East Randolph
Westward (left) and eastward (right) views from Daley CenterEast of Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street is a two-way street taking traffic to Lake Shore Drive. Just east of Michigan, Randolph crosses over the Metra Electric/South Shore Line and splits into two levels, an upper level (via the outer lanes) and a middle level (via the inner lanes). The upper level carries local traffic to the Illinois Center, Aon Center and Prudential Plaza developments, and was built in conjunction with them; it also takes traffic to the new Lakeshore Eastdevelopment. Intersections with the upper level are provided with Stetson Avenue (which only heads north, and only intersects westbound Randolph) and Columbus Drive (which only heads north). The middle level, which takes traffic to Lake Shore Drive, intersects the middle level of Columbus. A lower level also exists between Stetson and Columbus, intersecting lower Columbus (and ramps to middle Columbus). The middle level East of Columbus Drive is known as Randolph Drive.
East of Columbus, Randolph continues as a triple-decker street. The lower level intersects with a short piece of Field Boulevard; at that point, the upper level narrows to lie only over the north side of the middle level. Field Boulevard was the original Lake Shore Drive, and crossed the upper level of Randolph (which was the only level at the time). Old Lake Shore Drive (Field Boulevard) south of Randolph is now the Cancer Survivors Plaza; north of Randolph it was a viaduct at the level of current Upper Randolph and has been demolished. A new Upper Field Boulevard was recently built as part of the Lakeshore East development; it ramps down to ground (lower) level.
After Field Boulevard, the narrowed upper level and service level continue east to the double-decker Harbor Drive, where they end. Harbor Drive provides access to several buildings and then itself dead ends. The middle level then continues east to an interchange with Lake Shore Drive and a dead end just beyond.
Read more about this topic: Randolph Street (Chicago)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“for it is not so much to know the self
as to know it as it is known
by galaxy and cedar cone,
as if birth had never found it
and death could never end it:”
—Archie Randolph Ammons (b. 1926)