Menomonee Street, Chicago

Menomonee St. lies in the heart of the Triangle Historic District, a delightful area of narrow tree-lined streets with picturesque houses and quite a few interesting shops and restaurants.

A walk along this street will give a good idea of what the Old Town community looked like before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Most of the area's original houses were small cottages with lightweight wooden frames and, as such, were reduced to ashes; however, the reconstructed ones located at Nos. 325–45 were built in the same style and with the same materials. Also of note, the whitish-gray dwellings at No. 348 and 215, on the edge of the street, are rare surviving examples of the one-room “fire relief” shanties built for people made homeless by the fire. These structures, costing the city about $100 each, were transported on wagons to a burned-out lot, providing instant lodging.

Tip:
Walking east to Sedgwick Street, you will find one of Chicago's oldest taverns – MARGE'S STILL (Mon-Thu: 4:30pm–12am; Fri: 11:30am–1am; Sat, Sun: 10am–1am). From outside in and inside out, the place looks great; one you'll want to walk into and spend a lot of time in if you can. Great beer selection, too, and their "world-famous" pot pie is no joke, either!