North Lawndale in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Route 66 Landmark
⎯⎯⎯
Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66

North Lawndale

— Local Neighborhood Impact / Impacto en el Vecindario Local —

Route 66 Landmark side of marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 18, 2024

1. Route 66 Landmark side of marker

Inscription.
[English-language text on the west-facing side:]

The Main Street of America In the 1950s and '60s, a thriving automotive scene unfolded along Ogden Avenue in North Lawndale, directly influenced by Route 66. As American car culture started to embrace fashion and personalized design, Ogden Avenue became one of Chicago's busiest automobile rows, filled with car dealerships and repair shops. Ben Geller Chevrolet, with its iconic red-and-blue neon sign, glowed for nighttime car buyers, who could marvel at the latest models displayed behind a plate glass window. Sid Luckman, the Bears' Hall of Fame quarterback, even owned a Chrysler/Plymouth dealership on this strip. Among the landmarks that are still standing, Louis Ehrenberger's Castle Car Wash, a gas station and garage with a crenelated turret, has become a popular site on Route 66. Its years of operation, from the 1920s to the 1970s, paralleled the highway's peak timeframe.

For most of the Route 66 era, North Lawndale was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood with many residents speaking Russian. By around 1945, it was estimated that about 65,000 Jewish people lived

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in this neighborhood. This vibrant area fostered important community institutions including synagogues, an orphanage, a home for the aged, and Mount Sinai Hospital, which is still in operation.

However, North Lawndale witnessed a significant shift in the 1960s as transportation planners diverted traffic from Route 66 to the Congress Expressway, and then to Interstate 55. This transformative development helped contribute to a gradual population decline after the neighborhood peaked at 124,937 residents in 1960. Many of the automotive businesses also closed since there were fewer visitors driving on the former Route 66. The buildings they left behind are now occupied by a handful of mom-and-pop car parts dealers and repair shops, many of which celebrate their Route 66 roots.

Route 66 History In the 1920s, America became an automobile nation. At the start of the decade, there were 8 million cars on the road, but roughly 32,000 of the nation's 2.5 million miles of rural roads were paved, making transcontinental travel prohibitively slow. By the end of the 1920s, Americans owned 23 million cars, with many driving Henry Ford's affordable

Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66 side of marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 18, 2024

2. Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66 side of marker

Model T. More cars meant more demand for paved roads. In 1921, Congress passed the Federal Aid Highway Act, which called for a network of roads covering the entire country. A few years later, plans for interstate routes were approved for all 48 states. Route 66 stretched more than 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, California. Cy Avery, the Oklahoma highway commissioner known as the "Father of Route 66," dubbed it "The Main Street of America." This route was considered the primary path between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Coast.

Route 66 was officially established in 1926. The Illinois stretch of Route 66 began as a two-lane road known as SB14, which followed the route of the old Pontiac Trail from Chicago to St. Louis. At first, SB14 began in Cicero, but its designation as Route 66 increased traffic. To accommodate this, the starting point was moved to Michigan Avenue and Jackson Boulevard in Chicago.

Ogden Avenue has traditionally been a major transportation route into and out of Chicago. This street parallels both the south branch of the Chicago River, which was once the main waterway toward the Mississippi, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad tracks. The Route 66 era was the heyday of Ogden Avenue and the neighborhoods it runs through. Route 66 was and still is an emblem of the nation's car culture. From the 1920s through the 1950s, dozens of repair garages, tire suppliers, and automobile dealers set up shop along the street.

The development of the interstate highway system, the result of a bill signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, led to the decommissioning of Route 66 and the demise of many of Chicago's Ogden Avenue businesses. Drivers were offered a faster course to the southwest suburbs and central Illinois. In the 1960s, construction began on Interstate 55, and in 1977 the "End

Route 66 Landmark / Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66 Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 18, 2024

3. Route 66 Landmark / Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66 Marker

The southwest-facing view from Ogden Avenue

of Route 66" signs on Jackson Boulevard came down. A few remaining restaurants and repair shops along Ogden Avenue still display Route 66 memorabilia, ensuring its years as a piece of America's most mythologized highway are never forgotten.

[Spanish-language text on the east-facing side of the marker:]

La Calle Principal de América En las décadas de 1950 y 1960, se desarrolló una próspera escena automotriz a lo largo de Ogden Avenue en North Lawndale, directamente influenciada por la Ruta 66. A medida que la cultura automovilística estadounidense comenzó a abrazar la moda y el diseño personalizado, Ogden Avenue se convirtió en una de las zonas de automóviles más concurridas de Chicago, llena de autos, vendedores y talleres de reparación. Ben Geller Chevrolet, con su icónico letrero de neón rojo y azul, brillaba para los compradores de automóviles nocturnos, quienes podían maravillarse con los últimos modelos exhibidos detrás de una ventana de vidrio. Sid Luckman, el mariscal de campo del Salón de la Fama de los Bears, incluso era dueño de un concesionario Chrysler/Plymouth en esta zona. Entre los monumentos que aún permanecen

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 18, 2024

4. Route 66 Landmark / Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66 Marker

en pie, el autolavado de Louis Ehrenberger, una gasolinera y garaje con una torre similar a la de un castillo, se ha convertido en un sitio popular en la Ruta 66. Sus años de operación, desde la década de 1920 hasta la de 1970, fueron paralelos al período pico de la autopista.

Durante la mayor parte de la era de la Ruta 66, North Lawndale fue un vecindario predominantemente judío con muchos residentes que hablaban ruso. Alrededor de 1945, se estimaba que cerca de 65.000 judíos vivían en este barrio. Esta vibrante área fomentó importantes instituciones comunitarias, incluidas sinagogas, un orfanato, un hogar para ancianos y el Hospital Mount Sinai, que todavía está en funcionamiento.

Sin embargo, North Lawndale fue testigo de un cambio significativo en la década de 1960 cuando los planificadores de transporte desviaron el tráfico de la Ruta 66 a la Autopista del Congreso y luego a la Interestatal 55. Este desarrollo transformador ayudó a contribuir a una disminución gradual de la población después de que el vecindario alcanzó su pico de población en 1960 con 124.937 habitantes. Muchas de las empresas automotrices también cerraron porque

Photo close-up from the Route 66 Landmark image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 18, 2024

5. Photo close-up from the Route 66 Landmark

The photo printed on this sign is from a 1963 North Lawndale community march held on behalf of the victims of the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. North Lawndale became a primarily Black neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, and it was visited by Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s.

había menos visitantes conduciendo por la antigua Ruta 66. Los edificios que dejaron atrás ahora están ocupados por un puñado de pequeños concesionarios de repuestos para automóviles y talleres de reparación, muchos de los cuales celebran sus raíces en la Ruta 66.

Historia de la Ruta 66 En la década de 1920, Estados Unidos se convirtió en una nación automovilística. A principios de la década, había 8 millones de automóviles en las carreteras, pero sólo 51,000 de los 4 millones de kilómetros de carreteras rurales del país estaban pavimentadas, lo que hacía que los viajes transcontinentales fueran extremadamente lentos. A finales de la década de 1920, los estadounidenses poseían 23 millones de automóviles, y muchos de ellos conducían el accesible Modelo T de Henry Ford.

Más automóviles significaron más demanda de carreteras pavimentadas. En 1921, el Congreso aprobó la Ley de Ayuda Federal para Carreteras, que exigía una red de carreteras que cubriera todo el país. Unos años más tarde, se aprobaron planes de rutas interestatales para los 48 estados. La Ruta 66 se extendía más de 3,800 km desde Chicago hasta Santa Mónica, California.

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Cy Avery, el comisionado de carreteras de Oklahoma conocido como el "Padre de la Ruta 66", la apodó "La calle principal de América". Esta ruta se consideraba el camino principal entre los Grandes Lagos y la costa del Pacífico.

La Ruta 66 se estableció oficialmente en 1926. El tramo de Illinois de la Ruta 66 comenzó como una carretera de dos carriles conocida como SB14, que seguía la ruta del antiguo Pontiac Trail desde Chicago a St. Louis. Al principio, SB14 inició en Cicero, pero su designación como Ruta 66 aumentó el tráfico. Para adaptarse a esto, el punto de partida se trasladó a Michigan Avenue y Jackson Boulevard en Chicago. Ogden Avenue ha sido tradicionalmente una importante ruta de transporte hacia y desde Chicago. Esta calle es paralela tanto al brazo sur del río Chicago, que alguna vez fue la vía fluvial principal hacia el Mississippi, como a las vías del ferrocarril de Chicago, Burlington y Quincy. La era de la Ruta 66 fue el apogeo de Ogden Avenue y los vecindarios que atraviesa. La Ruta 66 fue y sigue siendo un emblema de la cultura automovilística del país. Desde la década de 1920 hasta la de 1950, docenas de talleres de reparación, proveedores de neumáticos y concesionarios de automóviles instalaron tiendas a lo largo de la calle.

El desarrollo del sistema de carreteras interestatales, resultado de un proyecto de ley firmado por el presidente Dwight D. Eisenhower, provocó el desmantelamiento de la Ruta 66 y la desaparición de muchos de los negocios de Ogden Avenue en Chicago. A los conductores se les ofreció un rumbo más rápido hacia los suburbios del suroeste y el centro de Illinois. En la década de 1960, comenzó la construcción de la Interestatal 55, y en 1977 se quitaron las señales de "Fin de la Ruta 66” en Jackson Boulevard. Algunos restaurantes y talleres de reparación que quedan a lo largo de Ogden Avenue todavía exhiben recuerdos de la Ruta 66, lo que garantiza que sus años como parte de la carretera más idealizada de Estados Unidos nunca se olviden.

Erected 2024 by Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity; Choose Chicago.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Religion & Religious Structures • Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #34 Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the U.S. Route 66 series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1945.

Location. 41° 51.154′ N, 87° 43.203′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in North Lawndale. It is at the intersection of West Ogden Avenue (U.S. 66) and South Hamlin Avenue, on the left when traveling west on West Ogden Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3801 West Ogden Avenue, Chicago IL 60623, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Chicago’s West Side. It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Rudy Lozano (approx. half a mile away); Kerry James Marshall: Untitled (Circulation) (approx. 0.6 miles away); Storytelling Sukkah (approx. 0.7 miles away); Stone Temple Baptist Church (approx. ¾ mile away); North Lawndale Wayfinding Map (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named North Lawndale Wayfinding Map (approx. 0.8 miles away); a different marker also named North Lawndale Wayfinding Map (approx. 0.8 miles away); The Giving Sukkah (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The marker is one of four unveiled in 2024 in coordination with NASCAR's second Grant Park 165 race, a street circuit through Grant Park in downtown Chicago on July 7, 2024. One marker is downtown at the intersection of Adams and Michigan, where Route 66 ends in front of the Art Institute of Chicago; the other two are on Ogden east of here, one in the Illinois Medical District and the other about a mile northeast of here, near Douglass Park. The bottom of all three Ogden Avenue markers includes a "History of Route 66" with text that is identical to that on the marker in front of the Art Institute. Although Route 66 is a U.S. highway, the marker's styling at the top actually is based on that used by the Interstate Highway System.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 19, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 18, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 317 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 18, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4, 5. submitted on July 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.

Route 66 Landmark⎯⎯⎯Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66

North Lawndale

— Local Neighborhood Impact / Impacto en el Vecindario Local —

Route 66 Landmark
⎯⎯⎯
Punto de Referencia de la Ruta 66