North Avenue is a major east–west street in Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. Starting at St. Charles's eastern border with West Chicago, its name changes from Main Street to North Avenue, just east of the Kane/DuPage county line. From there, it travels straight east, carrying Illinois Route 64 until LaSalle Drive in Chicago. Illinois Route 64 then continues north onto LaSalle Drive for a very short distance until ending at U.S. Route 41 (Lake Shore Drive), while North Avenue continues east for less than one-half mile, changing its name to North Boulevard at Clark Street, and then continuing until its termination in a cul-de-sac at 200 East, just west of Lake Shore Drive. From Illinois Route 43 (Harlem Avenue) to its east end, North Avenue is within the city limits of Chicago.
As its name suggests, it was the northern boundary of the City of Chicago west of LaSalle Street to Wood Street upon its incorporation on March 4, 1837. (East of LaSalle, Armitage Avenue, then called Center Street, was the northern boundary.) The portion west to Western Avenue was annexed on February 14, 1851, and that west to Pulaski on the southern side February 27, 1869. On the northern side all of the Street in the City west of Kedzie was annexed with the Town of Jefferson effective June 29, 1889.[1]
North Avenue, a new road in DuPage County in the late 1920s, was put through in 1928, the first forty-foot highway through the county.[2]
The road is mainly serviced by 72 North from Harlem Avenue to Clark Street. The N9 Ashland Owl serves the same segment the 72 does during the day east of Ashland Avenue.
