The Bloomingdale Trail Gets A Re-Branding
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 18, 2013 7:40PM
The Bloomingdale Trail is getting a branding change just as the final plans for the rails-to-trails project have been announced.
The project will now be called “The 606,” according to a press release from The Trust for Public Land, the group handling the project. Named for the city’s 606 ZIP code prefix, the brand will serve as the umbrella for the Bloomingdale trail build out and all the connecting parks associated with it. Park 567, at Milwaukee and Leavitt, is already under construction. The news release states the branding changes “the park and trail system’s role as a community connector. The 606 name also evokes a connection to the site’s transportation history, a play on the tradition of using numbers to name rail lines, highways and other transportation corridors.”
Beth White, Chicago Area Office Director of The Trust for Public Land, said the name change harkens back to the site’s transportation history as a rail connector. "As the plans for this project took shape, we realized we were building something much bigger than the Bloomingdale Trail, something that needed a bigger name to reflect the full scope of the project. The 606 is a perfect fit because the project is about connection, on so many levels, and the name reflects the connection residents across Chicago share through our common Zip code prefix.”
The name change was also made with future fundraising efforts in mind. Last year, Last year, Mayor Emanuel announced a $7 million influx of cash to fund the Bloomingdale Trail. The city will also spend unused NATO Summit funds on the trail as a “legacy” project. The final plans for the Bloomingdale Trail will be unveiled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at The McCormick Tribune YMCA, 1834 N. Lawndale.