Prairie Avenue

For history buffs like me who love old architecture and are fascinated by the people that once lived in these buildings there is a wonderful area in South Loop that has been reborn. Designated a Chicago Landmark on December 27, 1979 the Prairie Avenue District located about two miles from downtown Chicago, is truly a historical area. What makes it so unique after all these years is its rebirth. Once an area known for its opulence and considered Chicago’s most fashionable residential street, it also experienced years of steady decline and was home to vice, scandal, and crime. Now, less than 100 years later, its character has come full circle through the mansions that grace its street. On-going construction has revived this area and made it one of the most highly sought after neighborhoods in which to live. In doing so, Prairie Avenue has been re-designed to incorporate new with the old. The handful of existing restored mansions, built over 100 years ago, costing over $200,000, now stand along side grand new homes costing millions of dollars. Some of the famous people who helped make Prairie Avenue a historical venue worth remembering are Marshall Field, Philip Armour, George M. Pullman, Joseph Sears, William Wallace Kimble, and Fernando Jones, to name a few.