Six Corners

Six Corners intersection

Six Corners is a shopping district in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago's Northwest Side.

History

The area's name is from the intersection of three streets—Irving Park Road, Cicero Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue.[1] Its history as an urban center began in the 1840s, eventually becoming the largest commercial center in Chicago, outside of the Loop.[2] There is evidence that Native Americans used a ridge along Milwaukee Avenue as a campsite,[3] which would have been higher than the generally swampy surrounding land.

Architecture

The area is host to a number of examples of prominent architecture, including the art deco Sears and Klee Buildings, the classical revival Portage Theater and the landmark Peoples Gas Irving Park Neighborhood Store.

Present

Although the shopping district has fallen on hard times in recent years, the area has been slated for redevelopment as an urban pedestrian shopping district with the recent reopening of the Portage Theater, the upcoming construction of several retail-condo buildings and a street beautification project.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Overhead View of Six Corners (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  2. ↑ Marilyn Elizabeth Perry (2005). Encyclopedia of Chicago. p. 1145.
  3. ↑ Federal Township Plats of Illinois (Map). Cook County. Illinois Secretary of State. 1821. p. Jefferson Township. § 14-43. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  4. ↑ "Economic Restructuring". Six Corners Association. Retrieved 2 December 2013.

Coordinates: 41°57′14″N 87°44′50″W / 41.9538°N 87.7472°W