Wells Street (Chicago)

A sign for Wells Street. The Chicago Stock Exchange is in the background.

Chicago Transit Authority control tower 18 guides elevated Chicago 'L' north and southbound Purple and Brown lines intersecting with east and westbound Pink and Green lines and the looping Orange line above the Wells and Lake street intersection in the loop.

Wells Street is a main North–South street in downtown Chicago. It is officially designated as 200 West, and is named in honor of William Wells, a United States Army Captain who died in the Battle of Fort Dearborn. Between 1870 and 1912 it was named 5th Avenue so as not to tarnish the name of Wells during a period when the street had a bad reputation.^[1]

Wells Street is interrupted by Comiskey Park, Interstate 55, and Lincoln Park. Wells Street crosses the Chicago River at the Wells Street Bridge.

Several Chicago attractions are located on or near Wells Street, including Comiskey Park^[2] and Ed Debevic's.^[3] Some downtown blocks of Wells Street are located beneath the Chicago 'L' train system. The first Crate & Barrel store, which opened in 1962, was located on Wells Street.^[4]

Wells Street was named in Time Magazine's 1976 article "The Porno Plague".^[5]

Intersections

This only shows the part of Wells Street at the Loop and the North Side.

The entire route is in Chicago, Cook County.

^[6]

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mi	km	Destinations	Notes
0.0	0.0	N Lincoln Avenue	Northern terminus of Wells Street
0.3	0.48	IL 64 (W North Avenue)
0.8	1.3	W Division Street
1.3	2.1	W Chicago Avenue
1.5	2.4	W Ontario Street	To Kennedy Expressway
1.6	2.6	W Ohio Street
1.65	2.66	W Grand Avenue	Westbound road only; one-way road
1.7	2.7	W Illinois Street
1.7	2.7	W Kinzie Street	Merchandise Mart
1.9	3.1	Wells Street Bridge
2.0	3.2	W Upper Wacker Drive
2.1	3.4	W Randolph Street	Westbound only; one-way road
2.2	3.5	W Washington Street	Eastbound only; one-way road
2.3	3.7	W Madison Street	Westbound only; one-way road
2.5	4.0	W Adams Street	Westbound only; one-way road
2.6	4.2	W Jackson Boulevard	Eastbound only; one-way road
2.8	4.5	To I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) west (W Congress Parkway)	To Jane Byrne Interchange; will be named Ida B. Wells Drive
2.8	4.5	W Harrison Street
3.2	5.1	Cul-de-sac near W Roosevelt Road	Southern terminus of Wells Street
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References