Page 76 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Chicago

74  CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA

Astor Street VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

For more than 100 years, Astor Street, named for fur Practical Information
tycoon and real estate magnate John Jacob Astor, has From North Ave. to W Division St.
been the heart of fashionable Gold Coast. Wealthy Map 2 D1–D2.
Chicagoans flocked to the area in the 1880s and built Transport
q Clark/ Division.
over the next 60 years the striking houses in myriad
architectural styles that line the street, though
interspersed today with more modern buildings. Just
six blocks long, the charming Astor Street district,
designated a Chicago landmark in 1975, is ideal for
leisurely strolling.

John Jacob Astor
German-born John Jacob 0 meters 100
Astor (1763–1848) made his 0 yards 100
fortune in the fur trade. In
1808 he chartered the
Chicago-based American
Fur Com pany, creating a
monopoly in the Great
Lakes area. Astor’s
successful fur business
helped fund later, highly
profitable, real-estate
ventures. When he died, he
was the richest man in the US. AST OR STREE T EAST SIDE

0 meters 100
0 yards 100

May House (No. 1443) is a
granite Romanesque Revival- William D. Kerfoot
style mansion designed in This real-estate businessman 1400 Block North Astor Street
1891 by celebrated residential lived at No. 1425. The first The buildings lining this
architect J.L. Silsbee, one of Chicagoan to reopen for handsome block of the Gold
Frank Lloyd Wright’s (see p32) business in the Loop after the fire Coast reflect an eclectic mix of
first employers. The mansion’s of 1871, he posted outside his architectural styles, ranging from a
grand arched entranceway hastily erected shanty a sign the Tudor Revival country-style house
with ornate carving is one of day after the fire: “All gone but at No. 1451 to a Gothic-influenced
its most striking features. wife, children, and energy.” chateau at No. 1449.

John L. Fortune House
(No. 1451)

AST OR STREE T WEST SIDE

074-075_EW_Chicago.indd 74 13/07/16 2:59 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm