Jefferson, Larrabee & Geneva Terrace Walk
Details
In spite of including three streets, this will be a relatively short walk - around 6.5 miles. We'll meet at La Malinche Coffee House on Halsted, then proceed to Jefferson and Cermak. We'll take Jefferson as far as it goes, then switch to Larrabee. Larrabee will manifest itself into Geneva Terrace a few blocks before its end point on W. Deming Pl. in Lincoln Park. Here's the RunGo route map, which will likely get updated as I sort out the doubling back to get all of Jefferson covered.
We'll lunch somewhere in Lincoln Park at the end of the walk - I'll update with options.
Namesake/street rants:
Thomas Jefferson was also an evil bastard, but had a staggering flair for writing like he wasn't. His Chicago street, while brief, can still look like old-school industrial Chicago here and there.
Note: I will not be able to restrain myself from pausing at Jefferson and 18th St. to salute my Great, Great Grandfather, Jacob Eberth. Jacob Eberth owned a tavern at that corner which did NOT burn down in 1871, in spite of being 1 mile due south of Mrs. O'Leary's barn.
William M. Larrabee managed railroads in Chicago in the mid-1800s. That is the sum total I've figured out about Mr. Larrabee. What's confusing is that another William Larrabee was the Governor of Iowa, and he didn't like railroads one bit. How little did he like railroads? "The Railroad Question: A Historical and Practical Treatise on Railroads and Remedies for their Abuses"
Larrabee street is mostly noteworthy for what is not there anymore. Ogden Ave. Cabrini Green. An entire section of Old Town. The Brick of Chicago tour of Old Town devotes a good portion to the destruction of Larrabee and the fight that locals lost to save it, if you're eager to learn more.
Geneva Terrace? I have no explanation for Geneva Terrace. Why wasn't "Larrabee" good enough for those 4 blocks, huh?
