Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, locally referred to as King Drive is a major north–south street on the South Side of Chicago. It was formerly named South Park Way, and originally called Grand Boulevard. Chicago became the first city in the world to name a street after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968 following his assassination.[1] The street runs continuously from Cermak Road (22nd Street) on the north to 115th Street on the south. It runs at 400 East or four blocks east of State Street in Chicago's city grid. The street is a major corridor of Black history and culture in Chicago.
Route description
King Drive begins at Cermak Road (22nd Street) by McCormick Place in the Near South Sidecommunity area. Just south of McCormick Place, the street runs underneath the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55). Here, King Drive enters the Douglas community area, The northern half of the historic Bronzeville neighborhood, a focal point of Black History and culture in Chicago. At 25th Street, just south of the expressway, there is the Monument to the Great Northern Migration.[2] a statue honoring the African-Americans who migrated from the Southern United States north to Chicago. From here to 35th Street, King Drive is a walk of fame to African-American pioneers who made their impact on American history.[3] At 30th Street is Dunbar High School. At 31st Street is the historic Olivet Baptist Church, the oldest operating African American Baptist church in Chicago and the second oldest African American congregation in the city. At 33rd Street is the site of Camp Douglas, a Civil WarPOW Camp marked by a historic marker.[4]
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