West Garfield Park, Chicago: Community Area #26 Guide

West Garfield Park is Community Area #26 on Chicago’s West Side, about 5 miles west of the Loop. It grew in the late 1800s next to Garfield Park, and Madison Street became its main commercial street. The 2020 Census counted 17,433 residents.

Fact	Detail
Community area number	26
Side of the city	West Side
Population (2020 Census)	17,433
Neighborhoods within	West Garfield Park, part of K-Town
Main L and Metra stations	Green Line: Pulaski; Blue Line (Forest Park branch): Pulaski
Major parks and open space	Garfield Park lies just east, in East Garfield Park

Where West Garfield Park is and its boundaries

West Garfield Park sits on the West Side, between Austin to the west and East Garfield Park to the east.

Kinzie Street forms its northern edge and Hamlin Boulevard its eastern edge. The southern edge follows Independence Boulevard, Taylor Street and Fifth Avenue, and the western edge runs along the K streets near 4500 West.

Neighborhoods within West Garfield Park

Most of the area is the West Garfield Park neighborhood itself.

Part of K-Town, named for its streets starting with K, overlaps the area; the K-Town historic district joined the National Register on September 9, 2010.

A short history

Development began in the 1870s after the West Chicago Park Commission created three West Side parks.
The middle one, Central Park, was renamed Garfield Park after President James Garfield was assassinated in 1881.
Railroad workers built the village of Central Park south of Kinzie Street, and St. Mel parish was founded in 1878.
Chicago annexed the western and southern parts of the area in 1889.
After 1893, Madison Street filled with department stores, hotels and theaters, and the population topped 40,000 by 1920.

Landmarks and parks

Madison Street commercial corridor
Guyon Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Mary Alice Henry Post Office, 4222 W. Madison Street
K-Town historic district

Getting there

The Green Line has an elevated station at Pulaski, and the Blue Line’s Forest Park branch stops at Pulaski in the Eisenhower Expressway median.

The Green Line’s Conservatory-Central Park Drive station serves the Garfield Park Conservatory at 300 N. Central Park Avenue, just east of the area.

Frequently asked questions

What community area number is West Garfield Park?

West Garfield Park is Community Area #26.

Is the Garfield Park Conservatory in West Garfield Park?

No. The conservatory is in Garfield Park, just east in East Garfield Park, reached from the Green Line’s Conservatory-Central Park Drive station.

Why is it called Garfield Park?

Central Park was renamed Garfield Park after President James Garfield’s assassination in 1881.