1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 1: show that gives you a bird's eye view of history 4 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: one day at a time. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: we're talking about a historic lynchpin of the Chicago mass 6 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: transit system and the city Skyline, the indispensably handy and 7 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: unbelievably noisy L Train. The day was June sixth, eighteen 8 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: ninety two, the first L train in Chicago made its 9 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: inaugural journey through the city. At the time, it was 10 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: known as the Chicago and south Side Rapid Transit Railroad, 11 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: but today most Chicagoans know it simply as the L 12 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,279 Speaker 1: short for Elevated. At the turn of the twentieth century, 13 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: many American cities built elevated railways to help transport their 14 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: growing populations, and while New York holds the distinction of 15 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: being the first city to do so way back in 16 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty seven, it eventually replaced its system with a subway, 17 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,759 Speaker 1: just as most other cities did more than a century later. 18 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: The Windy City now boasts the only downtown area in 19 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:27,479 Speaker 1: the country where elevated trains still reign. Supreme. Chicago's need 20 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: for a rapid transit rail system began in the eighteen seventies, 21 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: when the city was experiencing a period of tremendous growth. 22 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: Private companies tried to meet that need by laying rail 23 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: tracks downtown and introducing horse drawn trolleys and a decade later, 24 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: electric cable cars. However, these ground level forms of transportation 25 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: further clog the cities already congested thoroughfares, and as more 26 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: and more people moved to the city, the street cars 27 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: had a hard time keeping up with the high volume 28 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: of passengers. Chicago officials briefly considered building a subway to 29 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: solve the problem, but because of the high cost of 30 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: digging tunnels, they decided to use elevated tracks instead, and 31 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: so on June sixth, eighteen ninety two, the first elevated 32 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: or L train went into operation. Passengers boarded wooden coaches 33 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: pulled by a steam locomotive and were whisked from one 34 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: end of the line to the other in about fourteen minutes. 35 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: The three point six mile route began downtown at a 36 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: terminal at Congress Street and ran in a straight line 37 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: to thirty ninth Street, now known as Pershing Road on 38 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: the city's south side. This direct route was made possible 39 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: by one of the elevated system's most unique features, its 40 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: ability to run behind buildings and alongside and over top 41 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: of alleyways. It would have been prohibitively expensive to obtain 42 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: consent signatures from the property owners along the front of 43 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: the streets, but there were no such restrictions behind the 44 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: building adjacent to city owned alleys. The original tracks plotted 45 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: along this line were nicknamed the Alley L, and they 46 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,079 Speaker 1: are still in use today as part of what's now 47 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: called the Green Line. Although Chicago's first L lines were 48 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: owned and operated as separate private companies, they were still 49 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: egalitarian in function. Residents of all different income levels, races, 50 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: and backgrounds shared the train together. It ran twenty four 51 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: hours a day and sported classy touches like cushioned seats 52 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: and gas lamps for evening rides. In the early days 53 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: of the l's operation, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune 54 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: highlighted the system's leveling effect, noting that passengers ranged from 55 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: members of the quote lunch pale crowd to those resembling gentlemen. 56 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: Shortly after the original Alley the L line opened, work 57 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: began to expand it to sixty third Street in Jackson Park, 58 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: where the World's Columbian Exposition or World's Fair was set 59 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: to take place in eighteen ninety three. Meanwhile, a second 60 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: elevated railroad, known as the Lake Street Line, was built 61 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: between the West Side and the edge of Downtown. Steam 62 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: powered trains began operating on those tracks in eighteen ninety three, 63 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: and they too, are still in use today as part 64 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: of the Green Line. The expansion of the L Line 65 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: wasn't the only boon provided by Chicago's hosting of the 66 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: World's Fair. One of the exhibitions at the fair demonstrated 67 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: a new third rail electrical power system by taking attendees 68 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: on a short ride around the grounds. Two years later, 69 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,719 Speaker 1: that technology was incorporated into the city's third elevated train line, 70 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 1: the Metropolitan West Side L, the city's first electric powered 71 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: train star It out at Franklin Street before branching in 72 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: three different directions toward Garfield Park, Douglas Park, and Logan Square. 73 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,479 Speaker 1: This exact route is no longer used today, but sections 74 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: of its track now make up the modern Blue and 75 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: Pink Lines. The advent of electrical power made the L 76 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: lines faster, cleaner, and more efficient, but they still had 77 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: one major shortcoming because of the complications involved in obtaining 78 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: permission from landowners Downtown. All of the existing lines terminated 79 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: just short of the central business district. That finally changed 80 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety seven thanks to a wealthy and controversial 81 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: mass transit mogul named Charles Tyson Yerkeys. He already owned 82 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: portions of Chicago's streetcar system, including several blocks of a 83 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: downtown area known as the Loop due to the circuitous 84 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: route of its cable car tracks. Yerkys used his as 85 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: well as some bribes, to secure permission to construct elevated 86 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: tracks right above the downtown streets. His tactics weren't always 87 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 1: on the level, but it's hard to argue with the results. 88 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: By connecting the various train lines together, Yerkeys essentially formed 89 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: the Downtown Loop the Chicago commuters still rely on today, 90 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: and once residents had easy access to the businesses downtown, 91 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: the l's ridership increased exponentially. The system's growth continued well 92 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: into the twentieth century, and in nineteen twenty four, the 93 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: private owners of the various lines joined forces to create 94 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: a single entity, the Chicago Rapid Transit Company. Sadly, the 95 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 1: good times wouldn't last much longer. Ridership took a hit 96 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: during the Great Depression, as some residents could no longer 97 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: afford to ride the ALP and many others lost their 98 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: jobs and thus their reason for commuting. To be improved 99 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: in the nineteen forties, but by then the elevated railway 100 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: was facing steep competition, both from the city's first subway station, 101 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: which opened in nineteen forty three, and from the growing 102 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: popularity of automobiles. As more people abandoned the city for 103 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: the suburbs, the l's ridership continue to decline. By nineteen 104 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: forty seven, the system was no longer turning a profit 105 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: for its owner, so to keep the L from shutting down, 106 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: the local government bought them out and established the Chicago 107 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: Transit Authority or CTA. They're still in charge of daily 108 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: operations for all the L trains in Chicago, and they 109 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: managed the city's street cars as well, until the last 110 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: of them ceased to run in nineteen fifty eight. In 111 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: the following decades, Chicago's L lines continued to grow in 112 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: fits and starts, and in nineteen ninety three they adopted 113 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: the color coded names that they're known by today. After 114 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: many years of sustained growth, the l's ridership took another 115 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: major hit during the COVID nineteen pandemic. The numbers haven't 116 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: quite rebounded to their record setting levels yet, but the 117 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: eight lines of the Chicago L still carry an average 118 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: of more than three hundred thousand passengers each weekday. It's 119 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: hard to say exactly what the future may hold for 120 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: the L, though the CTA has plenty of plans for 121 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: line extensions and revitalization projects in the years ahead. But 122 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: at this point, the site and sound of an L 123 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: train passing overhead are as much a part of the 124 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: city as the people who ride it, so if Chicagoans 125 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,559 Speaker 1: have anything to say about it, the iconic trains won't 126 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: be departing anytime soon. I'm Gay Blues Yay, and hopefully 127 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,439 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 128 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with 129 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and 130 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: Instagram at TDI HC Show. And if you have any 131 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my way 132 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: by writing to this day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks 133 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: to Kasby Bias for producing the show, and thanks to 134 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 135 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:31,679 Speaker 1: for another day in history class.