Six Corners Explained

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]

In recent years, the name "Six Corners" has also been applied to the intersection of Milwaukee, North, and Damen avenues in the Wicker Park neighborhood, though some believe that the name refers to the Portage Park intersection. [5] [6] [7] Given Chicago's unique rectangular grid street system which is cut by a handful of diagonal streets, numerous intersections within the city contain six corners and therefore the term is sometimes applied in a general sense.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

References

41.9538°N -87.7472°W

Notes and References

  1. Google Maps . Overhead View of Six Corners . 2008-04-03 .
  2. Encyclopedia: Marilyn Elizabeth Perry . Six Corners . Encyclopedia of Chicago . 2005 . 1145 .
  3. Illinois Secretary of State . Federal Township Plats of Illinois . 1821 . Cook County . . 14-43 . 2013-12-02 .
  4. Web site: Economic Restructuring. Six Corners Association. 2 December 2013.
  5. Web site: Sudo. Chuck. Don't Call Wicker Park's Most Famous Intersection 'Six Corners'. chicagoist. 18 April 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150510152322/http://chicagoist.com/2013/05/29/dont_call_wicker_parks_intersection.php. 10 May 2015.
  6. Web site: Cherone. Heather. Hauser. Alisa. Six Corners: Which is the Real One? Portage Park or Wicker Park?. DNAinfo. 18 April 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150420015934/http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130529/portage-park/six-corners-which-is-real-one-portage-park-or-wicker-park. 20 April 2015.
  7. Web site: Bucktown's six corners sees burst of development. 3 August 2011. 28 May 2015.
  8. Web site: Realignment of Dangerous Damen-Elston-Fullerton Intersection Begins. myFOXChicago. 28 May 2015.
  9. Web site: Construction Starts at Six Corners Intersection. 28 May 2015. 28 May 2015.
  10. Web site: Realignment of Dangerous Damen-Elston-Fullerton Intersection Begins. 28 May 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150531001638/http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/29177014/realignment-of-dangerous-damen-elston-fullerton-intersection-begins. 31 May 2015.
  11. Web site: Construction to Begin at Damen-Elston-Fullerton Intersection. 28 May 2015.
  12. Web site: Reconstruction Of Bucktown Six-Corner Intersection Set To Begin. 28 May 2015. 30 May 2015.

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