N Lincoln Park W, Chicago, Guia do visitante e o que fazer por perto

N Lincoln Park W is the stretch of Lincoln Park West in Chicago, where the city's biggest lakefront park meets the residential streets of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. It looks like a calm place for joggers, dog walkers and picnics, but this corner of the park was once the city's main burial ground. That layered past is why it carries some of Chicago's best-known ghost stories.

The story behind it

In 1843 Chicago opened its City Cemetery on this land. It was divided into a potter's field and separate Catholic, Jewish and general burial grounds. In 1864 the city council decided to add the cemetery's northern lands to the park and to move the graves. Moving so many burials was never going to be tidy, and construction work in the park has turned up human remains in the years since. Not everyone who was buried here was taken away.

Local ghost stories grew out of that history. The best known tells of a woman in clothes from the 1930s or 1940s who walks the park paths as if searching for someone she cannot find. In the legend she is seen mostly at twilight and on foggy mornings, and the story goes that she lost a lover to Lake Michigan. It is folklore rather than documented history, but it suits the place.

What to look for

• The wide open lawns and tree-lined paths, which sit over what was once the City Cemetery.
• The edge of the park along Lincoln Park West, where residential buildings face the greenery across the street.
• The park paths where, according to the legend, the woman in vintage clothing is said to wander.
• The change in mood as the light fades, when the park feels very different from a sunny afternoon.

Tips for your visit

• This is a public park and an open street, so you can walk through at any time. Allow 20 to 30 minutes to wander and take in the setting.
• Twilight or an early foggy morning gives the most atmosphere, though use common sense and keep to well-used paths after dark.
• Lincoln Park Zoo and more of the park lie close by, so it is easy to combine with a longer stroll.
• There is nothing to go inside, so wear comfortable shoes and treat it as a walk rather than a stop with a doorway.

See it on a quest

Ghost Hunt in Chicago is a good way to see this place. You reach it on foot as one stop of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. The ghostly theme fits the history underfoot here. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like with no guide and no group to join.