LaSalle Street

LaSalle Street

140 West
from the old Chicago Board of Trade Building (May 15, 1916)
Location	Chicago
North end	Lake Shore Drive at 1700 North
South end	147th Street, Riverdale

LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Sieur de La Salle, an early explorer of Illinois. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district.

South of the Financial District, LaSalle Street gets cut off for a while by the Amtrak/Metra Rail yard from Taylor St to 1600 South. It runs parallel to the Rock Island District Metra line. South of 26th Street, it serves as a frontage road for the Dan Ryan Expressway until 47th street, where it merges with Wentworth Avenue. South of 47th, it starts and stops as a local street until it finally terminates at West 147th Street in Riverdale.

The stretch of LaSalle Street and its adjacent buildings in the Loop is recognized as the West Loop—LaSalle Street Historic District. The south end of LaSalle Street terminates at the art-deco Chicago Board of Trade Building, a Chicago Landmark and National Historic Landmark. The LaSalle Street Station commuter terminal is located directly south of the Board of Trade. An art deco skyscraper at 135 S. LaSalle and a modern skyscraper 190 S. LaSalle line the street. One North LaSalle, the former Field Building, Chicago City Hall and the James R. Thompson Center are located within the Loop on LaSalle Street.

The street was nicknamed "The Canyon" due to the tall, steep buildings that lie on both ends of the relatively narrow street, with the Chicago Board of Trade Building as the abrupt end of the apparent box canyon.