Andersonville is a vibrant community with boundaries approximately between Winnemac to the south, Elmdale to the north, Ravenswood to the west, and Magnolia to the east.

The history of Andersonville as a community dates back to when Swedish immigrants moved into the area after the Chicago fire of 1871 when laws restricting the building of homes out of wood were introduced. The Swedish immigrants could not afford to make their homes with stone or brick causing them to relocate north of Chicago. Throughout the years, especially during the Depression and post-war periods Swedish families left Andersonville for the suburbs. In spite of this departure Andersonville still maintains some of its Swedish roots with various Swedish bakeries and shops as well as being home to the Swedish American Museum.

Andersonville has become an increasingly diverse community that is home to one of Chicago's largest gay and lesbian communities. It also has a large collection of Middle Eastern restaurants, and a flourishing Hispanic commercial area north of Catalpa Avenue.

Andersonville has a strong community feel because of its large proportion of locally independently-owned businesses and community events. These events include a weekly farmers market throughout the summer, the annual Taste of Andersonville Dinner Crawl, and an annual Midsommarfest street music festival that is based on the Swedish tradition of celebrating the summer solstice.