Devon Street

Chicago, IL

Submitted by: Ethan Kent

A classic neighborhood street, where every corner is a gathering place.

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10/06/05 W W said:

Devon is not an attractive street, but that's the point. A great public space needn't be pretty. Devon is useful, lively, entertaining, educational and spontaneous. And it's better than it was 10 years ago. What had been generically "Indian" restaurants are now more specifically defined: Punjabi, South Indian, Telugu, Pakistani, vegetarian, sweets.

It's not just food either. There are several books stores where previously there was just one corner vendor. And there are more benches clustered at corners to encourage people to linger and chat.

The neighborhood could still benefit from the presence of a market and also from clearly religious structures. Because the mosques, temples and gurdwaras are all storefront, they neither announce themselves nor showcase South Asian architecture.

10/08/06 J Edlis said:

Devon is an Avenue, not a street. While I understand the community aspect of the images shown I find the more important aspect of this east/west street is twofold; firstly, a significant orientation in Chicago is east/west, meaning close (east) or far (west) from the lake (Lake Michigan). Close to the lake implies several things; original settlement areas of different immigrant groups, with newer arrivals having to move further out (meaning away from) the lake and its amenities (water, beaches, parks). Also living close to the lake offers respite from summer heat & winter cold (about 5-6 deg diff at least). And many of the original 'vintage' buildings built along the lake between the wars are very desirable (read costly) locations to live, often including a beautiful view of the Lake. Secondly, while I have not lived in Chicago for about 10 years, what I love about Devon Avenue (and tell all my London friends) is that every block has a different ethnic identity: Jewish/Yiddish, Indian, Russian, Arabic, Serbian, etc. In one of the published images one can barely make out the brown street sign (as oppposed to the standard Chicago green with white lettering sign)which indicates an alternate street name, generally honoring a particular person. The best part of Devon Avenue is the shopping; it's a world market. I remember walking down the street and buying Russian Kefir, blood sausage & smoked mackeral, freshly ground Halal lamb for middle eastern cooking, cheap rolls of polyester sari silk in delicious colors, Indian spices, 10 lb bags of Bhasmati rice and experimenting with all the delicacies of other nations. If America is a melting pot, then Chicago is Irish Stew - lots of different ingredients but good sized chunks of each, in cohesive neighborhoods. (Have you heard of Ukranian Village, a pair of streets now in the middle of a large hispanic neighborhood where the children do not speak English at home?)