Motor Row Historic District - Chicago, IL
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adgorn
N 41° 51.120 W 087° 37.434
16T E 448210 N 4633532
This group of commercial buildings on Chicago's Near South Side is considered to be the largest, intact early "automobile row" in the United States.
Waymark Code: WM71K1
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 08/19/2009
Views: 7
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"Auto rows developed in numerous cities shortly after 1900 as car companies sought to create districts where the sale and repair of cars could become an easy urban shopping experience. At its peak, as many as 116 different makes of automobiles were being sold on Motor Row. Some are familiar today, including Ford, Buick, Fiat, and Cadillac, while others are better known to historians and old-car buffs, including Hudson, Locomobile, Marmon, and Pierce-Arrow.
The range of buildings in Motor Row illustrates the evolution of the automobile showroom and related product and service buildings, from simple two-story structures used for display and offices to multi-story buildings housing a variety of departments for the repair, storage, painting, and finishing of automobiles. Many of these buildings were designed by significant architects, including Holabird & Roche, Alfred Alschuler, Christian Eckstorm, Philip Maher, and Albert Kahn."
From wikipedia:
"Though characterized by its auto showrooms, Motor Row was also home to newspaper The Chicago Defender, a newspaper voice for Chicago's large African American community. Chess Records was also located in Motor Row and acts such as Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones, Willie Dixon and many other blues artists recorded there.
Attempts have been made to redevelop Motor Row into a music and entertainment district for Chicago. The infamous E2 Nightclub, involved in a deadly stampede in 2003, was located there. The former Cadillac building, designed by Holabird and Roche and built in 1911, and a number of other buildings have been converted to lofts."
For an example of loft development see (
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You might drive right through this area without realizing what used to be here. Take a look at other nearby waymarks such as the Second Presbyterian Church. Also, the area was rife with organized crime locale's - for example right around the corner at 2222 S. Wabash was the site of Al Capone's early HQ (called the Four Deuces Cafe) in the late 20's. An empty lot now. His later HQ, the Lexington Hotel (the site of Geraldo Rivera's debacle), was at 2200 S. Michgan.
Chuck Berry recorded "Johnny B. Goode" at Chess Records at 2120 S. Michigan. You can tour that site today. See (
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