2006-12-28 08:14:04 · 2 answers · asked by mathu9 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Chicago
State and Madison, in the heart of the Loop, is one of the few corners that was left standing after the Great Fire of 1871. As the city rebuilt, that corner became point zero as a reference, and everything was numbered from there.
Each 800 numbers is one mile - it happens to be one mile to the Water Tower, one of the other few buildings left standing after the fire, so the Water Tower is at 800 North.
So, if you're at 1600 North and 800 West, you're two miles north and one mile west of State and Madison. It makes it very difficult to get lost in Chicago.
2006-12-28 08:36:30 · answer #1 · answered by Marc W 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's the 0 point for the city address system. From looking at any address, you can tell how far it is from State/Madison. For instance, Belmont (3200N) is 32 blocks north of Madison (8 blocks is one mile).
2006-12-28 08:23:13 · answer #2 · answered by Lieberman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋