The footprint of the Salt Shed music venue along the North Branch of the Chicago River could soon expand.
The owners of the Salt Shed, at 1357 N. Elston Ave., want to build a large outdoor venue next door. To do so, Blue Star Properties aims to buy four lots on Magnolia Avenue between Blackhawk and Le Moyne streets.
In that area, Magnolia Avenue runs on a northeast-southwest slant going south from North Avenue to meet Elston Avenue at an angle. It runs closer to the North Branch of the river than Elston Avenue itself does.
Currently, the Salt Shed complex is composed of an indoor concert venue with a capacity of 3,600, the Goose Island Salt Shed Pub at 1221 W. Blackhawk St., and The Fairgrounds outdoor amphitheater with a capacity of 5,500.
The new amphitheater would be located north of Blackhawk Street, and would have grass seating backing up to the street and an artist green room.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported the land that Blue Star Properties wants to buy and use for the expansion is currently owned by the Labkon family, which operated the since-closed General Iron metal recycling plant in the Clybourn Corridor.
The project requires a zoning change and needs to be approved by the Chicago Planning Commission.
The Salt Shed occupies a former Morton Salt production, packaging, and distribution facility that still has prominent Morton Salt branding with the famous “Umbrella Girl” logo facing the nearby Kennedy Expressway. Barges with tons of salt traveled down the Chicago River to deliver salt to the Morton factory throughout much of the 20th century, the Chicago Architecture Foundation said.
The Morton Salt Company left the factory behind in 2015. The building was reimagined as a concert venue and opened as the Salt Shed in August 2022.
The Goose Island Brewpub moved to the Salt Shed location in 2023 from its original home at 1800 N. Clybourn Ave., where it opened in 1988 as part of the 1800 Clybourn mall — the rest of which opened the following year. The mall closed after only five years and most of the former factory complex that housed it was torn down, but Goose Island remained for nearly another 30. The Clybourn Avenue site is again being reimagined, and the old Goose Island brewpub on the site was itself recently torn down.
