What's with those strange Chicago addresses?

[summer22]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Ah, I see. You're counting blocks as in "every 100 is a block"... instead of from one street to the next.

Most places in the city, every sixty is a block... e.g. on the 5300 block of S. Spaulding, it starts at 5300/5301, then goes to 5358/5359. In that Gage Park area where I grew up, most blocks don't even go up to sixty, your corners will usually be -57 or -59 on one side and -56 or -58 on the other side. There's no 61 through 99. You cross the street and you'll be at 5400/5401.

There's exceptions to that though, especially in the older neighborhoods.

"Place" streets on the south side (like 53rd place) are halfway between the streets, so it goes 53rd street, 53rd place, 54th street, 54th place. They usually don't go through except for a few blocks.

Your "through streets" will usually be on the half-mile or on the mile. Some exceptions, like when railroad tracks are where the through street should be (like S. Central Park between 47th and 71st or so... the through street is S. Lawndale, one block further west.)

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by summer22

Most places in the city, every sixty is a block...

That's all fine and dandy, but the fact of the matter is in most cases (except for the variance mentioned below) once a street changes from let's say 5801 to 5901, one has gone a full city block.

Originally Posted by andrew61

The only exceptions to this rule are the first three miles south of Madison Street on the South Side -- the first mile south of Madison is at 1200S, the second mile at 2200S, the third mile at 3100S, and after that the 800-to-a-mile rule resumes.