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Physical Description of Chicago
and of Downtown and the Loop
- Click here for a map of Downtown! Chicago's eastern border is
made up of miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, while its other boundaries were created by
butting against suburbs that did not want to become part of the city.
Because of the flatness of the area, the focal point can be seen from all
but its outermost fringes. This is the Chicago Loop. Its dense concentration of stores,
banks, offices, and institutions is bordered on the north by the Main Branch of the
Chicago River, which extends a mile inland before splitting into two branches. The South
Branch wraps around the west side of the Loop, while the North Branch narrows as it runs
through the north side industrial district.
The Loop received its nickname during the 1880s, with the construction of a band of
streetcar tracks that encircled downtown. The construction of the Union Loop elevated
structure in 1897 reinforced the linkage of name and place. The
"L"--with its overhead trains, noises, shadowy sidewalks beneath, and
supporting posts that disrupt the flow of traffic--gives downtown Chicago an atmosphere
and feel that are unique among American cities.
The Loop is Chicago's major retail center and State Street
its principal shopping thoroughfare. It contains Marshall Fields (a large department
store), as well as hundreds of smaller specialty shops.
The Loop was also the center of night life before Prohibition. However, the area is home
to many theaters, restaurants, galleries, and bookstores which provide entertainment for
the city's inhabitants in the evening. |
Click on
the areas below to tour Chicago! Click
HERE
for the index of locations! |
Downtown Chicago is actually a collection of specialized sub districts, most of them of a
north-south linear shape. Besides the State Street shopping area, there are many small
specialty shops along the parallel Wabash Avenue, whose elevated tracks have kept rents
low enough for these firms to survive. Michigan Avenue is home to many
cultural institutions and office buildings. The southern ends of LaSalle and Clark streets
form a major financial center with banks and trading exchanges. Nearby is the Federal
Center, with one low-rise and two high-rise buildings. Local government dominates the
northern end of those same streets. The massive old City-County Building fills one square
block. To the west, on Wells Street and along the river on Wacker Drive, there are dingy
warehouses and store buildings. |
Photo of a street under the "L"
tracks circa 1920's
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Downtown Chicago is recognized worldwide as
an outdoor museum of the history of commercial architecture. Several three- and four-story
buildings survive from the rebuilding that followed the Great Fire of 1871. Most of that
generation of buildings were replaced from 1885 to 1915 by the first wave of skyscrapers,
a word coined in Chicago. Besides the passenger elevator, two inventions made the
construction of tall buildings possible. One was a new system of building foundations to
carry the extreme weight. The other was a steel skeleton frame, which distributed the
weight of the building throughout its framework rather than forcing the outside walls to
bear it. The southern end of Dearborn Street contains an interesting cluster of these
early office towers. During the years following World War I, architects strove to
make their buildings more sleek and modern looking.
The physical development of the rest of Chicago is characterized by the
interplay of two patterns of land use. One is the ribbon like sector. This grew out of the
fact that Chicago's industrial development was influenced by the need for transportation.
The web of rail lines spreading outward from downtown and the branches of the Chicago
River both created wide ribbons of factories extending from the inner city to the borders.
The South Branch of the Chicago River with its system of canals
and
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Photo of an Art Deco Skyscraper at night,
Dowtown Chicago circa late 1920's.
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railways, attracted a heavy concentration of industry at the southwest corner of the
city. Meanwhile, Lake Michigan views encouraged a ribbon of high-priced housing near its
shores. The construction of elevated transit lines between 1892 and 1915 generated more
concentrated zones of apartments.
This linear pattern of development is superimposed over a second one of concentric rings
like those of a bull's-eye target. Here, changes vary with the distance from downtown. On
three edges of the Loop are run-down districts. Beyond that is a concentric zone of
working-class housing, some of it renovated on the North Side, followed by a gradual
enlargement of apartments and houses nearer the outer border of the city.
Many of Chicago's fringe areas closely resemble the older suburbs across
the border, especially Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, Cicero, and Blue Island. Beyond this
inner ring of suburbs is another interplay of ribbons and rings of development. This is
because early suburban settlement clung to the commuter rail lines, creating rows of towns
that fanned out from Chicago like the fingers of a hand.
No matter where they live, Chicagoans talk constantly about the weather, which is known
for its dramatic changes. The January mean temperature is 26.8 degrees F (-2.9 degrees C),
a sharp contrast with the 74.8 degrees F (23.8 degrees C) July mean, and much of the 33.17
inches (84.3 centimeters) of annual precipitation may be either rain or snow with little
warning. Lake Michigan and its winds provide much of the unpredictability as well as a
moderating influence on temperatures. At lakeside it can be as much as 10 degrees F cooler
in summer and 10 degrees F warmer in winter than the official reading. This is because
Lake Michigan water temperatures fluctuate much less than those on land and affect the
nearby environment.
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Photo of the "L" and the Loop
circa 1920's
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Yachts outside the Marina on Lake Michigan - City Skyline circa 1927
in the background.
Photo of a street under the "L" tracks circa the 1920's |
North Side
- Click here for a map of
the North Side!
The North Side is a predominantly wealthier area than the West Side.
However, it does have several Irish slums on its western borders which have become bases
of operations for the Irish Mob headed by Bugs Moran. The Moran or North Side Gang has at
least one speakeasy that is popular among the more high brow Chicagoans. On its most
western borders, lies Lincoln Park. This huge expanse
of rolling lawns and winding paths also is home to Lincoln Park Zoo. North of Lincoln
Park is the Lake Shore Drive area, which has several
exclusive clubs and residences. A bit east of Lake Shore
Drive and to the far north of the suburbs, is Evanston, which is another exclusive
neighborhood for Chicago's elite. |
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The Irish areas are bawdy rough places that are rife with crime from drifters, con
artists, and other seedy types. However the community is closely knit and their is a
high morale about the impoverished since the new trend in stock speculation have allowed
these lower middle class and poor families afford more than they could have a generation
before.
Lake Shore Drive and the surrounding
area is known as the Gold Coast for its spectacular estates and view of Lake Michigan.
Many fine examples of architecture from before the fire of 1871 still exist.
On the Southern most section of the stretch of Lake
Shore Drive ending just on the north bank of the mouth of the Chicago River, sits rows
newly built high rise apartments with spectacular view of the Loop and Lake Michigan.
Here is where the elite of Chicago both old money and new gather for spectacular
events whose luxuries would truly boggle the mind. The wealthy enjoy a Fitzgeraldian
lifestyle that would rival the Great Gatsby himself. North Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile has a picturesque boulevard of exclusive
shops and restaurants and is the area's main shopping district.
Click here for a map of the Gold Coast! |
West Side
- Click
here for a map of the West Side!
The West Side is predominantly inhabited by Italian immigrants and is
working class. In this closely knit community, many of Chicago's Mafioso got their
start including Al Capone, John Torrio, and Bruno Grazianni. There are neighborhood shops,
restaurants, outdoor markets and a few speakeasies run by the Capone family and the
Chicago Outfit. Now, with Capone moved into better neighborhoods the area is
somewhat neglected and is regarded at the "old
neighborhood" among the mob members.
South Side
- Click here for a map of the South Side!
The South Side is an immigrant neighborhood made up of Eastern
Europeans, Irish, African Americans, Italians, and Jews. The area is home to the many
stockyards and slaughterhouses that comprise one of Chicago's major industries. The
biggest stockyard, The Union Stockyards, is in the Bridgeport neighborhood. Cattle are driven through the streets
off ships and trains and led here to be slaughtered.
The South Side has many facets, while it is comprised off a large
industrial area to its northwestern border, its Easter boundaries contain many quiet and
more exclusive areas along Lake Michigan. The southeastern region is a slum inhabited primarily of African Americans.
Chinatown is located on the Near South Side
just east of Bridgeport. Living conditions are poor,
like many of the other ethnic neighborhoods. Often times two or more extended
families live in one small apartment. Many sweatshops, textile, and import export
businesses thrive on the cheap labor. Still, Chinatown
offers much mystery to the Western eye as many of the Oriental customs are alien.
Directly to the South of it is Chicago's largest Red Light District located on South State Street.
South of Chinatown, is the University of Chicago, Washington
and Jackson Parks. This area offers little night life
except for that which involves the University students. |
South Side of Chicago Bird's Eye View, Jeffries
Steel and Ore Docks - South Branch of the Chicago River - Shipping Canals.
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