Division Street (Chicago)
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Division Street is a major east-west street in
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, located at 1200 North (one and a half miles north of Madison Street). Division Street begins in the Gold Coast neighborhood near
Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive; also known as DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the Outer Drive, the Drive, LSD or DLSD) is a semi-limited access Limited-access highway, expressway that runs alongside the sh ...
, passes through Polonia Triangle at Milwaukee Avenue into Wicker Park and continues to Chicago's city limits and into the city's western suburbs. Once known as "Polish Broadway" during the heyday of
Polish Downtown Polish Downtown was Chicago's oldest and most prominent Polish settlement. Polish Downtown was the political, cultural and social capital of Poles in Chicago and of other Polish Americans throughout North America. Centered on Polonia Triangle ...
, Division Street was the favorite street of author
Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham; March 28, 1909 – May 9, 1981) was an American writer. His 1949 novel '' The Man with the Golden Arm'' won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name. Algren articulate ...
.
fountain dedicated in his name
was installed in what had been the area that figured as the inspiration for much of his work. Division Street once served as one of Chicago's main and hippest club strips, with bars and clubs lining much of the street from State Street west to
Dearborn Street Dearborn Street is a street in Chicago, where it is 36 W in its grid system. It is the street immediately to the west of State Street, the city's north–south baseline. Dearborn Street appears on James Thompson's 1830 plat of Chicago, and w ...
. Today, the street serves as the Near North Side's second major nightlife hub, second only to the upscale River North entertainment district, located north and east of 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). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...
, and west of the famed Michigan Avenue shopping district and south of Chicago Avenue, focusing on Hubbard Street as the epicenter. The Division Street bars and clubs stay open very late, with most closing 4 o'clock or 5 o'clock in the morning. The street is usually very crowded and busy, and after 3 AM, Chicago police usually block off the street to vehicular traffic due to the heavy pedestrian presence. Further to the west, Division serves areas of the city that are not as economically vibrant, including for many years the Cabrini-Green public housing development, continuing a pattern of
social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...
division noted by author
Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1985 for ''The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral histor ...
in his book, '' Division Street: America''. Division Street has a Red Line stop at Clark/Division. Division Street is also served by the Division/Milwaukee stop on the Blue Line at Polonia Triangle. On the north side of this street, two doors to the east of Dearborn Street, is the bar called " Mother's" which gained some prominence as a result of the 1986 film, '' About Last Night...''. The film was based on the 1974 play, ''
Sexual Perversity in Chicago ''Sexual Perversity in Chicago'' is a play written by David Mamet that examines the sex lives of two men and two women in the 1970s. The play is filled with profanity and regional jargon that reflects the working-class language of Chicago. The ...
'', by
David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
, which was set in the subculture to be found in the intersecting Rush Street and Division Street bars, at the time. It focused on a group of characters who frequented the bar in question, portraying the corrosive effects of the subculture on relations within The exterior shots were of the real bar, though the interior shots were done elsewhere. Mother's is located in a basement, with many support pillars through its unusually-shaped space, due to the proximity of the tunnel for the Red Line train and its air intake shafts. Farther west, around Damen Avenue (2000 W), are a number of upscale restaurants, shops, and bars. This is one of the trendiest strips in the city. These are popular in the
gentrify Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...
ing neighborhoods of Wicker Park, East Village, Ukrainian Village and Pulaski Park. This neighborhood figured prominently in the 1977 film, '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar''. ''
Paseo Boricua ''Paseo Boricua'' (loosely translated as " Boricua (Puerto Rican) Promenade") is a section of Division Street in the Humboldt Park community of the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on Division Street, which is between Western an ...
'' (loosely translated as " Boricua Promenade") is located further west along Division Street between Western Avenue and California Avenue, in the neighborhood of Humboldt Park. The strip is flanked on both sides by Puerto Rican flags made of
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
. Dedicated to Puerto Rican pride, this part of the street includes a "walk of fame", with the names of many outstanding Puerto Ricans. ''Paseo Boricua'' is the political and cultural capital of the Puerto Rican community in the Midwest and, some say, in the
Puerto Rican Diaspora Stateside Puerto Ricans (), also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans (, ), or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who reside in the mainland United States. Pursuant to the Jones–Shafroth Act, all Puerto Ricans bor ...
. In June 2024, the part of the Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago known as Puerto Rico Town or Paseo Boricua officially changed its name to Barrio Borikén. The
Horween Leather Company Horween Leather Company is an American company specializing in the manufacturing and refining of leather and related products. It is one of the oldest continuously running tanneries in the United States. Since its founding in the early 20th cent ...
, founded as I. Horween and Co. in 1905, was originally located on Division Street. The company moved in 1927 to North Elston Avenue. File:Division Street Bath (Chicago).jpg, Division Street Russian and Turkish Baths Image:Humboldt Park Stables and Receptory.jpg, Humboldt Park Stables and Receptory


Transportation

Division Street is primarily served by the 70 Division bus of the CTA between
Dearborn Street Dearborn Street is a street in Chicago, where it is 36 W in its grid system. It is the street immediately to the west of State Street, the city's north–south baseline. Dearborn Street appears on James Thompson's 1830 plat of Chicago, and w ...
and Austin Avenue. The Red Line and Blue Line also have a station at Clark Street and Milwaukee Avenue respectively.


Major intersections


See also

* Division Street Russian and Turkish Baths


References


External links


New York Times: On the Old 'Polish Broadway,' Boutiques and Spas ArriveDavid Mamet Society – Sexual Perversity in Chicago
{{coord, 41, 54, 11.5, N, 87, 40, 35.4, W, region:US-IL_type:landmark, display=title Polish-American culture in Chicago Puerto Rican culture in Chicago Streets in Chicago