| William Wells Street 200 West | |
 Wells Street below theLoop Elevated tracks, taken fromWashington/Wells station | |
 Interactive map of Wells Street | |
| Former name | 5th Avenue |
|---|---|
| South end | 65th Street/Wentworth Avenue inChicago |
| North end | Lincoln Avenue inChicago |
| Other | |
| Known for | William Wells |
Wells Street is a major north–south street inChicago. It is officially designated as 200 West, and is named in honor ofWilliam Wells, a United States Army Captain who died in theBattle of Fort Dearborn.[1] Between 1870 and 1912, it was named5th Avenue so as not to tarnish the name of Wells during a period when the street had a bad reputation.[2]
Some downtown blocks of Wells Street are located beneath theChicago 'L' train system. The firstCrate & Barrel store, which opened in 1962, was located on Wells Street.[3]
Wells Street was named inTime Magazine's 1976 article "The Porno Plague".[4]
Wells Street starts off as a frontage road ofI-90/I-94 (Dan Ryan Expressway) carrying southbound traffic from 63rd Street to 65th Street near theRock Island District line[5] and from 47th Street to 59th Street. Wells Street then becomes a disjointed residential street throughout the South Side, with one of the gaps being occupied byWentworth Gardens andRate Field and another being occupied byI-55.[6][7]
Wells Street returns as a throughfare below Roosevelt Road. The street is in proximity withBritish International School of Chicago, South Loop andLaSalle Street Station as well asRiver City and the former site ofGrand Central Station on the other side. BetweenIda B. Wells Drive and Erie Street, Wells Street only serves southbound traffic. Between Van Buren Street and Lake Street, the street finds itself under theLoop Elevated tracks; the elevated tracks continue north as theNorth Side main line all the way toward Hubbard Street, where it shifts one block west. Wells Street crosses theChicago River at theWells Street Bridge.[8]
North of the Chicago River, Wells Street is adjacent toMerchandise Mart. Abike counter is present at Chicago Avenue, which was installed in December 2022.[9][10] Wells Street is in the vicinity of theMoody Bible Institute andWalter Payton College Preparatory High School at Chicago Avenue and Oak Street respectively. In the Old Town neighborhood, Wells Street serves a series of retail shops, bars, and restaurants.[11] As Wells Street approachesLincoln Park, the street ends at Lincoln Avenue just west of Clark Street.[8]
The following road junction list only shows Wells Street on the North Side and the downtown area.
The entire route is inChicago,Cook County.
| mi[8] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | Lincoln Avenue | Northern terminus | ||
| 0.3 | 0.48 |  IL 64 (North Avenue) | North border of the Near North neighborhood | ||
| 0.8 | 1.3 | Division Street | |||
| 1.3 | 2.1 | Chicago Avenue | |||
| 1.5 | 2.4 | Ontario Street | ToKennedy Expressway | ||
| 1.6 | 2.6 | Ohio Street | |||
| 1.65 | 2.66 | Grand Avenue | Westbound road only; one-way road | ||
| 1.7 | 2.7 | Illinois Street | |||
| 1.7 | 2.7 | Kinzie Street | Merchandise Mart | ||
| 1.9 | 3.1 | Wells Street Bridge | |||
| 2.0 | 3.2 | Upper Wacker Drive | |||
| 2.1 | 3.4 | Randolph Street | Westbound only; one-way road | ||
| 2.2 | 3.5 | Washington Street | Eastbound only; one-way road | ||
| 2.3 | 3.7 | Madison Street | Westbound only; one-way road | ||
| 2.5 | 4.0 | Adams Street | Westbound only; one-way road | ||
| 2.6 | 4.2 | Jackson Boulevard | Eastbound only; one-way road | ||
| 2.8 | 4.5 |        Ida B. Wells Drive toI-290 west /IL 110 (CKC) west | ToJane Byrne Interchange | ||
| 2.8 | 4.5 | Harrison Street | |||
| 3.2 | 5.1 | Cul-de-sac nearRoosevelt Road | Current southern terminus | ||
| Wentworth Avenue | Future southern terminus (under construction throughThe 78) | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
The western portion of theLoop Elevated runs on top of Wells Street from Van Buren Street to Lake Street. Tracks continue to run above Wells Street as theNorth Side main line before shifting west at Hubbard Street. Wells Street is in proximity withLaSalle Street Station atIda B. Wells Drive.[12]
Wells Street serves southbound CTA bus route 36 from Van Buren Street to Harrison Street. Bus route 36 usually ends at LaSalle Street Station; in some cases, the bus route travels further west toward a Greyhound bus terminal. Southbound bus route 37 runs along Wells Street from Chicago Avenue to Van Buren Street, where it continues west towardClinton station. Southbound bus route 125 runs along Wells Street from Ontario Street toUpper Wacker Drive, where it then heads west towardOgilvie station,Union Station, and a Greyhound bus terminal. CTA bus route 65 briefly runs along Wells Street as Grand Avenue becomes a one-way road for westbound traffic.[12]
In the South Side, Wells Street serves bus route 24 as a southbound frontage road of I-90/I-94 (Dan Ryan Expressway). Bus routes 15 and 51 use Wells Street after leaving47th station; bus route 59 uses Wells Street after leavingGarfield station.[12]
Media related toWells Street (Chicago) at Wikimedia Commons41°52′53.4″N87°38′1.7″W / 41.881500°N 87.633806°W /41.881500; -87.633806
