Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Located north of the Chicago River, it is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan Avenue on the west, and Lake Michigan on the north and east. The tourist attraction of Navy Pier and Ohio Street Beach extend out into the lake from southern Streeterville.[
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Named for George Streeter, the neighborhood contains a combination of hotels, restaurants, professional office centers, residential high rises, universities, medical facilities, and cultural venues.[ The neighborhood had earlier experienced booms following World War I and World War II.][
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History
Before the American settlement of the Chicago area, the lake shoreline fluctuated from year to year as storm waves Erosion parts of the shore and built up the shore elsewhere.[
In the late 1880s, George Streeter claimed that his newly acquired boat struck a sandbar just off the Chicago shoreline during a storm.][Salzmann, Joshua, Journal of Illinois History, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Autumn 2006, pg.201 Vol. 9 Number 3] Landfill dumped in an effort to create land on which to build Lake Shore Drive by the Lincoln Park Board created of new land along the lake front, which Streeter attempted to claim. Streeter claimed that this newly created land was his and that it was an independent territory which he called the District of Lake Michigan.
For the next few decades, Streeter persisted in his claims, sometimes supporting them through criminal means.[Clash in Streeter Trial, The Chicago Tribune, page 7 column 3, July 10, 1902] Streeter was also motivated by the profit he gained by selling and taxing the land he claimed.[True Bills for Capt. Streeter, The Chicago Tribune, page 3 column 1, February 1, 1902][George Wellington Streeter, District of Lake Michigan Title Acquisition and Special Assessment Rocords, 1899 to 1902, 2 volumes, George Wellington Streeter Papers, Chicago History Museum]
The local press became enamored with the story of Streeter's brash personality and his self-proclaimed district.[ Mayor William Hale Thompson tried to eviction the Streeters for selling liquor,][ In 1918, the courts ruled against his claim of sovereignty.][ Today, the district is home to some of the most expensive real estate in Chicago.]
The 1920 opening of the Michigan Avenue Bridge, which was part of the efforts to enact the Burnham Plan of 1909, as well as the economic boom of the 1920s,[ brought wealth to the eastern sector of the Near North Side and paved the way for a luxury shopping district on North Michigan Avenue. Investors built high-rise apartment buildings such as those in the East Lake Shore Drive Historic District, and elaborate hotels.][ The Bridge connected to a North Michigan avenue that served as a replacement for the former Pine Street which hosted warehouses and factory buildings near the river, and large mansions and rowhouses in northward sections in the neighborhoods of McCormickville and Streeterville.][
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A post-World War II construction surge occurred in the area,[ and in the 1950s the city pursued a plan of urban renewal. A local real estate developer named Arthur Rubloff led the revitalization of North Michigan Avenue under the banner of “The Magnificent Mile”. The success of this effort spurred the erection of more high-rise apartments and new investment in the Near North Side.][ This development led to the "canyonization" of Michigan Avenue, where the buildings on both sides of the street tower above, creating an "urban canyon".
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Today
While Streeterville is generally bounded on the west by the Magnificent Mile, the city of Chicago and the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, claim the boundary extends one block further to the west to Rush Street.
Although its main campus is in Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University has its Chicago campus here. The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is on the Chicago campus and is adjacent to several closely affiliated hospitals, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, the Prentice Women's Hospital, and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The Prentice Women's Hospital opened in October 2007, and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago opened in June 2012.[ The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is located in Streeterville and construction of a replacement facility, also in Streeterville, was begun in 2013. The Northwestern University School of Professional Studies and part of its Kellogg School of Management are nearby. The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is at Chicago Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, adjacent to Lake Shore Park and Lake Michigan. In the western end of the park is the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. The downtown campus of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business has a Chicago River setting to the south.][ The east side of the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan Avenue is part of Streeterville, as are Navy Pier, the most visited attraction in Chicago, and the John Hancock Observatory, the eighth-most visited attraction in Chicago.][
In 2007, construction started on what would have been Chicago's tallest skyscraper, the Chicago Spire.]
In the early 21st century, much of the southern part of the neighborhood that had previously contained warehouses and empty lots has undergone development,[ including the River East Center east of Columbus Drive.][ South Streeterville currently has numerous skyscrapers that are either proposed or already under construction such as a new tower at InterContinental Chicago and 500 North Lake Shore.]
Streeterville hosts several landmarks and places that have been designated as historic districts. The East Lake Shore Drive Historic District, which consists of a row of early 20th century luxury apartments, sits on the northern edge of the district opposite Lake Michigan.[Wagner, Robert. (February 3, 1978) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Michigan–Wacker Historic District , National Park Service, p.11]
The neighborhood hosts several individual landmarks. The neighborhood hosts a National Historic Landmark, the
Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Homesite, the home of the first non-Native, husband of a Native woman, in Chicago. Properties in the neighborhood listed in the National Register of Historic Places include 257 East Delaware, the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments, the Drake Hotel, the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, the Navy Pier and the Palmolive Building. Other Chicago Landmarks in the neighborhood include Allerton Hotel, McGraw-Hill Building, Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton Office and Studio, Tribune Tower, and the Woman's Athletic Club. Notable buildings in the district include the skyscrapers on the Magnificent Mile:
- John Hancock Center ()
- 900 North Michigan ()
- Water Tower Place ()
- Park Tower ()
- Olympia Centre ()
- One Magnificent Mile ()
- Chicago Place ()
- Palmolive Building ().
Non-Michigan Avenue skyscrapers in the neighborhood include the following:
- Lake Point Tower ()
- River East Center ()
- North Pier Apartments ()
- Onterie Center ()
- Elysées Condominiums ()
- 401 East Ontario ()
- The Streeter ()
- Streeter Place ()
- 400 East Ohio Street ().
- One Bennett Park (837 feet (255 m))
Some of the notable buildings in the district that have not been designated are Wrigley Building and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
The neighborhood hosts more than 25 hotels, including the only three five star hotels in the Midwestern United States, the Ritz Carlton, The Peninsula Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago as well as the historic Drake Hotel.
Economy
Qatar Airways operates an office in Suite 1310 at the John Hancock Center.[" Chicago ." Qatar Airways. Retrieved on February 9, 2009.]
Playboy Enterprises' offices were on the 15th and 16th floors of 680 N. Lake Shore Drive until 2012.
Several consulates are in Streeterville. Countries with consulates include Bosnia and Herzegovina,[" Consular Information ." Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina Washington, D.C.. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.] Bulgaria,[" Holidays ." Consulate-General of Bulgaria in Chicago. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.] Chile,[" Oficinas Consulares en Estados Unidos ." Embassy of Chile in Washington, D.C. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.] Denmark,[ Home page . Consulate-General of Denmark in Chicago. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.] Greece,[" Contact Us ." Consulate-General of Greece in Chicago. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.] Japan,[ Home Page . Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.] Lithuania,[" Consular Information ." Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C.. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.] and Switzerland.[" Consulate General Chicago ." Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.]
Education
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) operates public schools. Ogden International School serves the community,[" Near North/West/Central Elementary Schools " ( Archive). Chicago Public Schools. May 17, 2013. Retrieved on May 25, 2015.] Streeterville residents are zoned to Wells Community Academy High School.[" HS North/Near North." Chicago Public Schools. 2013. Retrieved on September 30, 2016.] Any graduate from Ogden's 8th grade program may automatically move on to the 9th grade at Ogden, but students who did not graduate from Ogden's middle school must apply to the high school.
Transportation
Streeterville is accessible via Lake Shore Drive with multiple direct exits in both directions.[ In addition, the Chicago 'L' has stops at Chicago and Grand stations on the Red Line, which runs along State Street immediately to the west of the neighborhood. From the Kennedy Expressway the Ohio Street exit feeds into Streeterville.][ Numerous Chicago Transit Authority bus routes run within the neighborhood, notably along Michigan Avenue, Grand Avenue, and Chicago Avenue.]
Healthcare
The Streeterville neighborhood also contains many healthcare facilities that are based around the Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Feinberg's main hospital is the Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a variety of specialty hospitals also in the neighborhood including the Prentice Women's Hospital, Lurie Children's Hospital, and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
See also
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Centennial Fountain
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List of tallest buildings in Chicago
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Cap Streeter
Notes
External links
