7 on the Streets: Logan Boulevard, Campbell Avenue, Throop Street
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Have you ever wondered how Chicago streets get their names? Roz Varon finds out in "7 on the Streets." Tuesday's street names include tales from the Great Chicago Fire.
ABC7 Chicago Twitter follower Danny Zee asked about Logan Boulevard.
On Chicago's Northwest Side, Logan Boulevard was originally part of the town of Jefferson - outside the early city limits.
The Logan Square neighborhood was annexed in 1889 and named in honor of John Alexander Logan, a Civil War general. After the war, as a U.S. Senator, he established a holiday to honor soldiers.
"Decoration Day was essentially a way to remember Civil War veterans and those, especially of the north, Union soldiers who died in battle," said Peter Alter, a historian at the Chicago History Museum.
Eventually, that holiday became the federal holiday known as Memorial Day.
Some may think the statue in Logan Square is dedicated to General John Logan, but not quite. It's actually the Illinois Centennial Monument.
Built in 1918, the statute commemorates the 100th anniversary of Illinois' statehood. General Logan's statue stands proudly in Grant Park.
ABC7 Chicago Facebook fan Bennett Ryan asked about Campbell Avenue, a West Side street that runs through 24 miles of the city.
James Campbell was alderman of the old 12th Ward in the late 1800s.
"Like a lot of people of whom streets are named, not only was he a politician, he was very active in real estate after the Great Fire of 1871," Alter said.
Seeing the city in ruins, Campbell seized the opportunity to buy land and develop more than 1,000 buildings, like these on Bowler Street. He also donated land to the city for parks, such as Altgeld Park on the West Side.
Also on the West Side, Throop Street peaked the curiosity of viewer Nafeesah Abdullah.
Amos Throop was a Chicago businessman and politician in the mid-1800s. He was an abolitionist before the Civil War and a supporter of temperance.
"(That) meant that he basically wanted to do away with the consumption of alcohol and believed that alcohol lead to a lot of evils," Alter said.
Throop ran for mayor twice, and lost twice. He eventually moved to California and was elected mayor of Pasadena.
His biggest achievement was founding Throop University, which became the California Institute of Technology.
Many of Caltech's distinguished alumni are recognizable names, like Charles Richter of the Richter scale; Frank Capra, director of "It's a Wonderful Life"; and dozens of Nobel laureates. Albert Einstein was also a visiting professor at Caltech.
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