City - Chicago, IL - Chicago's Shopping destination 1895
by Mike Savad
Title
City - Chicago, IL - Chicago's Shopping destination 1895
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Colorized Photo
Description
Colorized photo from 1895
Original title: State St.
Photographer: Detroit Publishing
Location: 350 S State St, Chicago, IL
In the 1860's, State street originally started as a narrow unpaved road, edged with wooden sidewalks, and a confusing array of little shops. Most of the main stores were located on Lake Street at that time.
An entrepreneur Potter Palmer, who had been in business with Marshall Field and Levi Leiter, in a Lake Street store before the Civil War, later bought 3/4 of a mile stretch of land along State Street. He convinced Field and Leiter to open the street's first major department store, located on the Northeast corner of State and Washington, becoming the Marshall Field's Department Store.
By 1870, State Street became Chicago's shopping destination. However the great fire of 1871, did delay its growth, but not by a lot. By 1890, State St, had some of the finest retail establishments around. The north end carried prestigious and expensive stores, and the south had a greater variety of merchandise.
By 1943, subways were installed in a way that allowed people to enter the stores via the basement levels.
That building on the right is the AM Rothschild store, what you see here was built up over the years. They took over many buildings until finally they unified it by tearing it all down, and replacing it with a new structure in 1912. That building is still there today.
The street seems to be configured in an unusual way. The bulk of it is cobblestone, but the sidewalks seem to be wood and by the stores, it looks like dirt. Makes you wonder why the whole thing isn't wood, bet it was messy in the rain.
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November 26th, 2022
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