Overview

The Magnificent Mile, is an upscale section of Chicago's Michigan Avenue, running from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side. The district is located within downtown, and one block east of Rush Street. The Magnificent Mile serves as the main thoroughfare between Chicago's Loop business district and its Gold Coast. It is generally the western boundary of the Streeterville neighborhood, to its east and River North to the west.

Real estate developer Arthur Rubloff of Rubloff Company gave the district its nickname in the 1940s. Currently Chicago's largest shopping district, various mid-range and high-end shops line this section of the street; approximately 3.1 million square feet (290,000 m2) are occupied by retail, restaurants, museums and hotels.

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Retail

Many of the world's leading retail stores populate The Magnificent Mile, including luxury department stores Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and the Flagship Macy's on State Street. In addition, some of the finest luxury boutiques are located along The Magnificent Mile (many of which have only a few North American locations), including Canada Goose, Cartier, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Armani, Chanel, Burberry (its U.S. flagship location), Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, Gucci, Prada, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, Escada, Christian Louboutin, Tiffany & Co., Max Mara, Harry Winston, St. John, Omega, Stuart Weitzman, Montblanc, Anne Fontaine, Alice+Olivia, and Rolex.

Also present are Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren's largest store in the world), Kate Spade, Eskandar, Barbour, Cole Haan, Charles David, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, Henri Bendel, Hugo Boss, Brunello Cucinelli, Dolce & Gabbana, Salvatore Ferragamo, L'Occitane en Provence, Diesel, Carolina Herrera, American Girl, Moncler, Furla, Harry Winston, Aritzia, Ermenegildo Zegna, Zara, Vera Wang, La Perla, MCM, Tumi, Agent Provocateur, L.K.Bennett, Dennis Basso, Lululemon, Piazza Sempione, Graff Diamonds, Fratelli Rosseti, Hickey Freeman, Kiehl's, Jil Sander, Henry Beguelin, Michael Kors, Bernadaud, Christofle, J. Crew, Arthur, Sermoneta, H&M, Manrico Cashmere, Marlowe, Paul Stuart, Graff Diamonds, David Yurman, Fogal, Wolford, The Art of Shaving, BHLDN, Buccellati,Victoria's Secret, Banana Republic, AllSaints, Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Largest Starbucks in the World), Frette, Pratesi, Uniqlo (Its first in the Midwest), and many others.

The Magnificent Mile is also notable for its three urban shopping centers: Water Tower Place, The Shops at North Bridge, and 900 North Michigan Shops. Each spans multiple floors and city blocks and offers various tenants: mall mainstays and more upscale apparel shops, restaurants, and unique attractions, such as museums.

Hotels and dining

Renowned and critically acclaimed restaurants such as The Signature Room at The 95th, Spiaggia, Tru, The Pump Room, Lawry's The Prime Rib, The Grand Lux, and The Park Hyatt Room provide a variety of dining options. Three 5-star hotels (The Peninsula Chicago, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, and Ritz-Carlton Chicago) and Illinois' only 4-star hotel (Park Hyatt) are located within about five blocks along The Magnificent Mile.

Other hotels such as Intercontinental, Knickerbocker, Westin, Drake Hotel, and the Conrad Chicago offer convenient luxurious accommodations as well.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Magnificent Mile", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0