Politics & Government

Bloomingdale Trail Now Branded 'The 606' to Create Identity

The 13-acre park is now called The 606, representing the first three digits of every Chicago zip code.

Now that the Bloomingdale Trail has been given the green light by the Chicago City Council, organizers are giving the long-anticipated project a new name: The 606.

The Trust for Public Land announced the rebranding while presenting final plans for the project Tuesday evening, the Chicago Tribune reports. While the Bloomingdale Trail will retain its name, the 606 is planned to be the name of the entire project.

“That name, announced this week, encompasses this entire project, including the nearly 3-mile elevated Bloomingdale Trail, five access parks that will be linked to it, and several other amenities,” organizers wrote in a statement. “The Bloomingdale Trail keeps its own name, just like the individual parks linked to the project.”

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The name “The 606” was chosen with Chicago in mind, representing the first three digits of Chicago’s zip codes. Planners say they hope it will unite Chicago, namely Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square and Huboldt Park as it passes over them.

Planned for the top of an abandoned, 2.7-mile railroad viaduct between Ashland and Ridgeway avenues, the $91 million linear park will be managed by the Chicago Park District through a $1 lease with the city of Chicago, which recently acquired the viaduct from the Canadian Pacific Railway.

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City Council approved the plan to construct The 606 in March and plans to break ground this summer. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2014.

The city will maintain the viaduct’s walls and bridges and the park district will maintain the trail and 13 acres of open space planned for the top. Sprinkled throughout the elevated multi-use trail will be performance spaces, picnic areas, a skate park, dense forestry and public art, all created with nods toward sustainability.

The project is overseen by a handful of public bodies and nonprofits, but the vast majority of funding for development and construction, some $37 million, comes from the federal government.


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