Loop Retail Historic District

The Loop Retail Historic District is a shopping district in downtown Chicago that stretches from Lake Street to Ida B. Wells Drive between State Street and Wabash Avenue. The area contains buildings of many different styles, from classical department stores with large display windows to ornately decorated theaters and office buildings.

The area began its transformation into Chicago's retail center in the 1870s when Potter Palmer improved State Street and Marshall Field moved his business there. These early changes made the district the heart of shopping in the city for many decades.

The name 'Loop' comes from the elevated train that circles the area and defines its character. Visitors see a mix of grand facades from different periods here, with the old department stores and their expansive windows still showing how shopping was once organized in this part of the city.

The Chicago Transit Authority and elevated trains connect the district well to other parts of the city, with lines on State Street, Wabash Avenue, and Lake Street. Visitors will find everything within walking distance here, as shops and buildings sit close together.

The district preserves more than 70 buildings today that together form the highest concentration of landmarks in all of Chicago. This large collection of well-kept structures from different decades makes it a living display of the city's building history.