Ahh, the Loop. The mere mention of the word evokes misty memories of a place, a geographical designation encircled by an elevated train, a radio station, a state of mind . . .
Of course, the Loop’s boundaries depend on who you talk to–residents, newcomers, developers, cabbies or Jim Kinney.
It can be everything inside the loop of the “L,” “basically what runs from Van Buren on the south side to Lake on the north side and from Wabash on the east over to Wells on the west,” says Rubloff Residential Properties prez Kinney. “That’s the classic Loop.”
But, he adds, “Things have blurred.”
Blurred? Try fuzzy. Confusing. Goofy. Go to the city of Chicago’s Web site or the Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois. There, the Loop’s northern and western boundaries are pushed to the Chicago River. Its southern boundary lands at Roosevelt Road. And its eastern boundary? That would be Lake Michigan, wrapping Millennium Park into the package.
And the South Loop? Kinney explains that, traditionally, it has meant south of the Loop–Printers Row, Dearborn Park–but it’s also jumped to Museum Park and beyond.
“I think,” says Kinney, “if you talk to five different people, you get five different responses.”
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What’s your definition of the Loop? Tell us about it. Send your response by e-mail to atplay@tribune.com and put LOOP in the subject field. Or write to At Play, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.
