Chicago trolleybus 9680 on Belmont in 1968

Belmont Avenue (3200 N) is a major east–west street in

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

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 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 ...

, Avondale. Further west, it anchors the Belmont-Central shopping district straddling the Belmont Cragin and Portage Park communities. The road enters western suburbs River Grove and Franklin Park before the main segment ends with other parts of Belmont still going west. Then west of the Cook County line parts of Belmont enter DuPage County, specifically in Bensenville and Addison, ending. Belmont Avenue was the southern border of Riverview Park. The amusement park remained open from 1904 until 1967. The park's property is now home to the Riverview Plaza shopping center, the Belmont District Police Station, and

DeVry Institute of Technology DeVry University () is a private for-profit university with its headquarters in Naperville, Illinois. It was founded in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. DeVry is predominantly an online educator but ...

. One of the landmarks on Belmont Avenue was the Bally Manufacturing Corporation complex located between Washtenaw and Rockwell. The building featured neon signage with the corporate logo that looked beautiful when illuminated. Address was 2640 West Belmont, 60618. Bally also had two buildings on the south side of the street; a Parts and Lithograph (print shop) department. There were numerous buildings in the surrounding neighborhood as well. Bally moved manufacturing and eventually the corporate office to the west side of Chicago and to the western suburbs of Bensenville and Franklin Park starting in the late 1970s. The complex was sold in 1984 and after being occupied by Moloney Coachbuilders, it was sold and demolished to make way for modern luxury housing in 1997. The street was named in memory of the

Battle of Belmont The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861 in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in chief and eventual U.S. president, ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

that was fought on November 7, 1861, in

Mississippi County, Missouri Mississippi County is a county located in the Bootheel of the U.S. state of Missouri, with its eastern border formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,577. The largest city and county seat is Charleston. ...

.Maggio, Alice
''Punkin' Donuts and the Battle of Belmont''Gapers Block
website, Chicago.

Transportation

The CTA provides 24/7 service with the 77 Belmont between

Sheridan Road Sheridan Road is a major north-south street that leads from Diversey Parkway in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the easternmost north-south through street, closest ...

and Cumberland Avenue. The 94 California, 151 Sheridan and 156 LaSalle serve short segments of the road. The following CTA lines service Belmont: * Red Line, Brown Line and Purple Line Express at Sheffield Avenue * Blue Line at Kimball Avenue

References

{{chicago Streets in Chicago