The Loop (rapid transit)
The Loop (historically Union Loop) 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, although the use of this term predates the elevated railroad, coming from a streetcar loop constructed in 1882.
Operations
The Loop includes nine stations: Clark/Lake and State/Lake are on the northern leg; Randolph, 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 2005 16,712,365 passengers entered the 'L' via these stations[1].
Five of the eight 'L' lines use the Loop. The Brown Line enters from the north at the northwestern corner and makes 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. During weekday peak hours the Purple Line also makes a full clockwise circuit of the Loop, entering from the north at the northwestern corner. The Green Line runs in both directions but does not make a full circuit, using the north and eastern sides of the Loop only.
Two towers control entry to and exit from the Loop. Tower 12 stands at the southeastern corner. Tower 18 stands at the northwestern corner, and 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 Rapid Transit Railroad Company, 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[2]. 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 12 stations, three on each leg of the loop.
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[3]. 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 (2002) was filmed in the Loop.
