Unknown to most Chicagoans, the Pedway, an underground maze of tunnels connecting buildings spread over 40 square blocks of the city’s central business district, may be on the verge of fame.
Several local organizations have begun leading tours of the passageways, which the city has been developing since 1951, and which includes both lush lobbies and bare corridors, Starbucks stores and stained-glass windows. Another civic organization has raised serious money to improve signage and spruce up areas.
The less-developed parts
That group, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, has announced plans to promote the Pedway “both as a destination and as a desirable way to move around downtown”. Its vision includes an underground library, art galleries and a farmers’ market.
Stained glass windows are an exhibit by the Smith Museum of Stained Glass
But Heather Hicks, who leads tunnel tours, says she’s not sure about all that. “The Pedway is one of Chicago’s neighbourhoods. I don’t want to see it gentrified. Save the weird, you know?”
