Joanne Kim

Punk rock music? Bootlegging? Art galleries? Nobody knew for certain what would come of the thick smog that blocked the sun in Chicago's Smokey Hollow, also known as River North, during the early 20th century. During the heyday of the River North Gallery District in the 1980s, buildings on Superior and Huron streets were stacked with one gallery after another. It was the main hub of the art world in Chicago, and it still carries that legacy today. But how did one of the most industrial areas of Chicago become home to one of the largest concentrations of art galleries in the country? Here's a look into the strange history of the neighborhood. Dark Past “It was all factories back then,” said Paul Berlanga of the River North of yesteryear. Born in River North, Berlanga is the former director of Stephen Daiter Gallery and owner and director of Berlanga Fine Art & Photographs. He remembers an era when coal bins were placed on every corner to gather shipments and provide storage space for factories; when black air puffed out of smokestacks day after day. The trains fumed smoke, chugging along railroad tracks that went along the Chicago River and beneath Merchandise Mart. Long before transforming into the River North Gallery District we know today, the area was known for mafia scandal. Back in the '20s, the now notorious mobster Dean O'Banion bought interest in a flower shop across the street from Holy Name Cathedral at State and Superior streets. The shop was a front for bootleggin