Ravenswood was established as a suburb in 1868 when a group of real estate spectators — the Ravenswood Land Company — purchased 194 acres of farmland in the area. The new town was originally designed for wealthy commuters searching for large lots to build homes. The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad ran through the area, so the group made a deal for the railroad to build a new train station for the neighborhood. Ravenswood would thereafter become distinguished by its beautiful large homes and lawns that were also surrounded by open ditches and muddy streets due to an absence of sewers.

In 1889, Ravenswood was annexed to Chicago so that the city’s resources could be used to construct sidewalks and sewers in the area. The neighborhood quickly developed as electric streetcars and an extension of the “L” train made it more accessible to other parts of town. New residents would build smaller houses and apartment buildings, and an industrial manufacturing corridor developed along Ravenswood Avenue, with its most famous business establishment being Abbott Laboratories, founded by local physician and pharmacist Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888.

The decline of the U.S. manufacturing sector during the 1970s left many large industrial spaces in Ravenswood vacant as a number of employers in the neighborhood closed down their operations. In ensuing decades, affordable rents and expansive buildings would attract start-up tech companies and artists into the neighborhood, marking another transformation of Ravenswood into the thriving area that is today.