Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the
U.S. city of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
.
Location
In
Chicago's grid system, Halsted Street marks 800 West, west of
State Street, from Grace Street (3800 N) in
Lakeview south to the city limits at the
Little Calumet River (13000 S) in
West Pullman, a length of 168 north-south Chicago blocks. (From Grace north to Lawrence Avenue (4800 N) in
Uptown
Uptown may refer to:
Neighborhoods or regions in several cities
United States
* Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
* Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...
, 800 W is marked by Clarendon Avenue.)
Environs
North Side
In
Lakeview Halsted passes through Wrigleyville, as intersecting with
Addison Street, it is only two blocks east of
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
home of the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
. Halsted is then lined with restaurants,
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar ( ...
s and
gay bars and clubs as one enters
Boystown, Chicago's main
gay and
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...
, running as far as
Belmont Avenue. This area also contains numerous theaters and comedy clubs. As it continues south past
Diversey (2800 N), it goes past
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...
and through the
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
area, as a primary thoroughfare through the community area. South of
Armitage Avenue, it passes two notable theaters:
Steppenwolf and the Royal George.
Near North
At
North Avenue, Halsted passes Clybourn Avenue, through the
Old Town area. The former site of the
Cabrini–Green housing project is at Halsted and
Division (1200 N) in the
Near North Side neighborhood. Halsted Street has two bridges to mark its passage over
Goose Island; it is one of only two streets to completely traverse this, the
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons fo ...
's only island.
Near West
Continuing south, Halsted soars high above feeder ramps to the
Kennedy Expressway
The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the ...
,
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
and
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
and finally the
Kennedy Expressway
The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the ...
itself to enter the
West Loop. One then passes through Chicago's
Greektown
Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.
History
The oldest Greek dominated neighborhood outside of Greece were probably the Fener in Istanb ...
at Jackson Blvd (300 S). South of a high bridge over the
Eisenhower Expressway, Halsted forms the eastern border of the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
. North of Greektown is the headquarters for
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting Co. is an American television broadcasting company based in Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV (Channel 26), at 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood. It currently owns 25 television ...
(owner of
MeTV) and its local television stations (
WCIU-TV
WCIU-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is the flagship television property of locally based Weigel Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister ...
,
WWME-CD, and
WMEU-CD), which are appropriately addressed at 26 N. Halsted Street, to honor WCIU-TV's channel number.
The Jane Addams
Hull House
Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of the city, Hull House (named after the original house's first owner Ch ...
, America's first settlement house, was located at Polk (800 S) and Halsted. The "Hull House Neighborhood," which was served by the
Jane Addams
Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of s ...
settlement house, consisted of recently arrived immigrants at the turn of the 20th century.
Taylor Street (1000 S) was the port-of-call for Chicago's Italian American immigrants and became known as Chicago's Little Italy. Italians were the only ethnic group that remained after the exodus of Jews, Greeks, Irish, etc. that began shortly before the Great Depression of the 1930s. Greektown and Maxwell Street business establishments continue to exist as remnants of the mass emigration of Southern Europeans, terminated by an act of Congress in 1924.
South of an underpass allowing Halsted to cross the
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
tracks at 16th street, parallel to the
Dan Ryan Expressway
The Dan Ryan Expressway is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near Downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both I-90 and I-94 south to 66th Street, ...
, Halsted grazes the eastern edge of the
Pilsen neighborhood, then crosses the
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons fo ...
's south branch.
South Side
Here Halsted Street enters
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...
, traditionally a working-class
Irish,
Lithuanian and
Italian community, it has been home to five of the city's mayors. Continuing south, Halsted passes between the borders of
Back of the Yards, which lies to the west side of Halsted from 40th to 55th Streets, and
Canaryville, which lies on the east side of Halsted between 40th and 49th Streets. Both Canaryville and Back of the Yards historically housed many
Union Stock Yards
The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...
workers. The Stockyards themselves were located to the west of Halsted between Pershing (39th) and 47th. Further south, Halsted Street passes into
Englewood.
Kennedy-King College has its campus in the heart of Englewood at 63rd Street and Halsted Street. Further south, Halsted intersects with 71st Street, which was honorarily named for
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African Americans, African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a whi ...
, a victim of the violence of white supremacy in the United States. Just south of
95th Street is the
Carter G. Woodson regional branch of the
Chicago Public Library.
Illinois Route 1 begins at Halsted Street's interchange with
Interstate 57 (at 99th Street) on the far south side, and follows Halsted through much of its length through the suburbs.
South Suburbs
Leaving Chicago and entering the village of
Riverdale at the Little Calumet River near 129th St, Route 1 breaks off and is called Chicago Road, then Dixie Highway, ending at the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...
, at the border with the state of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. Halsted Street continues through downtown
Chicago Heights
Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed ...
and crosses the
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 191 ...
. The road continues intermittently and ends, marked as Halstead Street, at 287th street north of
Beecher, Illinois
Beecher is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the old Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad and the Dixie Highway. Situated in the center of Washington Township, it was originally named Washington Center. Named ...
.
Public transportation
Halsted Street is served by major transportation lines. The
Chicago Transit Authority's
Red,
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...
, and
Purple Lines run nearby on the north side. The
Red,
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
,
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
, and
Orange Lines have stations at various points along Halsted Street. These include on the Red Line, and on the Blue Line, on the Green Line, and on the Orange Line. The CTA also provides service on three Halsted routes: the
8 Halsted
between Broadway/Waveland and 79th Street; the
8A South Halsted
between the Red Line station and Halsted/119th (with select trips continuing to 127th/Lowe); and the
108 Halsted/95th
between the Red Line terminal and 127th/Lowe. There is a
Halsted Street station
Halsted Street, also known as Halsted Street/ U.I.C., is a station on Metra's BNSF Line, located in Chicago, Illinois. The station is away from Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a ...
on
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines ...
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
's
BNSF Railway Line; and, the
West Pullman stop on the
Blue Island
Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,55 ...
branch of
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines ...
's
Electric District commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
line is at Halsted and where 121st Street would be.
Pace
Pace or paces may refer to:
Business
*Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US
*Pace Airlines, an American charter airline
* Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...
provides suburban bus service along Halsted Street from the Red Line terminal to the south suburbs. The
352 Halsted
route operates 24/7 between the Red Line terminal and the Pace Harvey Transportation Center in
Harvey, Illinois, with select trips continuing to the Pace Chicago Heights Bus Terminal at Vincennes/16th Street. The
359 Robbins/South Kedzie Avenue
also runs along Halsted between the Red Line terminal and 124th Street before turning west.
Associated persons
Professional wrestlers
One Man Gang
George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, (The) One Man Gang. For two years in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The African Dream". Prior to this, he wa ...
and
Colt Cabana
Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
have been billed from Halsted Street, as well as
Ace Steel
Christopher Guy (born January 25, 1973) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well ...
and
CM Punk
Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known f ...
.
Conrad Friberg, aka C.O. Nelson produced a film in 1934 traveling from the south end of Halsted Street to the North, across Chicago.
Etymology
The street derives its name from William H. and Caleb O. Halsted, Philadelphia bankers who made large investments in Chicago real estate through
William B. Ogden
William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 – August 3, 1877) was an American politician and railroad executive who served as the first Mayor of Chicago. He was referred to as "the Astor of Chicago." He was, at one time, the city's richest citizen. ...
, Chicago's first Mayor. The street ran through their property, and they ceded valuable rights to the city.
Halsted has had several names, originally known as "Egyptian Road" because it led to the
Little Egypt area of Illinois, it was subsequently known as First Street, then Dyer Street, after
Charles Volney Dyer, a prominent Chicago physician and
abolitionist.
[Hayner, Don and McNamee, Tom ''Streetwise Chicago, A History of Chicago Street Names'' Loyola University Press, 1988. ]
See also
*
*
References
External links
Northalsted Merchants AssociationDePaul University - Lincoln Park campusUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoBack of the Yards Neighborhood Council
{{Streets in Chicago
Streets in Chicago