Below the sewers and subways of Chicago lie over 60 miles of forgotten 19th and 20th-century train tunnels. Once a vital connection between many of the city’s prominent buildings, this labyrinth has remained abandoned for almost a century.
Facing severe congestion from horse-drawn carts, streetcars, and pedestrians around the turn of the century, Chicago introduced elevated rapid transport, known as “the L,” in 1892 to address these issues. However, the infrastructure further obstructed street space for loading, worsening traffic. The high demand for coal as a power source added to street congestion and pollution.
In 1891, Rudyard Kipling famously remarked that “Chicago’s air is dirt.” With little hope for improvement in air quality, moving ash and congestion underground was considered a solution. Under chief engineer George W. Jackson, the Illinois Telephone and Telegraph Company built 26 miles of tunnel for telegraph and telephone cables, a project that eventually stalled. In 1905, the Illinois Tunnel Company took over and expanded the network to 60 miles. On July 7, 1905, an 11-car train was dispatched from the Erie freight house, marking the beginning of a new era for the tunnels.
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