The 21ST District Police Station is the headquarters of the Intelligence Unit and the Patrol Division for the Chicago P.D. television series. Chicago P.D. is an American police procedural drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead as a part of Wolf’s Chicago franchise. The series premiered on NBC as a mid-season replacement on January 8, 2014. The exterior scenes of the television series take place in front of the 21ST District Police Station on West Maxwell Street, the interior shots are all done at the Cinespace Chicago Film Studios on West 15TH Place. Chicago P.D. is filmed primarily in the Pilsen neighborhood.
The fictitious 21ST District Police Station was originally the 7TH District Police Station, aka Maxwell Street Station, aka Hill Street Station. The original name of the building can still be seen embedded in the brick archway (seen above the 21ST District name). The 7TH District building was built in 1888 during a time when the area was notoriously known as the “Wickedest Police District in the World” and “Bloody Maxwell” due to decades of continuing criminal activity committed by the Irish, German, Italian, and European Jewish immigrants who were relegated to living in impoverished conditions together. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The Chicago Police Department eventually vacated the station in 1998. Today much of the old 7TH District Police Station area has become gentrified. After extensive renovations, the red brick and limestone building became the home of the University of Illinois at Chicago Police Department.
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