Hubbard Street

Hubbard Street is a road in Chicago, Illinois named for early settler Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard. Where Hubbard Street passes over the Kennedy Expressway, the Expressway enters a tunnel made up of surface streets known colloquially as "Hubbard's Cave." Hubbard Street has three distinct sections. The first, east of the Chicago River, runs from Kingsbury Street to Michigan Avenue. The second, longer section runs from Des Plaines Street west to Campbell Avenue (2500 W) The third and shortest section is a 3-block stretch from Kilpatrick Avenue (4700 W) to Lavergne Avenue (5000 W) where it ends at the Hubbard Playlot Park. Notable buildings on this street include Courthouse Place at 54 W. Hubbard.

Hubbard Street Murals

Running along the south side of Hubbard Street, from Ogden Avenue to Des Plaines Street, is the artwork of the Hubbard Street Mural Project.^[1] The murals are painted on the walls of the Metra tracks embankment. Originally begun in the 1970s, the murals have been in the process of restoration or replacement as the Union Pacific Railroad has been making repairs to the concrete structure.

Streetscape

The Merchandise Mart stands on the south side of the street between Franklin Street and Orleans Street, and several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places stand on the street including Courthouse Place.

Transit

At the intersection of Hubbard and N Artesian Avenue is the Western Avenue station for Metra's Milwaukee District North (MD-N), Milwaukee District West (MD-W), and North Central Service (NCS) lines.^[2] Metra does not currently maintain an agent at this station and the waiting room is open from 4:00 am to 7:00 pm. Located nearby are the 33 Magnificent Mile Express, 49 Western Avenue, and 65 Grand Avenue buses for the Chicago Transit Authority.

There is also access to the Merchandise Mart Brown and Purple Line 'L' station on Wells Street just south of Hubbard.

Hubbard Playlot Park

Hubbard Park is one of many playgrounds established by the City of Chicago after World War II. By 1950, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had developed this playlot on property owned by the Board of Education in the Austin community. Several years later, the bureau added a basketball court to the original sandbox, spraypool, and playground equipment. The property was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1959. The park district installed a new soft surface playground in 1989, and purchased the property from the Board of Education the following year.^[3]

In popular culture

• The Hubbard Street Dance Chicago company is named for this street.
• The Billy Goat Tavern, made famous in a Saturday Night Live skit, is located on Hubbard Street at the intersection with lower Michigan Avenue.
• Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's hit play "The Front Page" was set in the Chicago Criminal Courts Building on 54 West Hubbard Street.

References

Sources

• Streetwise Chicago by Don Hayner & Tom McNamee ISBN 0-8294-0596-8

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