Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Shopping
F
orget Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue—Chicago is the country's
original shopping center. As the United States expanded westward,
catalogs from Chicago-based Sears and Montgomery Ward made
clothes, books, and housewares accessible to even the most remote
frontier towns. Department store magnate Marshall Field operated
his namesake department store here, which opened in 1852, under
the motto “Give the lady what she wants.” Field pioneered many
customer-service policies that are now standard, such as hassle-free
returns.
Today Montgomery Ward is no more (and Marshall Field's has
been taken over by Macy's), but downtown Chicago still draws
hordes of shoppers (as anyone who's tried to walk quickly down
Michigan Ave. on a busy summer Saturday can attest to). From the
fine furniture showrooms at the imposing Merchandise Mart to the
who's who of designer boutiques lining Oak Street and Michigan
Avenue, the quality of stores in Chicago is top-notch. Because so
many of the best are concentrated in one easy-to-walk area, the con-
venience of shopping in Chicago is unmatched.
1 Shopping the Magnificent Mile
The nickname “Magnificent Mile”—hyperbole to some, an under-
statement to others—refers to the roughly mile-long stretch of
North Michigan Avenue between Oak Street and the Chicago River.
Even jaded shoppers from other worldly capitals are delighted at
the ease and convenience of the stores concentrated here. Even if
you're not the shop-till-you-drop type, it's worth a stroll because this
stretch is, in many ways, the heart of the city, a place that bustles with
life year-round (although it's especially crowded around Christmas
and during the summer).
For the ultimate Mag Mile shopping adventure, start at one end
of North Michigan Avenue and try to work your way to the other.
Below I've listed some of the best-known shops on the avenue and
nearby side streets.
