Look Up, Chicago! A Walking Tour of The Loop (North End)

By Doug Gelbert

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a downloadable walking tour is ready to explore when you are.

Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also includes a quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on American streets.

The Loop, defined by the Chicago River to the west and north, Roosevelt Boulevard to the south and, of course, Lake Michigan to the east, is city's commercial hub (roughly some 16,000 of Chicago's nearly three million residents live here). It is the second largest central business district in the country, housing the world's biggest commodities market.

The Loop initially took its name from the circuitous route 19th century streetcars took but later became defined by the elevated train tracks that lead here from every part of the city. The Loop has always been dominated by high-rises. The first tall building to be supported, both inside and outside, by a fireproof metal frame, the Home Insurance Building, was built here in 1884. Also the first high-rise to be torn down took place in the Loop - in the early 1900s when Marshall Field's was expanding. The tallest building in the United States has been here for almost forty years.

Our walking tour of the northern end of the Loop will take in the theater district, the "cliffs" of Michigan Avenue, Chicago River, City Hall and more but before we descend into the great canyons of Chicago we will start in a treasured open space whose lakefront existence can be attributed to a single man...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug Gelbert
• Release date: Aug 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466164215

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A Walking Tour of Chicago – The Loop (North End)

a walking tour in the Look Up, America series from walkthetown.com

by Doug Gelbert

published by Cruden Bay Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 by Cruden Bay Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.

The Loop, defined by the Chicago River to the west and north, Roosevelt Boulevard to the south and, of course, Lake Michigan to the east, is city’s commercial hub (roughly some 16,000 of Chicago’s nearly three million residents live here). It is the second largest central business district in the country, housing the world’s biggest commodities market.

The Loop initially took its name from the circuitous route 19th century streetcars took but later became defined by the elevated train tracks that lead here from every part of the city. The Loop has always been dominated by high-rises. The first tall building to be supported, both inside and outside, by a fireproof metal frame, the Home Insurance Building, was built here in 1884. Also the first high-rise to be torn down took place in the Loop - in the early 1900s when Marshall Field’s was expanding. The tallest building in the United States has been here for almost forty years.

Our walking tour of the northern end of the Loop will take in the theater district, the cliffs of Michigan Avenue, Chicago River, City Hall and more but before we descend into the great canyons of Chicago we will start in a treasured open space whose lakefront existence can be attributed to a single man...

1.

Grant Park

Original plans drawn for Chciago called for the area between Michigan Avenue and Lake Michigan to remain undeveloped; in 1844 the town officially designated its front yard as Lake Park. In 1901 it would be renamed for Illinois native, triumphant Civil War general and 18th President of the United State, Ulysses S. Grant. By that time legal restrictions on building in the park were being routinely ignored and mail order pioneer Aaron Montgomery Ward personally financed four expensive court battles to rid Grant Park of its buildings and prevent the construction of new ones. The last twenty years of his life were spent preserving the Chicago waterfront as a park for the people. He spent over $200,000 of his own monies to defending the public’s right to open space. Ward’s long-time efforts to prevent the erection of buildings along Lake Michigan won him the title of "The Watch Dog of