The Loop (CTA)

The Loop (CTA)

Infobox rail line
name = The Loop



image_width = 275 px
caption = The southeastern corner of The Loop
type = Rapid transit
system = Chicago 'L'
status = Operational
locale = Chicago, Illinois, USA
start =
end =
stations = 9
routes =
ridership =
open = 1895–1897
close =
owner =
operator = Chicago Transit Authority
character =
stock =
linelength =
tracklength = convert|2|mi|km|1
notrack =
gauge =
el = Third rail
speed =
elevation =

The Loop (historically Union Loop from multiple entities owned by transit baron Charles Tyson Yerkes, including two that began with the word Union) is the name given to the two mile circuit of elevated railroad that forms the hub of the 'L' rapid transit system in Chicago, Illinois. The Loop is so named because the railroad loops around a rectangle formed by Lake Street (north side), Wabash Avenue (east), Van Buren Street (south), and Wells Street (west). The surrounding area is also known as The Loop. Numerous accounts assert that the use of this term predates the elevated railroad, deriving from the multiple cable car turntables, or loops, that terminated in the district, and especially those of two lines that shared a loop, constructed in 1882, bounded by Madison, Wabash, State, and Lake. [ [http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccchi.html Joe Thompson, "Cable Car Lines in Chicago"] ] However, transportation historian Bruce Moffat, after extensive research of the issue, concluded that "the Loop" was not used as a proper noun until after Yerkes's 1895-97 construction of the elevated hub. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/chi-0407260184jul26,0,2141961.story P. Reardon, "It All Starts Downtown", July 26, 2004] ]

Operations

The Loop includes nine stations: Clark/Lake and State/Lake are on the northern leg; Randolph/Wabash, Madison/Wabash, and Adams/Wabash are on the eastern side; Library and LaSalle/Van Buren are on the southern leg; and Quincy and Washington/Wells are on the western side. In 2007 19,758,148 passengers entered the 'L' via these stations. [ [http://www.transitchicago.com/news/whatsnew2.wu?action=displaynewspostingdetail&articleid=132346 CTA ridership reports for 2007] ]

Five of the eight 'L' lines use the Loop tracks. Two of the remaining three lines, Blue and Red, run underground through the center of the loop, connecting to loop stations. The Yellow line is the only CTA line that does not run on or connect to the loop.

The Brown Line and Purple Line (weekday peak hours only) enter from the north at the northwestern corner and make a full circuit in the anticlockwise direction. The Orange Line enters from the south at the southeastern corner and the Pink Line enters from the west at the northwestern corner; both making a full clockwise circuit. The Green Line runs in both directions but does not make a full circuit, using the north and eastern sides of the Loop to move between the Lake Street Line and the South Side Elevated.

Two towers control entry to and exit from the Loop. Tower 12 stands at the southeastern corner. Tower 18 stands at the northwestern corner, which at one time was the busiest railroad interlocking in the world.

History

Prior to construction of the Union Loop, Chicago's three elevated railway lines—the South Side Elevated Railroad, the Lake Street Elevated Railroad, and the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad—each had their own terminal on the edges of downtown Chicago. Charles Tyson Yerkes masterminded the linking of these railroads. [ [http://www.chicago-l.org/ Chicago-"L".org] ] The Union Loop was constructed in separate sections: the Lake Street 'L' was extended along the north side in 1895; the Union Elevated Railroad opened the east side along Wabash Avenue in 1896 and the west side along Wells Street in 1897; and the Union Consolidated Elevated Railroad opened the south side along Van Buren Street in 1897. Originally there were 11 stations, two on the north leg of the loop and three on each other leg.

The Loop was born in political scandal: upon completion, all the rail lines running downtown had to pay Yerkes's operation a fee, which raised fares for commuters; when Yerkes, after bribery of the state legislature, secured legislation by which he claimed a fifty-year franchise, the resulting furor drove him out of town and ushered in a short-lived era of "Progressive Reform" in Chicago. [ [http://www.lib.niu.edu/2001/iht810125.html P. Barrett, "Chicago's Public Transportation Policy, 1900-1940s", 8 Ill. Hist. Teacher 25 (Illinois Historical preservation Agency, 2001)] ]

The Loop in popular culture

The Loop has appeared in a number of films. In "The Blues Brothers" (1980) Elwood lived in a flophouse on Van Buren Street next to the 'L' tracks, and the Chicago Police car pile up was underneath the Lake Street section of the loop tracks. [ [http://kevinforsyth.net/film/blues.htm The Blues Brothers - Chicago Filming Locations] ] The lead character of "While You Were Sleeping" (1995) was a fare collector at State/Lake station. Although set in New York City, a scene featuring elevated trains in "Spider-Man 2" (2004) was filmed in The Loop. Also, the medical drama "ER" shoots on-scene and/or features parts of The Loop frequently.

In "The Matrix" (1999), subway cars indicated their destination as "The Loop," as well as street locations given as Loop-related locations ("Wells and Lake") [ [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/trivia The Matrix IMDB entry] ] .

ee also

*1977 Chicago Loop derailment
*Chicago Central Area Transit Plan

References


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