Chicago Alleys

By Mimi T.
  • 1 BCE

    World's First Alleys

    The ancient Romans built alleys in their cities.

  • Start of Chicago

    Chicago was incorporated. Cities built during this time were expected to have alleys, so Chicago built alleys.
    Also, there were horses in Chicago, and a place was needed to deal with hay/manure.

  • First Pavement

    Samuel Nicholson had the idea to pave alleys with wood blocks. This lasted for 7 years.

  • MORE WOOD

    Samuel Greeley supported the use of wood in building alleys, so more and more allies were being built with wooden blocks.

  • Pine Wood

    Pine wood became a popular material for alleys.

  • More Alleys

    Chicago had 37 miles of alleys.

  • Chicago Fire

    The Chicago fire destroyed the wooden alleys, so alleys had to be rebuilt with a new material.

  • Chicago Alleys Today

    Most alleys are paved with concrete.
    Alleys are used to store garbage.
    Chicago is the Alley capital of America.