History of the West Loop - Neighbors of West Loop

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First settlements – From its earliest days, the West Loop has been an area of contrast. In the mid-1800s, while Chicago’s poor were erecting shanties on the prairie land west of the river, nearby some of the wealthiest families in Chicago lived in large homes near Union Park and along Washington Boulevard, Jackson Boulevard, and Ashland Avenue.[1] Randolph-Fulton Market – Strategically positioned as the hub of waterway and rail commerce for the Midwest and beyond, Chicago has long been an economic powerhouse. Much of this success traces back to the agricultural processing and distribution systems that were defined by its famous historic markets. The Fulton-Randolph Market is the oldest and last of the great Chicago wholesale markets, which included the Union Stockyards and the Maxwell Street Market. The Fulton-Randolph Market took shape in 1850 when the Town of Chicago erected the Randolph Street Market Hall at Randolph and Desplaines. While Randolph Street focused on produce, Fulton Market Street two blocks to the north housed much of the city’s meatpacking industry. The markets expanded westward, eventually reaching Ogden as wholesalers displaced from other downtown markets joined the area. The busy markets also drew other businesses – first those associated with the markets, like bakeries and barrel makers, then unrelated businesses like furniture makers and foundries that introduced manufacturing to the West Loop. Many of the historic warehouses, commission houses, and meatpacking buildings that still line these streets were built to support the bustling Nineteenth Century market. [2] Haymarket Square Riot – …