Tiered streets
Downtown
Chicago, Illinois
, has some double-decked and a few triple-decked streets immediately north and south of the Main Branch and immediately east of the South Branch of the
Chicago River
. The most famous and longest of these is
Wacker Drive
, which replaced the South Water Street Market upon its 1926 completion.
[1]
The resulting bi-level street has an upper-level riverfront boulevard, a lower-level roadway for commercial and through traffic, and a recreational walkway at water level.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The multilevel configuration arose from geography and
traffic
patterns in
the Loop
. In most other parts of the rest of the city near the Chicago River, only major streets crossed the river. However, most downtown streets crossed the river, and all of these crossings were
bascule bridges
, which required
height clearances
at the approaches to and over the river. Clearances were further necessitated due to the presence of many existing
railroad tracks
along the river (as in the west bank of the south branch) and tracks that ended at the river (such as the tracks ending at
Randolph Street
).
[3]
Thus, a clearance zone was created along the river at locations that contained many closely spaced crossings. Many double-decked or triple-decked streets were created because they fell within this clearance zone.
This also created an anomaly not only in the layout and uses of streets, but also planning of buildings. Generally, the upper levels of the multi-level streets usually serve local traffic. The primary entrances of buildings are usually located on this level. The lower levels generally serve through-traffic and trucks serving businesses along the roads. This level houses the receiving/shipping entrances to the buildings on these streets. As a result, loading docks at street level are noticeably absent.
The first raising occurred from 1855 to 1858, when streets and buildings
were raised
between four and seven feet above their former elevation, just a few feet above
lake
level, where they were constantly muddy. The higher elevation allowed for
sewers
and proper
drainage
.
[4]
However, this did not produce any two-level streets; the first of those was
Michigan Avenue
in the late 1910s. When the
Illinois Center
development was built on the east side of downtown, a new upper level was built, making most streets in that area three levels.
After about 1890,
special interest groups
, including recreational bicyclists, farmers delivering harvested crops to market, and motorists, began to mount support for
concrete paving
to replace the previously common
dirt roads
. Public road planning in Chicago began in 1910 when the
Chicago Plan Commission
was created to implement
Daniel Burnham
and
Edward Bennett's
plan.
[5]
The double-decked portion of
Wabash Avenue
north of the Chicago River was built in 1930, in conjunction with the single-level
Wabash Avenue Bridge
. On January 3, 2005, the upper and lower levels were closed at
Kinzie Street
for reconstruction (in conjunction with the
Trump Tower Chicago
development) but have since been reopened.
The city's famed
Billy Goat Tavern
, immortalized by
John Belushi
in a
Saturday Night Live
sketch as the
Olympia Cafe
,
[6]
is located on the lower level of Michigan Avenue.
List of streets
[
edit
]
The following streets have double- or triple-decker sections:
The
McCormick Place Busway
connects the southerly convention center to the northerly lower level street grid.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Wacker Drive, c.1930"
.
The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago
. Chicago Historical Society. 2005
. Retrieved
August 2,
2007
.
- ^
"Wacker Drive, 2004"
.
The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago
. Chicago Historical Society. 2005
. Retrieved
August 2,
2007
.
- ^
"View Eastward along Chicago River, toward Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue, 1931"
.
The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago
. Chicago Historical Society. 2005
. Retrieved
August 2,
2007
.
- ^
"Street Grades, Raising"
. Encyclopaedia of Chicago
. Retrieved
February 20,
2008
.
- ^
"Streets and Highways"
.
The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago
. Chicago Historical Society. 2005
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
"Billy Goat Tavern"
.
Frommers.com
. Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2007
. Retrieved
August 2,
2007
.
External links
[
edit
]
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