Elston Avenue is a street in the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, serving as an alternate route along the east side of the

Kennedy Expressway The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the W ...

(Interstates 90 and 94). It begins at Milwaukee Avenue, just north of

Chicago Avenue Chicago Avenue is a major east–west street in Chicago, Illinois that runs at 800 north from 385 east to 5968 west in the Chicago street address system from which point it enters the suburbs and goes into several different suburban address ...

. It travels northwest for almost until ending at Milwaukee Avenue again, just south of

Devon Avenue Devon Avenue is a major east-west street in the Chicago metropolitan area. It begins at Chicago's Sheridan Road, which borders Lake Michigan, and it runs west until merging with Higgins Road near O'Hare International Airport. Devon continues on ...

. The road never strays too far from either the

or Milwaukee Avenue. After beginning at Milwaukee Avenue, Elston Avenue travels northwest for its entire route. On its routing, it intersects streets such as Division Street,

Illinois Route 64 Illinois Route 64 (IL 64, Illinois 64) is an east–west state highway in Northern Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Iowa state line, connecting with U.S. Route 52 (US 52) and Iowa Highway 64 via the Dale Gardner Veterans Memo ...

( North Avenue),

Armitage Avenue Armitage Avenue is an east-west street in Chicago and its western suburbs, being located at 2000 North in the Chicago address system, two and one-half miles north of Madison Street. Its west end is located at President Street in the western subu ...

, and

Fullerton Avenue Fullerton Avenue, known as Fullerton Parkway from its intersection with Halsted Street and Lincoln Avenue to its east end, is a major east–west street in Chicago and its western suburbs. Its west end is at Gary Avenue in Carol Stream. The ro ...

. Elston Avenue then crosses Diversey Avenue and Western Avenue at the same point. After this intersection, the road continues northwest, intersecting

Belmont Avenue Belmont Avenue (3200 N) is a major east–west street in Chicago and some suburbs. Belmont starts at the Belmont harbor area and is a central commercial street in Lakeview and, west of the North Branch of the Chicago River, Avondale. Further w ...

Kedzie Avenue Kedzie Avenue is a major north–south street in Chicago, Illinois. Both Kedzie streets in Chicago and suburban Evanston are named after John H. Kedzie, an early Chicago real-estate developer. Kedzie Avenue extends more than from the southern ...

Addison Street Addison Street is a major east–west street on the north side of Chicago and its western suburbs. Wrigley Field is located at 1060 West Addison Street, which is the home of the Chicago Cubs. Chicago communities From east to west: *Lake View (City ...

Illinois Route 19 Illinois Route 19 (abbreviated IL-19, or simply Illinois 19) is a major east–west arterial road in northeastern Illinois, United States. It runs from Illinois Route 25 (Liberty St.) in Elgin, to Lake Shore Drive (U.S. Route 41) on the north ...

(

Irving Park Road Illinois Route 19 (abbreviated IL-19, or simply Illinois 19) is a major east–west arterial road in northeastern Illinois, United States. It runs from Illinois Route 25 (Liberty St.) in Elgin, to Lake Shore Drive (U.S. Route 41) on the north ...

), and Pulaski Road. Elston Avenue then crosses over

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

(

Edens Expressway Iens ( nl, Edens) is a small village in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province Friesland of the Netherlands with a population of around 32 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Ederinghe, and means "settlem ...

). then has intersections with

Illinois Route 50 Illinois Route 50 (IL 50) is a north–south state road in northeastern Illinois. It runs from the junction with U.S. Route 45 (US 45) and U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in West Kankakee north to US 41 in Skokie. In Chicago and the subur ...

(

Cicero Avenue Cicero Avenue, also known as Skokie Boulevard in Skokie and Wilmette, is a major north-south street in Chicago and its suburbs in Cook and Will Counties. It carries Illinois Route 50 from its south end to Skokie, and U.S. Route 41 from Skokie ...

) and

Foster Avenue Foster Avenue (5200 N) is a major east-west street on the North Side of Chicago as well as the northwestern suburbs. Foster Avenue separates the Chicago lakefront neighborhoods of Edgewater to the north and Uptown to the south. Foster Avenue ...

. Elston Avenue finally ends again at Milwaukee Avenue. In the 1830s, the road was a toll road operated by Amos J. Snell, who set up tolls at the intersections with Division Street, Lawrence Avenue, and Milwaukee Avenue. Snell charged 2.5c per mile and could collect as much as $790 in a single day. A group of local

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

who were tired of paying the tolls dressed up as Indians and destroyed the toll gates. In 1920, what is now

Horween Leather Company Horween Leather Company is an American company specializing in the manufacturing and refining of leather and related products. It is one of the oldest continuously running tanneries in the United States of America. Since its founding in the early ...

moved to its current location in a five-story block-long factory at 2015 North Elston Avenue (at Ashland Avenue), on the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...

. It obtained the site, which remains the company's current location, by purchasing it from Herman Loescher and Sons tannery.

Major intersections

References

{{Streets in Chicago Streets in Chicago