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Walgreens Drug Stores

Unlike some of the chain stores that spread throughout Chicago during the 1920s and 1930s, the Walgreens drug store chain was a home-grown operation. Its founder, Charles Rudolph Walgreen, purchased his first pharmacy in 1901, a small neighborhood store not unlike most every other drug store in the city of Chicago at the time. But in 1909, Walgreen jointly acquired on of the South Side's busiest pharmacies and at that point initiated a number of merchandising strategies that transformed the drug store business in Chicago.

Among other things, Walgreen set up eye-catching sales displays in the store windows and opened a soda fountain along one wall of the store to boost business. The soda fountain, with its trademark Walgreens double-rich chocolate malted milk shake, proved to be a tremendous drawing card, attracting customers who might otherwise have been just as satisfied having their pharmaceutical needs fulfilled at some other drug store in the neighborhood. And some came just for the milkshakes. During the summer months, customers would often surround the soda fountain counter, sometimes three or four persons deep, while their milkshake orders were filled.

Like other Chicago chain stores during the 1920s, Walgreens expanded quickly. By mid-decade, there were already more than sixty stores region-wide. In 1929, the chain had grown to include nearly four hundred outlets, with well over one hundred of those located within the city of Chicago.

Below is the store roster as it stood in 1928:


WALGREEN DRUGS
Neighborhood Store Address Nearby "L"/Streetcar Service
(Alphabetical by street address.)
Edgewater 1067 W Argyle North Side L, Broadway-Devon, Sheridan*
Nortown 3203 N Ashland North Side L, Ashland, Belmont, Lincoln-Indiana, Lincoln-Rosehill
Sherman Park 5457 S Ashland Ashland, Garfield*
West Englewood 6257 S Ashland South Side L, Ashland, 63rd Street
West Englewood 6858 S Ashland Ashland, Marquette*
Austin 1 N Austin Blvd Madison, Austin*
Kenwood 4300 Berkeley South Side L, 43rd Street, Drexel*
Lakeview 3181 N Broadway Broadway-Devon
Lakeview 3900 N Broadway Broadway-Devon, Irving Park, Sheridan*
Austin 5969 W Chicago Chicago, Austin*
Belmont-Cragin 3201 N Cicero Cicero, Belmont
Near North Side 1556 N Clark Clark-Wentworth, Broadway-Devon, North
Lakeview 3184 N Clark North Side L, Clark-Wentworth, Belmont
Edgewater 5300 N Clark Clark-Wentworth
Rogers Park 6354 N Clark Clark-Wentworth, Broadway-Devon
The Loop 301 S Clark Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
Douglas 3460 S Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove-South Chicago, 35th Street
Douglas 3900 S Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove-South Chicago, Pershing
Kenwood 4134 S Cottage Grove South Side L, Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove-South Chicago, Pershing
Kenwood 4658 S Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove-South Chicago, 47th Street
Woodlawn 6300 S Cottage Grove South Side L, Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove-South Chicago, 63rd Street
Grand Crossing 7501 S Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove-South Chicago, 75th Street
Grand Crossing 7900 S Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove-South Chicago, 79th Street
West Logan Square 3302 N Crawford Crawford, Belmont, Milwaukee
South Lawndale 2600 S Crawford Crawford, Blue Island
Lincoln Park 441 W Diversey Diversey*, Sheridan*
Humboldt Park 2758 W Division Division, Division-Downtown, Kedzie-California
Austin 5959 W Division Division (West), Austin*
Hyde Park 5500 S Dorchester 51st-55th Streets
South Shore 7464 S Exchange 75th Street, South Deering-South Chicago, South Shore*
South Shore 7872 S Exchange 79th Street, South Deering-South Chicago, South Shore*
Washington Park 302 E 58th South Side L, South Parkway*, Midway*
Kenwood 500 E 40th South Side L, Pershing, South Parkway*, Drexel*
Kenwood 200 E 43rd South Side L, 43rd-Root, Indiana-Lincoln, South Parkway*
Kenwood 1025 E 43rd South Side L, 43rd-Root, Drexel*
Kenwood 1200 E 47th 47th Street, Stony Island
The Loop 179 S Franklin Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
West Logan Square 3759 W Fullerton Fullerton, Crawford
Washington Park 101 E Garfield South Side L, Garfield*
Washington Park 301 E Garfield South Side L, Garfield*, South Parkway*
Sherman Park 5501 S Halsted Halsted, Halsted-Downtown, Garfield*
Englewood 5900 S Halsted Halsted, Halsted-Downtown, 59th-61st Streets
Englewood 6236 S Halsted Halsted, Halsted-Downtown, 63rd Street
Englewood 6324 S Halsted Halsted, Halsted-Downtown, 63rd Street
Normal Park 6856 S Halsted Halsted, Halsted-Downtown, 67th-69th Street
Hamilton Park 7358 S Halsted Halsted, Halsted-Downtown, 75th Street
Hamilton Park 7901 S Halsted Halsted, Halsted-Downtown, 79th Street
West Garfield Park 3959 W Harrison Metropolitan L, Harrison, Harrison-Adams, Crawford, Madison-Fifth
Rogers Park 1615 W Howard North Side L
Grand Boulevard 4257 S Indiana South Side L, Indiana-Lincoln, 43rd-Root
West Garfield Park 4000 W Jackson Crawford, Jackson*
South Shore 7059 S Jeffery 71st Street*
Logan Square 2513 N Kedzie Metropolitan L, Milwaukee, Kedzie, Sacramento*
The Loop 150 N LaSalle Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
Lincoln Square 2401 W Lawrence North Side L, Lawrence, Western, Lincoln-Indiana
Lincoln Park 2581 N Lincoln North Side L, Lincoln-Indiana, Lincoln-Rosehill, Taylor-Sedgwick-Sheffield
The Loop 85 W Madison Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
Near West Side 1700 W Madison Metropolitan L, Madison, Madison-Fifth, Ashland, Ogden, Washington*
East Garfield Park 3179 W Madison Madison, Kedzie-California, Washington*
East Garfield Park 3401 W Madison Madison, Washington*
The Loop 10 N Michigan Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
The Loop 300 S Michigan Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
The Loop 310 S Michigan Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
Roseland 11100 S Michigan State, 111th Street
Logan Square 2744 N Milwaukee Milwaukee, Diversey**
Logan Square 3302 N Milwaukee Milwaukee, Belmont
Rogers Park 1500 W Morse North Side L
Humboldt Park 2759 W North Metropolitan L, North, Kedzie-California
Humboldt Park 3201 W North Metropolitan L, North, Sacramento*
Lincoln Park 2000 North Park Lincoln-Indiana, Lincoln-Rosehill, Clark-Wentworth, Broadway-Devon
Nortown 3358 N Paulina North Side L, Lincoln-Indiana, Lincoln-Rosehill, Belmont, Ashland
Lincoln Park 2759 N Pine Grove Diversey*, Sheridan*
North Lawndale 3500 W Roosevelt Roosevelt
Near North Side 1000 N Rush State
Lakeview 4000 N Sheridan North Side L, Irving Park, Sheridan*
Lakeview 4129 N Sheridan Irving Park, Sheridan*
Uptown 4760 N Sheridan Lawrence, Sheridan*
Woodlawn 401 E 61st South Side L, 59th-61st Street, South Parkway*
Woodlawn 376 E 63rd South Side L, 63rd Street, South Parkway*
Woodlawn 1000 E 63rd South Side L, 63rd Street
Woodlawn 1305 E 63rd South Side L, 63rd Street
Englewood 356 W 63rd South Side L, 63rd Street, Clark-Wentworth
Englewood 1201 W 63rd South Side L, 63rd Street, Wallace-Racine
47th Street 4701 South Parkway South Side L, 47th Street, South Parkway*
Washington Park 5100 South Parkway South Side L, 51st-55th Street, South Parkway*
South Shore 7058 South Shore Dr 71st Street*, South Shore*
The Loop 41 S State Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
The Loop 151 N State Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
Englewood 6257 Stewart South Side L, 63rd Street
South Shore 6701 S Stony Island Stony Island, 67th-69th Street
The Loop 361 W VanBuren Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
The Loop 189 N Wabash Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
The Loop 100 S Wabash Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
The Loop 401 S Wabash Loop elevated, all downtown cars
South Loop 1199 S Wabash South Side L, most South Side cars
The Loop 17 E Washington Loop Elevated, all downtown cars
Englewood 6300 S Wentworth South Side L, 63rd Street, Wentworth-Clark
West Ridge 6359 N Western Western, Broadway-Devon
Chicago Lawn 6301 S Western Western, 63rd Street
Uptown 800 W Wilson Clarendon-Wilson*
Uptown 1229 W Wilson North Side L, Broadway-Devon, Clarendon-Wilson*
* Motor Coach Service     ** Trolley Bus Service
 




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Page authored: 12 June 1997 -
Copyright 2000 by Scott A. Newman