The Mystery of What Chicago's "Agatite" Avenue's Name Means... Solved!

Chicago's Agatite Avenue (4432N - 800W to 8642W). 

The street name in Chicago, as in most cities and towns in America, named streets, roads, and boulevards after people (Presidents to Locals), places, milestones, honors, etc.

"Agatite"  is not a word (Google Search Results: Real Estate/Apartments on Agatite Avenue, and there were no search results other than as a street name. Secondly, there doesn't seem to be anybody famous, infamous, or obscure person by that name in Chicago history. We're famous for our downtown streets named after the Presidents of the United States, Alphabet Town, Letter Town, and last but not least, Number Town.

The street is named after gypsum clay cement/plaster manufactured by the Agatite Cement Plaster Company from Kansas City, Missouri. Loose gypsum earth, known as agatite, is stripped-mined, surface downward. It's used to produce a plaster substitute at a reduced cost,  creating a pleasing exterior architectural effect. The Agatite only needed to last a short time since it would all be razed after the fair closed. 

This advertisement from American Cements by Uriah Cummings (1898) described its properties and usages.

Agatite was used on the exteriors of the Chicago 1893 World's Columbian Exposition Buildings, hence the nickname "The White City." All buildings were built as temporary structures, and Agatite saved a lot of money, making the fair a spectacle to behold. 

The Fair's Board of Directors enticed other countries to display their antiquities, fine arts, historical documents, and priceless items in a 'fireproof' and (24/7) secured building. The "Palace of Fine Arts" building (today's Museum of Science and Industry) was filled wall-to-wall and top-to-bottom. 

The Agatite Cement Plaster Company in Kansas City controlled a 'bed' (strip mined style/surface downward) of this material near Dillon, Kansas, and it's estimated to contain about six million tons, says Prof. Edwin Walters in a report on this material:

Agatite is of a light ash-gray color. Its natural consistency is about that of hard plastic clay. When calcined (calcined clay is a popular soil amendment used on baseball infields for water management) it assumes a form. When mixed with water it sets as does cement. There needs to be ample time between mixing the mortar to be applied to its intended use to set.

Agatite does not differ widely in composition from the Great Pyramid of Giza (aka Pyramid of Cheops) Egypt. The cement runs higher in sulphate than lime and lower in iron oxide. 

Climates like Egypt and Mexico permit Agatite for exterior use. It was used in Southern States on brick, stone or wooden structures. Agatite produces a pleasing architectural effect at a low cost. It was used as an outside covering of the walls of the World’s Fair Buildings at Chicago which, however, were temporary structures.

Thousands of tons of  Agatite Cement Plaster were used in plastering the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition white Agatite (Stucco look-al-link) covered buildings in Chicago.

Agatite was also used on most White City Amusement Park buildings at 63rd & South Parkway (Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive) in Chicago. 

A 1905 Bird’s Eye View of White City Amusement Park, Chicago.
CLICK THE IMAGE FOR A LARGE PICTURE. 

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Streetwise Chicago's Book about the History of Chicago Street Names is considered the bible on this subject. Streetwise says, "Agatite street's name is a mystery." 

SUGGESTED READING:

• The Evolution of Streets in Chicago.

• Why Chicago's Street Suffixes are Inconsistent.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Why Chicago's Street Suffixes are Inconsistent.

Every so often, a visitor to our city asks for directions to Madison Avenue. This makes a true Chicagoan's blood boil. The dumb tourist doesn't even know it's supposed to be Madison Street. "Hey, Mister, this ain't New York!"

Actually, there is no particular rule on what is called a Street and what is called an Avenue in Chicago, and it's merely traditional usage.

But the other suffixes! Here, we get into some technicalities. At one time, there was a whole protocol on how a suffix would be used on Chicago thoroughfares.

The house and street numbering system was inconsistent and became more so as Chicago annexed adjacent towns. The large-scale annexations of 1889 complicated matters throughout the city, and streets of the same name from towns and villages that were annexed became confusing to city services. 

Let's take Boulevard. That title was reserved for streets under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Park District—brown street signs, remember? Garfield, Logan, and Jackson were examples.

Sometimes, the Park District controlled a limited section of a long street. There, Oakley Avenue changed to Oakley Boulevard, Loomis Street became Loomis Boulevard, and so on. The most interesting case was Avenue L—part of it was called Avenue L Boulevard.

The Conundrum of Chicago's "Alphabet Town" Street Names.

Parkway and Drive were other Park District suffixes. Examples include Diversey Parkway, State Parkway, Lake Shore Drive, and the various roadways running through the large parks.

Irving Park Boulevard was not a Park District street; following protocol, the city renamed it Irving Park Road in 1937. And yet, thirty years later, old-timers still referred to Irving Park as "the Boulevard." 

Indianapolis Boulevard and Forest Preserve Drive are two city streets, and both are supposed to be called Avenue. But among locals, the older usage persists.

So much for the Park District. Most Chicago streets were controlled by the City of Chicago—yellow street signs. And the city had a few rules of its own.

The word Road denoted a major commercial street, and this suffix became fashionable during the 1920s. Roosevelt, Cermak, Pulaski, and Pershing date from this era.

Place and Court were sidestreets. The Place suffix was used mainly for the South Side half-streets—35th Place followed 35th Street, 63rd Place followed 63rd Street and all the way down to the city limits.

Chicago also had a few oddball suffixes. These included Northwest Highway, Memory Lane, Palmer Square, and South Park Way. The last two were Park District streets.

These were the general rules for Chicago street suffixes. Of course, there were exceptions.

Congress Parkway was not a Park District street, nor was Wacker Drive or Ponchartrain Boulevard. On the other hand, most of Michigan Avenue and Marquette Road were controlled by the Park District and displayed the signature brown street signs.

Indian Road was a tiny residential street. And though Fairbanks Court was just a few blocks long, it carried some heavy traffic. So did Foster Place.

Street suffixes were up for grabs once the City of Chicago took over the Park District. The section of La Salle Street north of the river was changed to La Salle Drive for a few years. Then it became La Salle Boulevard, and I don't know what they call it now.

There's evidence that the people in charge don't take suffixes seriously anymore. Cub fans know that when a ball is hit over the left-field stands, it lands on Waveland Avenue. But a few miles to the west, at least one sign reads Waveland Street.

Broadway, in case you have yet to notice, has no suffix. Please... read this article before making your argument.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale. Ph.D.