Forward - City of Chicago

CHICaGo TImelIne
1673
Explorers Marquette and Joliet learn about a
shortcut back to Lake Michigan: a grassy
portage to the Chicago River.
1785
The Federal Land Ordinance of 1785
establishes a square-mile grid system for
land in the new Midwest. Chicago’s major
streets later develop on the lines of this
grid.
1795
The U.S. acquires land at the mouth
of the Chicago River to control
access to the Great Lakes, building
Fort Dearborn eight years later.
1837
City of Chicago Incorporated on March 4.
1848
The Illinois and Michigan
Canal opens; connecting the
Great Lakes and the Mississippi
River makes Chicago a
hub for shipping and
commerce. Also, the first
locomotive of the Galena and
Chicago Union Railroad
reaches Chicago.
1902
The “20th Century Limited”
train begins 65 years of
express passenger service
to New York. Its boarding
process inspired the phrase
“getting the red carpet
treatment” and its iconic Art
Deco locomotive from the
1930s was honored on a
1999 postage stamp.
1908
A City Council
ordinance eliminates
duplicate street names
from annexations and
renumbers buildings
into the 800-to-a-mile
system used today. It
also establishes State
and Madison as center
point for directional
designations, lettered
Avenues on the
southeast side and the
alphabeticallygrouped
names for
North-South streets
1910
July 27 an ordinance
requires the Chicago,
Milwaukee, and St. Paul
Railway to elevate its
Bloomingdale Avenue
Tracks to eliminate collisions
with pedestrians and
livestock. A century later,
efforts were underway to
turn the embankment into
the Bloomingdale Trail.
1920
The Michigan
Avenue Bridge
(now the DuSable
Bridge) opens to
traffic; its sidewalk
markers outline the
site of Fort
Dearborn.
1600
1700
1800
1900
1910
1920
1853-1860
Attorney and former congressman Abraham Lincoln
regularly visits the Chicago headquarters of one of his best
clients, the fast-growing Illinois Central Railroad.
1869
City council authorizes the construction of
26 miles of Boulevards.
1892
The first elevated train line begins
operations – still used by the Green line.
1895
Mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn
starts a bicycle manufacturing company,
one of dozens on the West side.
1918
The Hotel LaSalle Parking Garage at 215
W. Washington opens as the first multi-story
parking garage built in the US (and perhaps
the world) and stands until 2005.
1897
The Union Elevated railroad - today
known simply as the Loop,
connects four elevated rail lines.