Chicago's South Michigan Avenue--Then And Now

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The view looking north on South Michigan Avenue has changed dramatically over the past 60 years.

Yet, some things have stood the test of time.

In the old image below, believed to be from the 1950s and posted by @Chicago_History on Twitter recently, one of the two lions standing as a sentinel outside the Chicago Art Institute, can be seen--just beyond the green 1950s Chevy Checker Cab.

The Art Institute itself had already been there for more than 60 years.

On the left side of the street, many of the buildings remain the same.

The skyline has filled out quite a bit over the decades.

The view of the Carbide and Carbon building (now the Hard Rock Hotel) on the left is now obscured by the diamond-shaped Stone Container building.

Back in the 1950s, visitors could see all the way to the Tribune Tower on the other side of the Chicago River.

Today, several buildings on the east side of the street obscure the headquarters of what was once known as the World's Greatest Newspaper (WGN).

The original Prudential Building has many new neighbors now--the sleek, silver Prudential 2 and the free-form Aqua tower, for example.

Also, the center of Boul Mich was lacking the large planters that line the center of the street for several miles.

Finally, I wonder what ever happened to that Coke billboard in the middle of the street?

(Click on the images to enlarge.)

South Michigan 2015

South Michigan, 1950s

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