Contradictions abound in Hyde Park. The houses look aerodynamic yet settled-in, big yet cozy. The ¨Preserved Preserved Preserved¨ banners serve as both boast and warning; live here, you´d better take care of your house. It´s Southern-comfortable — wide sidewalks, rocking chairs on porches — yet a few steps away there´s a boulevard, water, city skyline. Alas, no Charlie´s Angels frolic at Kate Jackson Community Center. And Old Hyde Park Village is not really a village, not really old and not much like the rest of Hyde Park. But it does have the Blackhawk Coffee Café, just about the most comfy caffeine hangout anywhere, and summer concerts, and a great movie theater next to a wine bar. No wonder property values are through the roof.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.