Blue Island Avenue

Blue Island Avenue
Blue Island and Racine, Chicago. "After" shot of urban renewal site. ca. 1965
Southwest endS. Western Avenue/W. 26th Street in Lower West Side, Chicago 41°50′41″N 87°41′07″W / 41.844858°N 87.685318°W / 41.844858; -87.685318 (Blue Island Avenue southwest terminus)
Northeast endW. Roosevelt Road in Near West Side, Chicago 41°52′02″N 87°39′12″W / 41.867117°N 87.653268°W / 41.867117; -87.653268 (Blue Island Avenue northeast terminus)
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Blue Island Avenue is a street in the city of Chicago, Illinois that once led to a ridge of land that early pioneers gave the name "Blue Island" because at a distance it looked like an island in the prairie. The blue color was attributed to atmospheric scattering or to blue flowers growing on the ridge.[1] Parts of the present-day neighborhoods of Morgan Park, Beverly Hills and the city of Blue Island, Illinois now occupy this ridge.

Route description

Originally starting from W. Harrison Street and S. Halsted Street, Blue Island Avenue runs between property of the University of Illinois at Chicago and St. Ignatius College Prep, but has been converted into parking lots and recreational areas for the school until it crosses Roosevelt Road. From there it runs southwest to 21st Street, picks up again at Cermak Road (formerly 22nd) and runs more westerly to 26th Street, where it terminates.[2]

Intersections

The entire route is in Chicago, Cook County.

mi[2]kmDestinationsNotes
Harrison Street/Halsted StreetFormer northeastern terminus of Blue Island Avenue
Morgan Street/Taylor Street
0.000.00Roosevelt RoadCurrent northeastern terminus of Blue Island Avenue
0.310.50Racine Avenue
0.761.2218th Street/Loomis St
1.051.6921st StreetSouthwestern end of Blue Island Avenue northern segment
Gap in route[a]
1.211.95Cermak Road/Ashland AvenueNortheastern end of Blue Island Avenue southern segment
1.772.85Damen Avenue
2.343.77Western Avenue/26th StreetSouthwestern terminus of Blue Island Avenue
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Closed/former

Transportation

CTA bus route 60 travels along much of Blue Island Avenue from 26th Street to Cermak Road and from Loomis Street to Racine Avenue. Bus route 60 continues west along 26th Street to a bus turnaround at 24th Place/Cicero Avenue near Cicero station; on the other end, the route continues east through downtown, running along the Loop Link bus lanes, toward a turnaround at Harbor Point.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ This gap was not present until 1977 with the construction and opening of Benito Juárez Community Academy, which now occupies the gap[3][4]

References

  1. ^ "Blue Island, IL". Encyclopedia of Chicago. To a springtime traveler on the Vincennes Trail, the glacial bluff that rose out of the prairie south of Chicago took on a bluish hue from haze or blue wildflowers.
  2. ^ a b "Overview map of Blue Island Avenue" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  3. ^ "Chicago: City of Neighborhoods". ecuip.lib.uchicago.edu.
  4. ^ "Juarez Students Still Hope for Field of Dreams". Chicago Tribune. 28 March 1990. Retrieved 31 August 2024. The school, which opened in 1977, was the last new high school built by the Chicago Public Schools system.
  5. ^ "RTA System Map" (PDF). Regional Transportation Authority. February 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.


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