Where it all began
From dirt road to downtown thoroughfare, Washington reflects changing city
Its northern half is part quiet, residential street and part entryway
to the city's thriving technological and business corridor.
Its central half is the true main street in this city of 140,106,
shuttling traffic and pedestrians through a bustling downtown business
district and riverside attractions.
Its southern half serves as the fast-paced link to Bolingbrook, Joliet, and Interstate 55 and beyond.
Not bad for a street that started out more than 160 years ago as a dirt
road traversing four blocks in what is now downtown Naperville.
Back in 1842, the street was one of few in a city that had its limits
at the West Branch of the DuPage River to the south and Franklin Avenue
to the north. According to a map from that year, Washington Street
didn't stray from the original town limits.
Washington Street in 1874 expanded from its original boundaries, thanks
to several new housing additions and the construction of the Chicago,
Burlington and Quincy Railroad (known now as the Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Railroad). It crossed the river with the help of a wooden
truss bridge that was built sometime after 1842.
The bridge would be one of four that would built in a nearly 90-year
span — the first bridge was destroyed in a flood in 1857, a second
wooden bridge rotted after flooding in 1884. An iron truss bridge that
was built in 1885 served people, horses and cattle until 1929, when the
bridge was replaced with a concrete structure to accommodate the rise
of automobile traffic.
By 1929, Washington served as the main east-west route through
Naperville, as Ogden Avenue went south on Washington to go through
downtown Naperville before continuing west on Aurora Avenue. Ogden was
realigned into the road motorists travel today in 1939.
Richard Wolsfeld of Naperville, who served as Naperville's street
superintendent prior to 1977, said Washington Street through downtown
was a two-lane road with gravel shoulders from in the 1920s. After it
crossed the railroad, the street was paved with bricks up to the river.
"It was a primitive road," said Wolsfeld.
Washington Street in 1930 was a route that went as far north as Bauer
Road, which curved west and turned into Warrenville Road. That road
continued to West Street, where it veered north toward Warrenville Road
(Mill Street presently occupies this stretch today). To the south,
Washington met the city limits at the cemetery just south of Maple
Avenue (known today as Hillside Avenue).
"That was just farm country," Don Wherli of Naperville said of what was south of Maple then.
A 1958 map of Naperville shows Washington Street established further
south to Gartner Road, with the route turning into Joliet Naperville
Road south of Gartner. Two years later, Washington Street would be
expanded from two to four lanes downtown, according to Naperville Mayor
George Pradel. The rest of the route remained a two-lane road.
In 1966, Naperville expanded just past Bailey Road to the south,
according to a map at that time. To the north, traffic headed to
Warrenville still had to use Bauer Road to cut across to West Street.
The East-West Tollway (now the Ronald Regan Memorial Tollway) and
Warrenville Road were established prior to that time.
Downtown Naperville also continued to grow, and with it, traffic.
Wherli, who served on the city council during that time, said the issue
then mirrored the issue Naperville faces today: dealing with parking on
Washington through the business district.
"They couldn't believe how a few cars could jam up the street," he said. "You've gotta have full flow (of traffic) down there."
Wherli said the city's answer was to build what is now the parking deck
on Chicago Avenue just east of Washington Street. He said the merchants
were glad when it opened, but later wanted Washington Street to remain
available for parking.
Eventually, Washington Street was extended north to its present
alignment that ends at Warrenville Road and expanded to four lanes. To
the south, the street met with Naper Boulevard, which was built in the
'60s and '70s, said Pradel. He said city leaders never imagined
Naperville would grow that far.
"As far as our planning, I wish we had more north and south streets," Pradel said.
But with all the progress on Washington Street, Pradel said the congestion has literally split the city.
"It's a divider," he said, explaining that residents living east or
west of the street never cross to the other side. "It's kind of a
hassle to cross. It's busier downtown because it's so congested."
7/17/05
