![]() ![]() From the Red Line subway, exit at Lake.Located on State, between Randolph and Lake. Weekday rush periods only: buses 37, 134, 135 and 136.Also reachable by bus 156 (weekdays only). From the Red and Blue Line subways, exit at Lake Red Line station or Washington Blue Line station and walk one block north to Randolph and two and a half to three and a half blocks west.Walk one block south on Clark and one and a half blocks west on Randolph. From the Pink or Green Line elevated, exit at Clark/Lake. From the Brown, Orange and Purple Line Express elevated lines, exit at Washington/Wells and walk one block north on Wells.Located on Randolph between LaSalle and Wells. Also served by buses 8, 22, 77, and 156.Walk two blocks east on Belmont and a half a block south on Halsted. From the Red, Brown and Purple Line Express lines, exit at Belmont.Weekday rush periods only - buses 1, 26, and 28. From the Green Line elevated, exit at Adams/Wabash and walk three blocks south on Wabash.Walk one to two blocks east on Jackson and two blocks south on Wabash. From the Red and Blue Line subways, exit at Jackson.Walk one block east on Van Buren and one block south on Wabash. From the Brown, Orange, Pink and Purple Line Express elevated lines, exit at Library/State-Van Buren.The Chicago "L." Arcadia Publishing: Chicago, IL (2007). If one thing’s for sure, though, the Chicago ‘L’ – noisy, wonderful, iconic, colorful, innovative, convenient or inconvenient – isn’t going away anytime soon. ![]() ![]() Possibilities include Orange and Yellow line extensions, and an additional line to the currently 'L'-less southeastern part of the city. Still, as it was in the 1890's, it's hard to say just what the future of the ‘L’ really is. Most of the public concerns today are far better grounded in reality. In 1897, the New York Academy of Medicine warned that the noise and disturbance from elevated tracks “prevented the normal development of children” among other dangers, and throughout its construction police and community leaders spoke against it for its potential to collapse or electrocute passengers.* But controversy has followed the 'L' throughout its history. Projects like the Red Line Extension Project to the underserved South Side of Chicago, often raise some degree of controversy with the public. The elevated tracks, voted one of the seven wonders of Chicago by Tribune readers in 2005, have become a Chicago icon with worldwide recognition, with the downtown Loop at the center of it all.Ī recent documentary "Chicago by 'L'" featuring Geoffrey Baer on WTTW, underscores the beauty and interconnectivity of the public transit lines of Chicago. A few years later, service to the fourth ‘L’ – Northwestern Elevated – was connected to the Loop, and by 1921 amid multiple connections and extensions in all directions the ‘L’ assumed a shape much like that of the ‘L’ today. Sure enough, through clever financial maneuvering, Yerkes was able to earn a majority approval and construct much of the Union Loop by 1897. Yerkes believed that the ‘L’ was destined to extend downtown, and eventually decided that he would be the man to do it. Despite this rapid expansion, however, the ‘L’ had yet to serve the central business district, due to regulations requiring a majority of owners’ permission to build downtown.Įnter magnate Charles Tyson Yerkes. With the advent of this third-rail electric technology, the potential stock of the 'L' skyrocketed, and the second and third ‘L’ trains – Lake Street Elevated and Metropolitan West Side Elevated – were quickly constructed in 1893 and ’95. The electric-powered train designed to transport guests around the fair was, remarkably, the first instance of the very same technology used on the Chicago 'L' today and around the world. That changed quickly with the invention of the third-rail electrical power system at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park. And so the first 'L' train (then Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad ) was built in 1892, and its inaugural journey took place on June 6, spanning 3.6 miles in 14 minutes.Īt that point, the ‘L’ was just an ordinary steam powered train on raised tracks. When Chicago officials were considering building a rail system, elevated tracks appeared to be the right choice, as subways were too expensive. ![]()
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