Did you know that Streeterville is named after a whiskey-selling squatter who was despised by the city fathers. In 1886, Capt. George Streeter ran his steamshop aground on a sandbar off Superior Street and urged builders to dump their junk around his boat to create new land. He declared that his "District of Lake Michigan" was separate from Chicago and Illinois, and he defended hi claim in court and with a shotgun that he wasn't afraid to use. The city fought back by extending Lake Shore Drive south, creating the curve at Oak Street to surround Streeter's ville. It took decades for officials to wrest control from the irascible captain.

Source: Chicago Tribune