The information on this page was provided courtesy of the Evanston Historical Society.

The Chicago/Dempster neighborhood has been a center of commerce in Evanston for a century now.

Before the turn of the century, the area around Chicago Avenue and Dempster Street was mostly farmland. Starting in about 1899, stores began springing up on the corner and eventually on the surrounding blocks.

The neighborhood features several historic structures, including a Daniel Burnham building on the southwest corner of Chicago and Dempster and a 100-year-old building on the northwest corner.

Other interesting historical notes:

Chicago Avenue is the second oldest street in Evanston. It got its name for the very reason it was created in the 1850s: as the first straight and direct route to the city of Chicago. Proposals were made in the 1930s to change the street's name, but none was accepted.

Dempster Street was named for Dr. John Dempster, a prominent 19th century Methodist who founded Northwestern's Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (originally called Garrett Biblical Institute).

March 29, 1885, marked the first recorded train trip from a station at Dempster Street into downtown Chicago.

In the early 1900s, streetcars were an integral part of the landscape, running up and down Chicago Avenue. A movement to eliminate them and pave over the tracks came about in 1939. The streetcars were eventually replaced with buses.

Evanston Township High School, now located in west Evanston, was formerly located at the corner of Dempster Street and Elmwood Avenue.

Sherman Avenue, which runs through the Chicago/Dempster neighborhood, was named in honor of Alson Smith Sherman, a member of the first board of trustees of Evanston's Northwestern University.

The office of Orrington Realty sits on the site of the former home of sculptor Lorado Taft.

The Weiner and Still Champion grill used to be an A&P grocery store.

In the 1940s, an industrial factory occupied the site of Murphy's Fit shoe store.