The Southwest Suburbs:
The suburbs of Chicago, collectively called Chicagoland, are described as “The Birthplace of Chicago.” In a literal sense, the Chicago Portage connecting the Great Lakes and the Mississippi is where the city began. But the suburbs are where it grew. Route 66 through the southwest suburbs is a story of decline of old industries and their communities in the nearby Chicago suburbs and rebirth and growth of new industries in the outer suburbs. The Chicago bedroom communities along Ogden Avenue and Joliet Road experienced their greatest growth during the Route 66 “Era of Significance.”

Relationship to Route 66:
These southwestern Chicago suburbs were along old Indian trails and trading routes that became SBI 4 (State Bond Issue 4) and eventually Route 66. The Chicago suburbs that formed the 66 corridor remained relatively consistent since the only underpass of the multiple railroad tracks was funneled through the 1910 viaduct on Ogden Avenue. The outbound march of residential development from Chicago in the last sixty years is evident and has been accelerated by the Stevenson Expressway (I-55). Most of these communities are transitioning from manufacturing and farm economies to light industry and service businesses. Many “era of significance” buildings and streetscapes are still intact, though most are in need of restoration. The architectural character of the urban landscape still gives hints of the small autonomous villages that Route 66 passed through in its heyday.