Outline

1) As demographics in the north center neighborhood changed from working class to middle and upper-middle class, with an emphasis on families with young children, the ravenswood corridor began to reflect the absence of industrial jobs and create an opportunity for creative retail outlets.
2) During the early 1990's Demographics changed in the north center neighborhood, immigrants and minorities moved out and more upper middle class white people moved in.  They made higher income and were more skilled workers than the previous residents.  They were mostly young families with little kids.
a.Ravenswood ave. marks northcenter's eastern border.  At the beginning, Germans and Swedes populated and worked in the area.  Later, Kashubes, Poles, Italians, Hungarians, Slovaks, Serbs, and Croatians moved in.  They were all working class migrants.  As the L railroad expanded further north into ravenswood, more and more people began settling in north center.
b.Between 1940 and 1990, the population of North Center declined from 48,759 to 33,010.  This shift in population was mainly because a lot of whites moved to the suburbs.  On the other hand, most of the Hispanics, Koreans, and Filipinos moved into North Center to replace them and earned moderate incomes in the area.  During the 1990's, residents feared that they would be displaced because of the gentrification going on in Lakeview and Lincoln Park and that they people would spill over into Northcenter. 
c. The value of the houses surrounding the ravenswood corridor and in northcenter has shot up.  It used to only be a manufacturing district and was occasionally used for commercial purposes.  In contrast, nowadays, some of the lavish and beautiful homes here are worth $1.5 million plus.  Ravenswood is on its way to being a booming and trendy neighborhood.  As more and more small trendy businesses pop up, more young trendy people will come to the neighborhood to make a living.
3) The factories that stood in ravenswood corridor for more than seven decades all started moving out during this gentrification period for north center.  This was because companies found cheaper labor over seas.
a.When factories moved overseas, these buildings were not renovated into small office spaces to suit small businesses.  They still take on the characteristics of old factories, ware houses, and loading docks.  The businesses that moved in take full advantage of this kind of space by using it to utilize their unique needs.
b.O'Shaughnessy's Pub, on the corner of Wilson and ravenswood was originally the Pickard building built by Pickard China.  In the 1890's this house was used by artists who hand painted imported white china.  They were English and various other European ethnicities.   After Pickard China, the building was a bank, and more recently it was Zephyr Ice Cream Shop.  The ravenswood is all new and improved in the past decade.  It has "given birth".
c.Beyond design, located on Ravenswood, used to be a warehouse.  Now it is transformed into a design studio with a beautiful zen-like courtyard.  It uses some of the warehouse's original structures such as: vaulted bow-tress natural cedar wood open ceilings and a wide open space.
4) Businesses that started moving in- how they impacted gentrification
a.Stuart Grannen, the owner of architectural artifacts, has been in business in the same old warehouse on ravenswood for 24 years.  He feels so comfortable in the area now that he doesn't even feel the need to lock the doors to his sports cars.  He claims that his was one of the first small businesses to move in next to the massive factories and has noticed that each year the ravenswood corridor just gets better and better.
b.Liz Finan,  co-owner of O'Shaughnessy's Pub (corner of Lealand & Ravenswood) has also notices a drastic change in the area since they opened up in 2008.  She says that she used to be afraid that her car was going to be broken into and the corridor was more abandoned and dirty.  Now she feels no discomfort at all.  The neighborhood has been cleaned up and she has noticed more people residing and commuting (both on foot and in vehicle).
c. A company called my dream bag boutique is located on ravenswood ave.  The building it is located in used to be an old factory.  This is a primary example of how the businesses along the ravenswood corridor have changed from industrious to retail outlets that are meant to cater to a wealthier population.  This also signifies the gentrification of the northcenter neighborhood changing from working class to upper middle class.
d. Urban Pooch, located at 4501 N. Ravenswood, is a “canine life center”, where your dog can go get groomed, play, sleep, and even get MASSAGES!  Urban Pooch gives a clear example of a business that caters to the extremely wealthy members of a community, which further signifies a change in the people who populated the ravenswood corridor and northcenter areas.
5) The expansion of the ravenswood elevated line (brownline) encouraged the gentrification of the ravenswood corridor and modification of northcenter by bringing more attention to the area.  This attracted more people to explore and move into the neighborhood.  This was a big change.
a.In the late 1800's,  many metal working companies settled alongside the rail line on Chicago's north-east side.  This rail line was primarily used for transportation of these metal goods in and out of the city.  Today all that is turned upside down!  The rail line that runs along ravenswood corridor is mostly used by commuters and instead of metal manufacturing companies, residing there is hundreds of small businesses whose work is definitely not industrial at all.
b.  The expansion of the electric public transportation line, the "L", made it possible for people to live in the ravenswood area and also work in the ravenswood area, not just having to rely on going down town to find business.  This also triggered expansion for large manufacturers and factory companies to open up warehouses and loading docks in the ravenswood corridor.
c.  The expansion of the ravenswood (brownline) line on the CTA was a major development.  Ridership exploded and so did the population in the surrounding areas (circa august 1949).  Since the gentrification in northcenter, the number of riders on the brownline  increased by 24% between 1997 and 2000.  Presently, the brownline's ridership has passed the 13 million/yard mark and continues to rise annually.
6)As demographics in the north center neighborhood changed from working class to middle and upper-middle class, with an emphasis on families with young children, the ravenswood corridor began to reflect the absence of industrial jobs and create an opportunity for creative retail outlets.