What, if any, is the significance of "Wabash and Lake"?

I had to rewind when I heard it, but Supernatural ("Salvation", S1:E21) referenced Wabash and Lake, which I recognized from The Matrix. From the Supernatural Wiki:

Meg: There's a warehouse in Lincoln, on the corner of Wabash and Lake. You're gonna meet me there.

Wabash and Lake is the location of the Heart O' The City Hotel at Mega City in The Matrix.

From matrixfans.net's transcript page for the Matrix:

Neo: Mr. Wizard, get me the hell out of here.

Tank: Got a patch on an old exit, Wabash and Lake.

From what I can tell, at least a couple movies were also filmed (Transformers 3, Rampage) on/around "Wabash and Lake" in Chicago. The Matrix, according to movie-locations.com, also used Chicago as a reference but did not film there.

Does Wabash and Lake have a special significance in Supernatural or the Matrix? Does it have a general cinematic significance in Hollywood? If so, what is the significance of Wabash and Lake?

the-matrix supernatural

Best Answer

I assume The Matrix reference is the first, because the various locations in the movie are based in Chicago where the Wachowskis grew up.

Wabash runs north-south through the downtown and ends down around 115th St. Lake runs east-west in a line just south of Chicago River exit into Michigan. The two meet here under the el.

I haven't been there, but looking in Google reveals no reason why anyone else would select it. So I further assume the other references are simply name dropping The Matrix because, well, why not?