bohemians, Swedes, and Poles. Held dear as the "Heart of Lithuania,"...

In Chicago, it has long been common knowledge that the neighborhoods have been overshadowed by the Loop's luster. Portage Park is one of these hidden gems, offering up a wealth of history, culture, and art. As the site of a lesser-known Chicago Portage, the largest retail district outside the Loop at Six Corners, the visual backdrop of movies such as My Life and The Color of Money, and the spot where both Abraham Lincoln and John Dillinger legendarily stayed and the sister of the czar of Bulgaria prayed, this corner of Chicago has seen its share of glitz and glory. Discover Portage Park's...