Chicago's North Michigan Avenue, known as The Magnificent Mile®, has a long and rich tradition of celebrating the holiday season in grand style. Today the illumination of this world-famous avenue with more than one million white lights is considered by many the official start of the holiday season. The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival® draws some one million visitors each November. Millions more watch the televised broadcast. The development of North Michigan Avenue, known in its humble early days as Pine Street, and the creation of its holiday and tree-lighting traditions are largely attributed to a dedicated group of entrepreneurs and business leaders, known as the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association. Over the years, this line of visionary Chicagoans recognized the avenue's potential and committed to making North Michigan Avenue a world-class street with world-class holiday traditions. The North Michigan Avenue district now features 56 hotels, 275 restaurants, 460 retail locations, and numerous educational, cultural, and health care institutions—and more than 18 million visitors annually. It is one of the great avenues of the world, offering one of the most iconic holiday images when it is aglow.
