Chicago's got more than 4,795 of them, but only one mile is called "magnificent."
That stretch of North Michigan Avenue-which actually is just shy of a mile in length-from the Chicago River to Oak Street certainly is bustling. On any given weekday, about 40,000 pedestrians make their way up and down The Magnificent Mile, along with 42,000 cars and trucks. The Mag Mile district, which extends beyond Michigan Avenue, is bounded by North Avenue to the north, Randolph Street to the south, Lake Shore Drive to the east and the Chicago River to the west. The area boasts more than 450 retail outlets, 275 restaurants and 60 hotels.
"It's one of the grand boulevards of the world, and it has been recognized as such," said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose district encompasses the Mag Mile. "The fact that Chicago is on the main stage with other global cities, Michigan Avenue is a big part of that."
It's that sort of reverence that draws 20 million people to the Mile annually, and why the comparatively small stretch of Chicago roadway gets so much attention whenever anything happens there-for good or ill.
Since it was branded The Magnificent Mile 66 years ago, the street has been celebrated as a mecca for shopping and fashion, and was both fashioned after and has been compared to Paris' famed Champs-Elysees shopping district. Eight of the Near North Side's 46 historical landmarks dot the district. Throngs of people flocked to the street last month to see the dyeing of the Chicago River for St. Patrick's Day, even with one of the mile's newest restaurants boasting 360 individual beer taps just minutes from the festivities.
Even the magnificent can have its blemishes, however.
Police had to make a special effort to protect the Mag Mile-where many international dignitaries stayed-during May 2012's protests of the NATO Summit. In November, as tens of thousands attended the annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, a 56-year-old man stabbed a man attending the celebration and injured a bartender at a Westin hotel. In March, 17 people-mostly minors-were arrested for starting fights and bumping pedestrians on the mile, prompting police to more than double their presence in the area. The heightened patrol will continue through the spring and summer, according to Reilly.
As warm weather approaches, so does the influx of tourists and locals alike to the strip. It's just one mile, but with North Michigan Avenue under the microscope, RedEye broke down some of the numbers on one of the Windy City's main streets.
40,000: Number of pedestrians who, on a typical weekday, make their way up and down the mile, with 55,000 doing the same on the weekend. There's also an average daily vehicle count of 42,000 cars and trucks on the road.
The estimated number of visitors per year to the Magnificent Mile district: 20 million. They enjoy an estimated 460 retail shops, 275 restaurants and 60 hotels
66: Number of years since Chicago real estate developer and Greater North Michigan Avenue Association leader Arthur Rubloff coined the term "The Magnificent Mile."
About 50 3-foot-tall Titleist golf balls dotted the Mag Mile in September to mark the Ryder Cup coming to town. It was the latest in a series of public art displays that pop up on the street. Several of the
300-plus decorated cattle in "Cows on Parade" grazed on North Michigan Avenue in the summer of 1999, which later brought in $3.5 million for charity at auction and generated an estimated $200 million economic boost for the city.
Under a plan floated by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose ward includes the Mag Mile, businesses could chip in $30 an hour to pay for extra police to protect the shopping district.
Much of the Mag Mile was closed for three days in 2010, as director Michael Bay blew up North Michigan Avenue during filming of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon." The closure rerouted 22 CTA bus routes, and the Tribune later estimated $7.9 billion worth of fictitious damage was done to the city as a whole.
The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival has been a Chicago tradition for more than 20 years during the holidays. Last year, about 1.2 million people came to see the lights and parade, which features about 10,000 fireworks shells, 17,500 cubic feet of helium for balloons and 600 volunteers to pull off. More than 200 trees are strung with lights.
In 2011, the entire length of the Mag Mile was repaved at a cost of $1 million. The project used 2,200 recycled tires, shingles from 130 houses and 24 truckloads of reused asphalt to cover the road, diverting the material from landfills. Traffic was not stopped during the project.
The 0.9-mile stretch of North Michigan Avenue spans 13 blocks, from the Chicago River on the south end to Oak Street on the north end. The Magnificent Mile district is the area bounded by North Avenue to the north, Randolph Street to the south, Lake Shore Drive to the east and the Chicago River to the west. According to Google Maps, a start-to-finish trip comes in at about 19 minutes by foot, or 12 minutes if you're going to take a bus.
28: Number of people, mostly minors, who were arrested in late March after incidents of "wilding"-or large gatherings of rowdy groups-downtown. Seventeen of those were arrested along the Mag Mile for bumping people and starting fights among themselves.
1,398: Number of police reports generated last year along the North Michigan Avenue strip. Nearly 75 percent of those were for thefts, mostly in department stores and small businesses, according to city crime data. Pickpocketing made up 8 percent of the thefts, most of it occurring on CTA buses.