Sunday, April 9, 2017

What A Difference

steel tracks being built north of Wilson terminal, circa 1907-1908
(image courtesy of JJ Sedelmaier)
May 2015. Note both the old steel tracks and the heavier concrete ones running behind them
April 9, 2017
After more than 110 years of service, the steel support columns that were interspersed among the traffic lanes on the 4600 block of Broadway are gone. They were built in 1907-1908 when the L was extended from Wilson, which had previously been the northernmost terminal. The new track configuration will of course require some support pillars, but they will be fewer and less intrusive, particularly for vehicular traffic.

Remember how much fun it was to drive through them?

Google Streetview, October 2014
April 9, 2017
They had a good run. It's impossible to know how many millions of Chicagoans traveled over them during the past century. Here's all that remains, for now, at least:

Pieces and girders lie on the west side of Broadway
One section of the old track remains in front of the Gerber Building on Broadway

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