Modern day Chicago’s alleys primarily consist of asphalt paving. A few alleys in older parts of the city can still be found paved with Belgian block from the early twentieth century. However, in the 1800s, wood block was the standard material for alley paving. While practically all wood block alleys in the city have been repaved with asphalt over the years, at least two still exist.

One is in the Gold coast; the alley between State Street and Astor less than a block south of North Avenue.

The other example is in Lincoln Park; the small east-west alley just south of Webster and just west of Hudson. While more wood block alleys may exist, these are the only examples we have located thus far.

Page authored 26 Feb 2006.
Written by Jacob Kaplan.

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