Prairie Avenue
Prairie Avenue is a north–south street on the South Side of Chicago. It historically extended from 16th Street in the Near South Side to the city’s southern limits and beyond. The street has a rich history from its origins as a major trail for horseback riders and carriages. Several of Chicago’s most important historical figures have lived on the street.
About Prairie Avenue in brief
Prairie Avenue is a north–south street on the South Side of Chicago. It historically extended from 16th Street in the Near South Side to the city’s southern limits and beyond. The street has a rich history from its origins as a major trail for horseback riders and carriages. Several of Chicago’s most important historical figures have lived on the street. In the early 21st century, parts of the street were redeveloped to host townhouses and condominiums. Now, the historic northern section of the road is part of the Chicago Landmark Prairie Avenue District that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district includes the 1800 and 1900-blocks of South Prairie, the block of South Branch of the South Branch, and 211 through 217 East Cullerton. In 1812, the Battle of Fort Dearborn occurred in the area that is now the northern section. Casualties of the battle, such as William Wells and George Ronan, were struck down here. By 1886, the finest mansions in the city, each equipped with its own carriage house, stood on Prairie Avenue. By 1911, warehouses and factories cramped the prairie Avenue District. By 1950, large industry overtook the district by 1950. Early 21st Century deindustrialisation, urban congestion, and historic preservation have brought the return of trendy buildings, and restored as well as renovated structures. Simultaneously new infill housing is resuscitating the district. The redevelopment extended the street so that it has prominent buildings bordering Grant Park with Prairie Avenue addresses.
It was added to the National register of historic Places on November 15, 1972 and declared a Chicago Landmarks on December 27, 1979. In 1870, Daniel Thompson erected the first large upper-Prairies Avenue home on Chicago’s South Michigan River. Many elegant villas were destroyed by the time of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Many of the leading architects of the day, such. Richard Morris Hunt, Henry Hobson Richardson and Daniel Burnham designed mansions on the road. In 1880s and 1890s, mansions for George Pullman, Marshall Field, John J. Glessner and Philip Armour anchored a neighborhood of over fifty mansions known as “Millionaire’s Row”. At the time, guidebooks described the street as “the most expensive street west of Fifth Avenue”. In the late 20th century and early 21th century the street was extended north to accommodate new high-rise Condominiums, suchas One Museum Park, along Roosevelt Road. The importance of theStreet declined, but it still has landmark buildings and is the backbone of a historic district. After the Civil War, the business district began to supplant the elegant residences along Michigan and Wabash Avenues south of Jackson Boulevard. Shortly after the civil war, the wealthy residents settled on the city’s south of the Jackson Boulevard south of South Jackson. They have influenced the evolution of the city and have played prominent national and international roles.
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This page is based on the article Prairie Avenue published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 02, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
