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Rush Street (Chicago)

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Rush Street Bridge (1890)
Location
Major citiesChicago

Rush Street is a northbound one-way street in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It runs northbound from 401 North and 65 East to 1138 North and 0 E in the Chicago street address system, making it slightly less than a mile long.[1] It runs parallel to and one block west of the Magnificent Mile on the two-way traffic street North Michigan Avenue, which runs at 100 east up to 950 north.[2] The street, which is also one block east of the one-way southbound Wabash Avenue, formerly ran slightly further south to the Chicago River where over time various bridges connected it to the Loop. The street is currently known for its nightlife, especially at the northern end, but was an integral part of the city as a main river crossing at the southern end from the mid-1800s until the 1920s. However, the Michigan Avenue Bridge has taken over this role for this neighborhood.

Background

Dr. Benjamin Rush by Charles Willson Peale, 1783

The street was named after Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the four physician signators of the Declaration of Independence. It is one of several places named after Dr. Rush in Chicago; other such places are Rush Medical College and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center.[1]

As part of the original incorporated city of Chicago in 1837,[3] Rush Street is one of the city's oldest thoroughfares.[4] Early Rush Street was a commonly agreed desirable place of residence and hosted the first house designed by an architect in Chicago (designed for the first Mayor of Chicago William Ogden by J.M. Van Osdel).[4] The house was bounded by Erie, Ontario, Rush and Cass (now Wabash Avenue) Streets, but did not survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. After the Great Chicago Fire, the Near North Side became a refuge for many due to its wide streets, high ground, good drainage, proximity to both the Lake Michigan lakeshore and Lincoln Park. In fact, Cyrus McCormick built a mansion at 675 Rush Street between 1875 and 1879.[5] The mansion, located at the corner of Rush and Erie, lured so many relatives to move nearby that the neighborhood became known as "McCormickville" by the 1880s.[6][7] The street subsequently hosted some of the most elite Chicago socialites.[7]

In the 1950's, the Chicago City Council began to use the Uniform Vehicle Code of 1931 to fight traffic congestion by creating one-way streets. This was most effectively used in the Loop and Near North Side community areas.[8] Rush Street and most of the neighboring Near North Side streets remain one-way today. Rush Street runs northbound.[9]

Commerce

Gibson's Steakhouse is among the favorite restaurants in the area, according to the Zagats Chicago restaurant guide.

In the 1960s, Rush Street was the center of the Chicago nightlife as home to many great caberets, bars, clubs and restaurants. However, many of the bars migrated north to Division Street as the street gentrified.[10] Rush street still has a reputation for its singles bars, although its glory days have passed. Currently, the late night establishments mostly lure suburbanites, tourists, and young partygoers.[11] Some still refer to it as the "hippest strip" in Chicago, with specific kudos to the part between Oak Street and Chicago Avenue.[12] It continues to be the destination where visiting conventioners in pursuit of Chicago nightlife are brought by taxi as well as a preferred place for thirtysomething singles to congregate at night, especially in the summer.[13][14] Although Rush Street ends two block south of Division Street, the nightlife ambiance now continues to Division and spreads west from there.

Among the most prominent businesses along this strip is the Bentley and Lamborghini Gold Coast showroom.[12] Also located on Rush Street is Gibson's Steakhouse, one of the favorite restaurants in Chicago.[15] Rush Street's southern terminus is adjacent to a rear entrance of the Wrigley Building as well as the Trump International Hotel and Tower which has a 401 North Wabash address.[16] Rush Street is known for contributing quality dining experiences to the few restaurants in the Chicago Gold Coast neighborhood.[13]

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is adjacent to the foot of Rush Street (2007-09-14)

Geography

Rush Street runs partly north-south and partly in a north-northwest direction (see map in external links). It runs north-south at 65 east from 401 south at Kinzie to 800 north at Chicago Avenue between Michigan Avenue to the east at 100 east and Wabash Avenue to the west at 44 east. On the north side of Chicago it runs straight on a slight diagonal to the street grid. By the time it travels three blocks north to Delaware Place at 900 north, it intersects Wabash.[17] It then continues on a diagonal for four more blocks where it intersects the north-south running State Street (the centerline between east and west)[18] at Cedar Street which runs at 1120 north.[19]

Bridge

Wrigley Building with the Rush Street Bridge (1921).

The main stem of the Chicago River has been crossed by four bridges at Rush Street. The first bridge was a floating bridge that was hinged to one bank. Ropes were used to open and close this bridge.[20] A March 1849 ice storm was the first of two instances in which all bridges on the main stem of the Chicago River were destroyed overnight. An iron and timber swing bridge with center supports was built in 1857 at a cost of $48,000. The bridge stood until, on November 3 1863, a passing ship's whistle spooked a herd of cattle that were crowding the bridge and stampeded into the river.[21] The bridge was repaired and still in use on October 8 1871 when it was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. In 1872 the Detroit Bridge and Iron Works company built a wrought-iron replacement that stood until 1883, when a barge struck and collapsed the bridge.[20] It was replaced by another swing bridge that lasted for several decades until after the Michigan Avenue Bridge was built in 1920.[21] This final 1884 bridge had trusses measuring Template:Ft to m in the center and Template:Ft to m on the ends. Its deck used 4-inch white pine planks.[20]

1926 views showing the absence of the Rush Street Bridge and presence of Michigan Avenue Bridge built in 1920

Prior to the Michigan Avenue bridge (pictured left), vehicular traffic crossed the river at Rush and traveled up to Ontario Street before heading east to Pine Street (now North Michigan Avenue after mulitple renamings).[22] There were several plans starting in the 1880s for improving Michigan Avenue that involved Rush Street, but nothing came of any of them.[23] The final Rush Street Bridge was not designed for automobile traffic, which caused congestion on the south bank of the River where both Michigan and Wabash fed onto River Street (now Wacker Drive). In May 1904, the Chicago Tribune declared that the Template:Ft to m wide Rush Street Bridge, which handled approximately 50% of the north-south traffic in the city, was unfit for the contemporary pedestrian and vehicular traffic.[24] Thus Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago called for the replacement of the bridge with a new bridge at Michigan Avenue and the redevelopment of Wacker Drive. The bridge was quickly removed after the completion of the new Michigan Avenue Bridge.[25]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, Streetwise Chicago, "Rush Street", p. 112., Loyola University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8294-0597-6
  2. ^ Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, Streetwise Chicago, "Michigan Avenue/Michigan Avenue (Pvt.)", p. 87., Loyola University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8294-0597-6
  3. ^ Chicago Fact Book Consortium (ed.), "Local Community Fact Book Chicago Metropolitan Area 1990," p. 57, 1995, ISBN 0-914091-60-3.
  4. ^ a b Clark, p. 3
  5. ^ Clark, p. 8
  6. ^ Stamper, p. xix.
  7. ^ a b Clark, p. 6
  8. ^ Miller, Christopher (2005). "Streets, One-Way". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  9. ^ "700 N Rush St". Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  10. ^ Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Chicago (sixth edition), 2007, p. 167, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NJ, ISBN 0-470-04079-3.
  11. ^ "Chicago: The Lounge & Bar Scene". Frommer's. Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  12. ^ a b Thomas, Mike. "Rush Street". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times News Group. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  13. ^ a b Dale, Alzina Stone, Mystery Reader's Walking Guide: Chicago, "Gold Coast Walk," pp. 173-6., Passport Books, 1995, ISBN 0-8442-9607-4.
  14. ^ McHugh, Rich (eds. J.P. Anderson and Carolin Lascom), The Rough Guide to Chicago (second edition), 2006, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-615-3.
  15. ^ "ZAGAT CHICAGO". Zagat Survey, LLC. 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  16. ^ Clark, p. 11
  17. ^ Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, Streetwise Chicago, "Delaware Place", p. 31., Loyola University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8294-0597-6
  18. ^ Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, Streetwise Chicago, "State Street", p. 120., Loyola University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8294-0597-6
  19. ^ Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, Streetwise Chicago, "Cedar Street", p. 21., Loyola University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8294-0597-6
  20. ^ a b c Stamper, p. 243.
  21. ^ a b "City of Bridges: Rush Street Bridges (page 1)". Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  22. ^ Clark, p. 4
  23. ^ Stamper, p. 2.
  24. ^ Stamper, pp. 3-4.
  25. ^ "City of Bridges: Rush Street Bridges (page 2)". Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-12.

References

  • Stamper, John W., "Chicago's North Michigan Avenue: Planning and Development, 1900-1930," University of Chicago Press, 1991, ISBN 0-226-77085-0.
  • Clark, Herma, "Let's Walk Along Rush Street," Tribune Company, 1952.
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