Streetwise Chicago: A History of Chicago Street Names [Hardcover]

Don Hayner (Author), Tom McNamee (Author), George A. Lane (Photographer)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 153 pages
• Publisher: Wild Onion Books (October 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829405976
• ISBN-13: 978-0829405972
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #837,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating - An Indispensable Resource, February 28, 2006

By 

David Johnsen (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Streetwise Chicago: A History of Chicago Street Names (Hardcover)

I refer to this book more than any other in my collection of Chicago books. Every time I find something new or something that I had forgotten. There is no other book like it.

Note to previous reviewers: it is unfair to criticize this book for missing some name changes. It states quite clearly, "This list of street name changes is not complete; it's a selected sample from about 1900 to the present time." And it's wrong to give a book only one star based on an appendix.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely interesting, September 2, 2000

By 

Ronald S. Sherman "Ron in Chicago" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Streetwise Chicago: A History of Chicago Street Names (Paperback)

This will be a fascinating book to anyone living in, or near Chicago, and who like me, is interested in the history that is all around us. There is so much of this history in the street names - people, places, stories, changing geography etc. I recommend this to any curious person.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource-- Needs to be back in print!!, December 27, 2007

By 

Thomas C. O'Rourke - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Streetwise Chicago: A History of Chicago Street Names (Paperback)

This is a fantastic book, detailing all known stories behind all the street names in Chicago. It is both an excellent reference and a fascinating read.

Some have criticized it's lack of information on the FORMER names of the streets listed. First, hundreds of streets were renamed in the 1910's merely to eliminate duplicates. Second, many streets were formerly named differently in several places. To burden this book with sorting it all out would diminish it's usefulness and readability.

I really hope that this book is reprinted so that others can enjoy it!