Lake Shore Drive

Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive
View of Lake Shore Drive taken from the Rubloff building, near the Lake Michigan shoreline
Map
Original portion of Lake Shore Drive in red
2013 extension in dark green
Part of US 41 / LMCT
Length15.83 mi (25.48 km)[1]
(Original 1937 section only; not including the 2013 extension)
South endMarquette Drive and Jeffery Drive (6600 South)
North endHollywood Avenue (5700 North)
Construction
Completion1937
Inauguration1946; 78 years ago (1946)

Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive;[2][3] also known as DuSable Lake Shore Drive,[4] the Outer Drive,[5] the Drive, LSD or DLSD) is a semi-limited access expressway that runs alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan and its adjacent parkland and beaches in Chicago, Illinois. Except for the portion north of Foster Avenue (5200 North), the Drive is designated part of U.S. Highway 41. A portion of the highway on the Outer Drive Bridge and its bridge approaches is multilevel.

Between 1927 and 1946, the roadway's southern portion from the Chicago River to 57th Street was signed as Leif Ericson Drive after the Norse explorer.[6] It was also nicknamed Field Boulevard. The entire route was resigned as Lake Shore Drive in 1946, and its scenic views of the waterfront, beaches, parks, towers and high-rises have become symbolic of Chicago.

On June 25, 2021, the Chicago City Council approved a compromise ordinance renaming the outer portion of Lake Shore Drive for the city's first non-indigenous settler, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable.[7][8]

The Lakefront Trail, an 18-mile (29 km) multi-use trail, parallels Lake Shore Drive on the east side for most of its length. Pedestrians can access the lake at numerous points all along Lake Shore Drive through underpasses and overpasses that connect the lake with the city's lakefront neighborhoods.

  1. ^ Staff (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Illinois Technology Transfer Center. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
  2. ^ "Lake Shore Drive Renamed to Honor DuSable". Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "LAKE SHORE DRIVE/DUSABLE DRIVE" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "Dozens of Signs Installed Proclaiming Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive". Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "A Brief History Of Chicago's Lake Shore Drive". April 3, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "Lake Shore Drive officially renamed Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive after City Council vote". June 25, 2021.
  8. ^ Greenfield, John. "DuSable Drive opponents said the issue wasn't about race. The numbers speak for themselves". Retrieved June 29, 2021.