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]

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 Chicagoans generally agree that the name rightfully refers to the original 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

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.
5. Sudo, Chuck. "Don't Call Wicker Park's Most Famous Intersection 'Six Corners'". chicagoist. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
6. Cherone, Heather; Hauser, Alisa. "Six Corners: Which is the Real One? Portage Park or Wicker Park?". DNAinfo. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
7. "Bucktown's six corners sees burst of development". Retrieved 28 May 2015.
8. "Realignment of Dangerous Damen-Elston-Fullerton Intersection Begins". myFOXChicago. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
9. "Construction Starts at Six Corners Intersection". Retrieved 28 May 2015.
10. "Realignment of Dangerous Damen-Elston-Fullerton Intersection Begins". Retrieved 28 May 2015.
11. "Construction to Begin at Damen-Elston-Fullerton Intersection". Retrieved 28 May 2015.
12. "Reconstruction Of Bucktown Six-Corner Intersection Set To Begin". Retrieved 30 May 2015.

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