River North Gallery District, Near North Side, Chicago
The River North Gallery District, in Chicago, is in the Near North Side, Chicago. It hosts the largest concentration of art galleries in the United States, outside of Manhattan. River North has experienced vast changes in the years 1990 - 2012 including the development of vast highrise buildings, nightclubs and restaurants. River North has become one of Chicago's top neighborhoods for nightlife especially along Franklin Avenue and Hubbard Street.
A common definition puts the District in the area north of the Chicago River and the Merchandise Mart, south of Chicago Avenue, east of the Chicago River and west of Michigan Avenue. As it has grown and the area has gentrified, galleries can also now be found west of Orleans and east of LaSalle, though the core area still contains the highest concentration of galleries. Along with hundreds of art galleries, the area holds many bars, dance clubs, popular restaurants and entertainment venues. Subsections of River North include:
- The Gallery District, the official district designated by the City, primarily along Chicago, Superior and Huron streets between Lasalle and Orleans.
- The Contemporaine Building - 2005 AIA Honor Awards For Architecture site:, site:
- A design district, with shops and showrooms selling commercial and luxury interior furnishings, in the blocks north of the Merchandise Mart.
- Kingsbury Park, an area of newly built residential high-rises surrounding Erie Park, at Erie Street and the Chicago River.
Read more about River North Gallery District, Near North Side, Chicago: History, Smokey Hollow, Little Sicily, Prohibition, Punk Rock History, Recovery of The River North Neighborhood, Economy
Famous quotes containing the words river, north, gallery and/or chicago:
“I cannot tell how many times we had to walk on account of falls or rapids. We were expecting all the while that the river would take a final leap and get to smooth water, but there was no improvement this forenoon.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Civilization must be destroyed. The hairy saints
Of the North have earned this crumb by their complaints.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“It doesn’t matter that your painting is small. Kopecks are also small, but when a lot are put together they make a ruble. Each painting displayed in a gallery and each good book that makes it into a library, no matter how small they may be, serves a great cause: accretion of the national wealth.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“If you have any information or evidence regarding the O.J. Simpson case, press 2 now. If you are an expert in fields relating to the O.J. Simpson case and would like to offer your services, press 3 now. If you would like the address where you can send a letter of support to O.J. Simpson, press 1 now. If you are seeking legal representation from the law offices of Robert L. Shapiro, press 4 now.”
—Advertisement. Aired August 8, 1994 by Tom Snyder on TV station CNBC. Chicago Sun Times, p. 11 (July 24, 1994)