| George R. Clark Street 100 West (in the Loop) | |
 Clark Street at the Roosevelt Road interchange (October 2022) | |
 Interactive map of Clark Street | |
| Location | Cook County, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| South end | Cermak Road (2200 S) |
| North end | Howard Street (7600 N) at theChicago/Evanston border |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | 1830 |
Clark Street is anorth–southstreet inChicago, Illinois, that runs close to the shore ofLake Michigan from the northern city boundary withEvanston, to 2200 South in the citystreet numbering system.[1] At its northern end, Clark Street is at 1800 West; however the street runs diagonally through the Chicago grid for about 8 miles (13 km) toNorth Avenue (1600 N) and then runs at 100 West for the rest of its course south toCermak Road. It is also seen inRiverdale beyond 127th street across theCalumet River, along with other nearby streets that ended just south ofthe Loop. The major length of Clark Street runs a total of 98 blocks.[1]
Clark Street is named forGeorge Rogers Clark, anAmerican Revolutionary War soldier who captured much of theNorthwest Territory from theBritish.[1][2] Within theChicago Loop Clark Street is one of the original streets laid out by James Thompson in his 1830plat of Chicago.[3] North of the Loop, from North Avenue, it roughly follows part of the path of an Indian trail called Green Bay trail (later Green Bay Road) that ran all the way toGreen Bay, Wisconsin.[4]
In the 1950s Clark Street between Ohio and Armitage Streets was a substantial neighborhood barrio home to the first Puerto Ricans in Chicago. It was unofficially known as La Clark by the Puerto Ricans that lived there arriving from the steel mills of Indiana and rural migrant camps. This was primarily during the Great Migration and war effort during and after World War II. They worked at the downtown hotels, the meat packing plants and the nearby factories then located near downtown industrial areas. Many original members of theYoung Lords, a former street gang that transformed into a Latino civil and human rights movement, were sons and daughters of these immigrants and grew up in La Clark. The City of Chicago orchestrated the gentrification of the Old Town and, in turn, the Lincoln Park areas, ultimately leading to the relocation of the Latin community to lower-cost neighborhoods.[5]
The eastern stretch of Clark Street between Winnemac Avenue and Ainslie Avenue was home to many ofChuck Renslow’s businesses, including theGold Coast andMan's Country. On May 25, 2018, theChicago City Council voted to honorarily designate that part of the street as "Chuck Renslow Way."[6]
From the intersection with Ashland Avenue south to Ainslie Street, Clark Street passes through theAndersonville Commercial Historic District.[7]Graceland Cemetery is on the east side of Clark Street from Montrose Avenue to its entrance atIrving Park Road. TheMetro concert hall is located at 3730 North Clark Street, 11⁄2 blocks north ofAddison Street. At the intersection of Clark and Addison isWrigley Field, home of theChicago Cubs baseball team and also occasionally used as a concert venue. Another commercial strip on Clark Street stretches fromDiversey Parkway south to Armitage Avenue. 2122 North Clark Street was the site of theSaint Valentine's Day massacre,[8] although the building no longer stands. Further to the south, Clark Street bordersLincoln Park for 0.6 miles until it reachesNorth Avenue and theChicago History Museum. The street then passes through theNear North Side, where in theRiver North neighborhood it passes theRock N Roll McDonald's. Then it continues over theChicago River at theClark Street Bridge and through the Loop, where it passes theThompson Center and itsMonument with Standing Beast. Clark Street continues between theCity Hall-County Building and theDaley Center and on to its termination atCermak Road.
The CTA's22 Clark bus route offers 24/7 service down Clark Street from Howard Street to Harrison Street; northbound buses travel along Dearborn Street from Polk Street to Walton Street (Washington Square Park). The route also provides connections to the "L" atHoward,Addison,Belmont,Clark/Division,Clark/Lake,LaSalle/Van Buren, andLaSalle.[9]
South of Polk Street, CTA bus route 24 is the sole CTA bus route along Clark Street (along with Pace bus routes 850, 851, and 855) before leaving at Archer Avenue east ofCermak–Chinatown station.[9]
The entire route is inCook County.
| Location | mi[10] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evanston–Chicago line | 0.0 | 0.0 | Howard Street | Northern terminus; roadway continues as Chicago Avenue | |
| Chicago | 2.1 | 3.4 |  US 14 (N Ridge Avenue) | ||
| 3.0 | 4.8 |  US 41 (W Foster Avenue) | |||
| 4.6 | 7.4 |  IL 19 (W Irving Park Road) | |||
| 7.8 | 12.6 |  IL 64 (W LaSalle Drive) | |||
| 9.6 | 15.4 | Clark Street Bridge | |||
| 11.0 | 17.7 | W Roosevelt Road | Interchange | ||
| 12.0 | 19.3 | W Cermak Road | Southern terminus | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
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Media related toClark Street (Chicago) at Wikimedia Commons
