Editing Chicago Loop (section)

{{Short description|Community area in Chicago, Illinois}}
{{about|the neighborhood|the elevated rail section|The Loop (CTA)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = The Loop
| official_name      = Community Area 32 – The Loop
| image_skyline      = File:Chicago Loop.png
| image_alt          = Skyline of the Loop from Lake Michigan
| image_caption      = The Loop skyline as seen from [[Lake Michigan]]
| imagesize          = 300px
| image_map          = {{maplink|frame=y|plain=y|frame-align=center|type=shape|fill=#000|fill-opacity=0.0|zoom=11|stroke-width=3}}
| other_name         = 
| nickname           = 
| settlement_type    = {{nowrap|[[Community areas in Chicago|Community area]] &
[[central business district]]}}
| motto              = 
| mapsize            = 
| map_caption        = Interactive street map
| image_map1         = US-IL-Chicago-CA32.svg
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = Location within the city of Chicago
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type1  = State
| subdivision_name1  = Illinois
| subdivision_type2  = County
| subdivision_name2  = [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook]]
| subdivision_type3  = City
| subdivision_name3  = Chicago
| named_for          = [[The Loop (CTA)|The Loop]]
| parts_type         = [[Neighborhoods in Chicago|Neighborhoods]]
| parts_style        = list
| parts              = 
| p1                 = [[#The Loop|The Loop]]
| p2                 = [[#New East Side|New East Side]]
| p3                 = [[#Printer's Row|Printer's Row]]
| p4                 = [[#South Loop|South Loop]]
| p5                 = [[Dearborn Park]]
| p6                 = [[Historic Michigan Boulevard District]]
| area_magnitude     = 
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 4.09
| population_as_of   = 2020
| population_footnotes = <ref name="cmap">{{cite web|title=Community Data Snapshot - Loop|url=http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/The+Loop.pdf|website=cmap.illinois.gov|publisher=MetroPulse|access-date=November 17, 2023|archive-date=June 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628102147/http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/The%20Loop.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_note    = population up 158.1% from 2000
| population_total   = 42298
| population_density_km2 = auto
| demographics_type1 = [[Demographics of the United States|Demographics]] 2021<ref name="cmap" />
| demographics1_title1 = [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|White]]
| demographics1_info1 = 56.7%
| demographics1_title2 = Black
| demographics1_info2 = 8.1%
| demographics1_title3 = Hispanic
| demographics1_info3 = 10.4%
| demographics1_title4 = Asian
| demographics1_info4 = 20.9%
| demographics1_title5 = Other
| demographics1_info5 = 4.0%
| demographics_type2 = [[Educational attainment in the United States|Educational Attainment]] 2021<ref name="cmap" />
| demographis2_footnotes = 
| demographics2_title1 = High School Diploma or Higher
| demographics2_info1 = 97.3%
| demographics2_title2 = Bachelor's Degree or Higher
| demographics2_info2 = 82.2%
| timezone           = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|CST]]
| utc_offset         = -6
| timezone_DST       = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|CDT]]
| utc_offset_DST     = -5
| coordinates_footnotes = <ref name="gnis80">{{cite gnis |id=406045|name=Chicago Loop|entry-date=15 January 1980}}</ref>
| coordinates        = {{coord|41|52|52|N|87|37|47|W|region:US-IL_source:gnis|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name="gnis80"/>
| elevation_ft       = 594
| postal_code_type   = ZIP codes
| postal_code        = 60601, 60602, 60603, 60604, and parts of 60605, 60606, 60607, and 60616
| area_code          = 
| blank_name         = [[Household income in the United States|Median household income 2021]]
| blank_info         = $115,988<ref name="cmap" />
| website            = 
| footnotes          = Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services {{Clarify|date=March 2009}}
}}
'''The Loop''' is [[Chicago]]'s [[central business district]] and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized [[Community areas in Chicago|community areas]]. Located at the center of [[downtown]] Chicago<ref>{{cite web |title=The Loop |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/the-Loop |website=britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=9 September 2024}}</ref> on the shores of [[Lake Michigan]], it is the second-largest business district in [[North America]], after [[Midtown Manhattan]]. The headquarters and regional offices of several global and national businesses, retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, and theaters—as well as many of Chicago's most famous attractions—are located in the Loop.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Ten Largest CBDs in the USA |url=https://offices.net/news/top-ten-largest-cbds-in-the-usa/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |language=en-US}}</ref> The neighborhood also hosts Chicago's [[Chicago City Hall|City Hall]], the seat of [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]], offices of other levels of government, and several foreign [[consulates]]. The intersection of [[State Street (Chicago)|State Street]] and [[Madison Street (Chicago)|Madison Street]] in the Loop is the origin point for the address system on [[Roads and expressways in Chicago|Chicago's street grid]].

The Loop's definition and perceived boundaries have developed over time. Since the 1920s, the area bounded by the [[Chicago River]] to the west and north, Lake Michigan to the east, and [[Roosevelt Road]] (12th Street) to the south has been called the Loop. It took its name from a somewhat smaller area, the 35 city blocks bounded on the north by Lake Street, on the west by Wells Street, on the south by Van Buren Street, and on the east by Wabash Avenue—the [[Union Loop]] formed by the [[Chicago 'L'|'L']] in the late 1800s.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Loop |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/the-Loop |website=britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=9 September 2024}}</ref> Similarly, "[[South Loop, Chicago|South]]" and "[[West Loop, Chicago|West Loop]]" historically referred to areas within the Loop proper, but in the 21st century began to refer to the entire [[Near South Side, Chicago|Near South]] and much of the [[Near West Side, Chicago|Near West Side]]s of the city, respectively.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Matthews |first1=David |title=Where Does The South Loop Start and End? Borders a Work in Progress |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150825/downtown/where-does-south-loop-start-end-borders-work-progress |access-date=9 September 2024 |work=Block Club Chicago |date=25 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Harrington |first1=Adam |title=What is the Loop in Chicago? |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/what-is-loop-chicago/ |access-date=9 September 2024 |work=CBS News Chicago |date=14 June 2023}}</ref>

In 1803, the [[United States Army]] built [[Fort Dearborn]] in what is now the Loop; although earlier settlement was present, this was the first settlement in the area sponsored by the [[United States federal government]]. When Chicago and Cook County were incorporated in the 1830s, the area was selected as the site of their respective seats. Originally mixed-use, the neighborhood became increasingly commercial in the 1870s. This process accelerated in the aftermath of the 1871 [[Great Chicago Fire]], which destroyed most of the neighborhood's buildings. Some of the world's earliest [[skyscraper]]s were constructed in the Loop, giving rise to the [[Chicago school (architecture)|Chicago School of architecture]]. By the late 19th century, cable car turnarounds and the Union Loop encircled the area, giving the neighborhood its name. Near the lake, [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park]], known as "Chicago's front yard", is Chicago's oldest park; it was significantly expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and houses a number of features and museums. Starting in the 1920s, road improvements for highways were constructed to and into the Loop, perhaps most famously [[U.S. Route 66]], which opened in 1926.

While dominated by offices and public buildings, its residential population boomed during the latter 20th century and first decades of the 21st, partly due to the development of former rail yards (at one time, the area had six major interurban railroad terminals and land was also needed for extensive rail cargo storage and transfer), industrial building conversions, as well as additional high-rise residences. Since 1950, the Loop's resident population has increased in percentage terms, the most out of all of Chicago's community areas.