Astor Street is named after John Jacob Astor . Although he never lived in Chicago , the street was named to honor his achievements ; he was one of the richest citizens in the United States . At the time of his death in 1848 his estate was worth $ 20 million , the equivalent of $ 78 billion today . Astor was the founder of the American Fur Company and an investor in New York City real estate . His name gave a luster to the area . Potter Palmer was one of the early landowners in the neighborhood . While most of high society lived in mansions on Prairie Avenue , Palmer began to buy up land on the north end , which was only lightly populated and still mostly swamp after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 . Interest in the area increased when Lake Shore Drive was opened in 1875 from North Avenue to Oak Street , and a favorite Sunday afternoon pastime became a ride along the lakefront . By 1882 the Palmers had started building one of the first mansions on the drive in the block between Schiller and Division . The Palmers ' Gothic castle sat at 1350 N Lake Shore Drive became the center of Chicago 's high society . Bertha Palmer stocked the home with an extensive collection of Impressionist paintings , helping create a market for the then avant-garde works and which later formed the core of the Art Institute 's collection
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Astor Street District