The city of Chicago was built on a grid system with a major street every half-mile - equal to four blocks. The most central point of the city is at the intersection of State Street and Madison Street in the heart of downtown. State Street runs north and south. All of the other north and south streets are numbered as “so many blocks east or west of State” with the addresses increasing by 100 for each block (except downtown, where streets do not always correspond to a full block). For out-of-towners, Madison Street is near the north end of Grant Park.

For example, Ashland Avenue runs north and south and is 16 blocks west of State and so its address is 1600 West. Since there are eight blocks to a mile, we can also determine that Ashland is two miles west of State Street. Similarly all east and west streets are numbered as north or south of Madison, which runs east and west. The street that runs parallel to Madison eight blocks to the north (Chicago Avenue) is referred to as 800 North, and is one mile north of Madison.

Streets and avenues run north, south, east and west, while avenues can also be diagonal.

Chicago’s elevated train is referred to as the “L” or the “el.” In addition, the Metra, a commuter rail system, operates trains between the city and outer lying counties and suburbs. AMTRAK services the country and stops in downtown Chicago at Union Station, which also serves as a Metra station.

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Information provided courtesy:

Chicago Transit Authority P.O. Box 7563 Chicago, IL 60680-7563

Metra 547 West Jackson Chicago, IL 60661 (312) 322-6777