Located at CTA Green Line and 51st Street, Boxville is Chicago’s first shipping container-based retail center and street food market. Starting with one box—the Bike Box in 2014—which provides affordable bike repair in the heart of Bronzeville, Boxville has become a 17-container open-air marketplace full of art, music, food and a variety of entrepreneurial businesses. Boxville received the inaugural MacArthur Foundation Placemaking Award in 2019 for its role in transforming 51st Street. Boxville continues to grow and guests will be welcomed by multiple outdoor enterprises and events.
Visitor Experience
Boxville’s founders and builders will lead a tour that includes raw, in-progress, and fully completed containers. Visitors will learn how to buy a suitable box and go from a concept to a fully functioning box-based enterprise. The tour will conclude with a discussion of the use of shipping containers for micro retail and small houses, a preview of the future of Boxville, and an open Q&A session.
