PORTAGE PARK — Forgotten Chicago will bring its walking tour to Six Corners and travel back to the shopping district's heyday, when it was second only to the Loop as a destination for those looking to make cash registers chime.
The area near Cicero and Milwaukee avenues at Irving Park Road once attracted thousands of shoppers, offering whatever their hearts desired at dozens of shops and two of the city's largest department stores.
An encore of one of Forgotten Chicago's most popular walking tours, guides will discuss the history and evolution of the Six Corners Shopping District, which is enjoying new life as the center of arts and culture on the Far Northwest Side.
Guides will trace the area’s early history as a crossroads for traders traveling by foot and canoe, as well as the beginning — and end — of the streetcar era and the rise of the automobile and its impact on the area, tour organizers said.
As Chicago grew rapidly through the 20th century, so did Six Corners. It is home to some of the best-preserved examples of modernist retail architecture, including Robert Heller’s nearly intact former Straus & Schram department store at 4901 W. Irving Park Rd., which will be part of the tour.
That building is set to be renovated in the coming months and transformed into a grocery store, gym and Starbucks, according to officials.
Tickets for the tour set to take place from noon to 2:30 p.m. June 14 will be available at forgottenchicago.com.
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