Of course, outside of downtown... :)

i think kedzie avenue deserves a spot there and Chicago avenue.

I voted for Devon, but Broadway, 18th Street, Lawrence and 53rd are all wonderful.

26th street...

Kedzie? Its okay, I wouldnt put it in the top 15. Damen is better.

My favorites:

Clark
Lincoln
Milwaukee

Devon
Lawrence
Halsted
53rd
Division
Diversey
Belmont
Broadway
Armitage
Fullerton
Chicago
North
Irving Park
Montrose

Sorry southsiders, I haven't spent alot of time there yet.
But I would have the best is Milwaukee, one of the coolest city streets i have ever seen. When my family comes here to visit, I have to take them from Jeff Pk to downtown on that avenue, it just screams Chicago to me.
Milwaukee to me, is Chicago's Sunset Boulevard in a sense. One trip on Sunset shows you many sides that make up LA's idenity. It goes from Chinatown/Downtown-historic Angelino Heights-mexican Echo Park-Yuppie/Artsy Silver Lake and Los Feliz-gritty East Hollywood-Hollywood-Sunset Strip-Beverly Hills-Bel Air-Brentwood-Pacific Palisades.

Milwaukee is very silimar although the continued gentrification will make it resemble Clark or Lincoln.

I don't believe there is any street that gives such a varied picgture of Chicago and changes so much from one part of town to another than Halsted. This street basically screams "CHICAGO"!

I chose Milwaukee Ave because it has some of the best in tact 19th century streetwalls in the city. 18th St in Pilsen is another one with fantastic streetwalls as well.

i think we're are all making our judgments on different factors. Some based on how diverse the area these streets cover are. Some are based how pedestrian friendly/urban the environment of these streets are. And some are based on the quality of retail on these streets. i think we should consider all of these, and perhaps rephrase this poll question to be
What Commercial Thoroughfare Represents Chicago Best?

Devon gets my vote because it embodies everything I love about Chicago and America in general. To everyone who has ever said that people just can't get along, Devon Avenue is one big middle finger. You have Hindus next to Muslims next to Jews next to Christians and blacks and whites and Russians and everything else.

And on a less philosophical level, you have the scent of Subcontinental food wafting for blocks, you have fantastic street life. Add to this solid, middle-class pre-war Chicago architecture and you've got the most fantastic commercial avenue in the city, in my opinion.

Broadway, I believe, deserves mention if for being one of the central commercial centers of Uptown and its Ethiopian restaurants in Edgewater. I love Lawrence for the same reason I love Devon, only on Lawrence instead of Desi culture you've got Arabs, Latinos and Koreans. 18th Street, obviously, has beautiful architecture and tons of wonderful Latino culture, and 53rd along with 57th basically sum up everything that is bookish and leafy about Hyde Park.

But what most represents Chicago? I think it would have to be one of the ones I didn't mention--one of the north-south streets that run through several different neighborhoods, like Halsted or Clark.

^ Oh, and not something I would vote for as best in the city, but Archer Avenue certainly deserves to be on the list.

Truth is, no one street acurrately represents all of Chicago. Clark may be the closest, but its missing a few of the ethnic groups of Chicago. In terms of a "shit, this is a big fucking city" feeling, Western Avenue dominates. It might go in and out of suburbia but its damn near never ending besides a few dead industrial and decayed areas. Its amazing how that one street can from 7500(Howard Street) all the way to 127th and beyond, and cut through so many different types of communities on the way.

Clark street, because, of its buzy shops on clark. Very trafficful(is that even a word) street.

id say clark ,lincoln,milwakee , devon, there all goos but what about western? the longest consecutive street in the world. that runs through everything

what about Archer, I just notice that, it goes from (South) Downtown to Chinatown to Bridgeport(mixture of Itlanians, Irish, and Chinese people) to Bridgeton Park( mexicans) to near Midway to the suburbs to Joliet and beyond, kind of like the southside boulevard of Clark, Milwaukee, and Lincoln.

"Milwaukee to me, is Chicago's Sunset Boulevard in a sense. One trip on Sunset shows you many sides that make up LA's idenity. It goes from Chinatown/Downtown-historic Angelino Heights-mexican Echo Park-Yuppie/Artsy Silver Lake and Los Feliz-gritty East Hollywood-Hollywood-Sunset Strip-Beverly Hills-Bel Air-Brentwood-Pacific Palisades."

I think Archer would be better, if Archer was extended east of State Street, it would of hit Lake Michigan and really resemble Sunset Boulevard.

I haven't traveled on Archer, so I wouldn't know.

Truth is, no one street acurrately represents all of Chicago. Clark may be the closest, but its missing a few of the ethnic groups of Chicago. In terms of a "shit, this is a big fucking city" feeling, Western Avenue dominates. It might go in and out of suburbia but its damn near never ending besides a few dead industrial and decayed areas. Its amazing how that one street can from 7500(Howard Street) all the way to 127th and beyond, and cut through so many different types of communities on the way.

^LOL, I once drove on Western AVenue from Lawrence Avenue on the north to 87th street on the south side (don't ask why :dunno: ). It took me almost 2 hours!!!! And there wasn't much traffic

its i think officaly in the guinnes book of world records for longest consecutive street or somthing like that . its like over 40 miles long or somthing

I agree with edsg on this one. Halsted is the quintessential Chicago street. It's the bloodline of the city, arguably the state as it stretches far southward into corn fields.

Halsted for me too.

Halsted, Clark also.

Where exactly does western Ave starts and end?

(Southern)starts near 150th St. but after a short stop, it goes again to Beecher(5 miles west of Peotone), (northern)ends at the city limits, but in evanston, its changes its name to Asbury. Asbury ends green bay St., but continues after a short termintaion, ends completely at Sheridan road at Lake Michigan.

26th Street in Little Village has to be on the list as far as the original question is concerned. According to the State of Illinois, 26th Street in Little Village ranks second in the State for the collection of sales taxes behind only North Michigan Ave. It's funny to think that there are still some people out there that think immigrants contribute nothing to our country and only use up resources.

btw: Halsted and Clark are my favorites for representing the city.

I think 26th Street wins this one! Good job NWSide. I think that the Mexican merchants flood 26th Street with it's Hispanic foods, clothing, etc... Its a never ending street mall. You can never say "Im hungry"and not eat here.