History
The district's period of historic significance was 1872–1949. In the late 1860s, Potter Palmer improved State Street by building his own Palmer House hotel on State Street in 1870. He had also convinced Marshall Field and Levi Leiter to move the Field, Leiter & Co. store to State Street in 1868. Chicago's retailing center was State Street (anchored by Marshall Field's) in the downtown Loop after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Convenient mass transit such as streetcars and elevated trains, supported a retail corridor along State Street from Lake Street to Van Buren Street. State Street became a shopping destination during the 1900s, and is referred to in Frank Sinatra's song Chicago (That Toddlin' Town), where Frank refers it to "State Street, that Great Street." At one time seven major department stores were situated on State Street: Benson, Rixon, Karolls, Charles A. Stevens and Mandel Brothers (in addition to Marshall Field's and Carson, Pirie Scott).
However Chicago evolved and by the 1920s, commuter suburbs began to have significant retail districts. After 1950, suburban development reduced the role of the Loop's daily significance to many Chicagoans as downtown retail sales slipped. However, the Magnificent Mile kept a luxury shopping district close to the central business district.
In 1979, Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne converted the downtown portion into a pedestrian mall with only bus traffic allowed. Mayor Richard M. Daley oversaw the State Street Revitalization Project and on November 15, 1996, the street was reopened to traffic. In addition, the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line serves State Street and the elevated trains of the Chicago 'L' serve Wabash and Lake streets in this district. Current revitalization is catering to the mix of student residents and other new residents with the newly available residential spaces.
Read more about this topic: Loop Retail Historic District
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