CHICAGO | General Discussions

[ardecila]

The Washington tunnel is possibly the most usable one of the bunch - it could potentially host a future light-rail line, and thus be protected from disruptions on the rare day when the bridges open. (Not much use as a busway without any ventilation, unless CTA switches to electric buses.) Unfortunately it's full of utility lines, so those would need to be relocated to God-only-knows-where. The tunnel still has a cobbled floor with the old rail tracks set in it.

Originally Posted by left of center

There are tunnels under Van Buren and LaSalle too, and they were all used for street cars back in the day IIRC. The LaSalle and Washington tunnels were older through, and were used for horse drawn carriages and pedestrians before the advent of the streetcar.

The LaSalle St tunnel was filled in and blocked off by the blue line under Lake St, but I believe that the Washington and Van Buren tunnels still remain, with their entrances sealed up. Would be neat if they could find a use for them again.

History lesson, kids...

The Van Buren one doesn't actually run under Van Buren, it runs about 120' north below private property. It, too, was blocked off when 311 S Wacker was built. The developers imagined using it as a pedway to Union Station. The connection was even included on the construction drawings for the building, but for some reason it was never built. That was part of the rationale for the winter garden, to provide a dignified place for people to descend. There would have been a second set of (long) escalators leading down from the lower level of the winter garden to the tunnel.

Amtrak's current Union Station proposal includes a development on the Union Station garage, which is the site of the other tunnel portal. Maybe if that ever gets off the ground we can see something happen with the tunnel. I don't think it makes much sense as a pedway, there's no retail to draw people down there and the river bridges are rarely opened like they were when the tunnel was built. Nowadays, 99% of the time it would be more convenient just to stay at street level. It would be just as sucky as the CTA transfer tunnel at Jackson, only 3 times longer.

The sidewalks around there do get very congested during rush periods, which is why the Central Area Plan called for a new pedestrian bridge at Quincy. It would probably cost a similar amount as retrofitting the tunnel, but would be more convenient and architecturally splashy.

[RockfordSoxFan]

Fascinating on the history of those tunnels. Thanks for sharing guys.

[KWillChicago]

I would love for those tunnels, washington especially, to be used as pedways. It would be cool to use them as galleries for public art as well. But with the robbery spike that is happening more often in the subways they would have to be well lit and monitored. Obviously crime is no new thing but they have been getting alot ballsier over the last several years. If anyones got pictures of the old UIC tunnels can you post them? I remember walking those when I was younger before they locked them up. Lets just say...creepy.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by KWillChicago

I would love for those tunnels, washington especially, to be used as pedways. It would be cool to use them as galleries for public art as well. But with the robbery spike that is happening more often in the subways they would have to be well lit and monitored. Obviously crime is no new thing but they have been getting alot ballsier over the last several years. If anyones got pictures of the old UIC tunnels can you post them? I remember walking those when I was younger before they locked them up. Lets just say...creepy.

Yeah I think the city stopped expanding the Pedway system for good reasons. Underground construction is expensive, and as the Loop got cleaned up in the 1990s, people didn't hesitate to walk around at street level anymore.

I still think pedways make sense in certain cases - we need better, sealed connections between CTA and Metra stops - but we don't need a full-fledged street network below ground.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Yeah I think the city stopped expanding the Pedway system for good reasons. Underground construction is expensive, and as the Loop got cleaned up in the 1990s, people didn't hesitate to walk around at street level anymore.

I still think pedways make sense in certain cases - we need better, sealed connections between CTA and Metra stops - but we don't need a full-fledged street network below ground.

Keeping people out of the extreme cold or rain and giving people a way to walk uninhibited by car traffic to their destination are huge reasons why the pedway needs to continue to be expanded. Also not having the deafening elevated tracks above you is a nice plus.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by HomrQT

Keeping people out of the extreme cold or rain and giving people a way to walk uninhibited by car traffic to their destination are huge reasons why the pedway needs to continue to be expanded. Also not having the deafening elevated tracks above you is a nice plus.

I love it when L trains pass overheard. Makes the city feel so damn urban and alive. (Might be a different matter if I'm taking an important phone call, lol)

I'll agree that it is a nice respite from inclement weather, but other great cities get along just fine without a pedway. New York's weather isn't much better than what we get here in Chicago, for instance.

We should definitely maintain and improve on the existing pedway that we have, but there are probably other projects the city should give priority to over expanding the pedway, IMO.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by HomrQT

Keeping people out of the extreme cold or rain and giving people a way to walk uninhibited by car traffic to their destination are huge reasons why the pedway needs to continue to be expanded. Also not having the deafening elevated tracks above you is a nice plus.

We've built great cities with streets for thousands of years, I don't see why we need to abandon the concept now. If you can't deal with varying weather conditions and dress properly, maybe you belong in LA... The streets of the Loop are vibrant enough that I never gripe about walking around even during inclement weather.

When pedways/skyways are taken to the extreme, like Minneapolis, the street level just becomes a featureless sewer filled with parking garage exits and fast-food ventilators. At off-hours, the lower number of pedestrians is split over two levels, which just decreases the number of "eyes on the street" and encourages crime.

[the urban politician]

Wow, that’s the first time I’ve ever visited that website. It’s a gem!

[donnie]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Wow, that’s the first time I’ve ever visited that website. It’s a gem!

Link plz

[left of center]

A ped bridge at Quincy would be a much more attractive option for pedestrians than fixing up one of the tunnels into a pedway. The tunnels would be useful if integrated as part of a future transit route, otherwise probably best to keep pedestrians at street level.

[left of center]

I think TUP was referring to chicagology

[cannedairspray]

Were those some of the tunnels involved in this infamous event from when I was a kid?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flood

I vaguely remember this making downtown a no-go zone, which either made us all late for school or had school cancelled altogether. Not sure which.

[left of center]

^ Different tunnels. Those were caused by accidentally breaching the old Chicago Tunnel company tunnels. There are almost 60 miles of track under nearly every street in the Loop, extending under the river to the West Loop and River North as well.


Source: nap.edu

The tunnels had small freight trains that used to haul things like coal, mail, and garbage to/from buildings downtown, in order to avoid the heavily congested streets and bridges.

[KWillChicago]

^ Supposedly Capone used them to transport booze from the north side to the loop as well. Avoiding street traffic (police) and having access to old buildings basements without being seen must have been quite the convienance.

[donnie]

Originally Posted by KWillChicago

^ Supposedly Capone used them to transport booze from the north side to the loop as well. Avoiding street traffic (police) and having access to old buildings basements without being seen must have been quite the convienance.

I live close to Chevy Chase in Northwest suburbs where one of his homes had a tunnel that went underneath Milwaukee rd into the forest preserve!
Read this http://www.wheelinghistoricalsociety...10/Albump4.htm

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by donnie

I live close to Chevy Chase in Northwest suburbs where one of his homes had a tunnel that went underneath Milwaukee rd into the forest preserve!
Read this http://www.wheelinghistoricalsociety...10/Albump4.htm

Capone? Was there even anything out there during his reign? Kind of a hike form his south side headquarters, especially in the early-ish 20th century. I know the club has been there for some time. Was it originally a weekend resort away from the city that just got enveloped by suburban development?

[Tom In Chicago]

Not sure I saw this posted anywhere else in the forums, but it's worth noting. . .

https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/3/13...t-architecture

Steely Dan will no doubt find it of interest. . .

. . .

[bnk]

Not to side track but holey shit Loyola !

Elite 8 now.

There are tons of news stories explaining what Loyola is.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...1e4_story.html


Take a tour of Loyola Chicago, which wasn’t a sports school until last week



By Chuck Culpepper March 21 at 4:56 PM 


CHICAGO — Yes, but what exactly is this Loyola University Chicago?

Is it small? (Not really. It has 16,673 students.)

Is it urban-grimy? (No, it’s urban-gorgeous, with a rectangular West Quad and, just in case you didn’t fancy that quad, an egg-shaped East Quad.)

Where is it? (It’s umpteen stops up the “L” red line from downtown, north enough that you start to think about Northwestern even if you disembark before reaching Northwestern which, like many places, has one fewer men’s basketball national title than Loyola.)

Is it near Lake Michigan? (Yes, it backs right up to that beast, which snarled on Tuesday, when some wind gusts felt merely frigid, where others felt just plainly rude, where others felt barbarously, sadistically, ruthlessly, inhumanely, vilely disgusting.)


Has it any recent sports glory? (Yes, the men’s volleyball team won back-to-back national titles in 2014 and 2015.)

Why is the sudden presence of this LUC in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament so charming?




(How much time do you have?)

...

The national media has to call it Loyola of Chicago. To me it was always just Loyola, a conservative Jesuit campus right on the lake just a few miles south from Northwestern university.

Not its not small, no its not in the hood.

Yes they have their own medical hospitals and med school pipelines.


Loyola bought huge Adverts on TV tonight.

This will not only benefit the basketball program that I could care less about.
But the University is shining on a national stage right now.


BTW my step daughter is attending Loyola pre med, even though they do not have an official pre med major, to get into medicine as a doctor.

She got pretty much a half ride, scholarship of 22K per year for 4 years guaranteed as long as she makes the GPA requirements.

I am positive she will. Took all honor courses, has an ACT of 31, 35 in science. We wanted to send her to NW but we never got an acceptance.

GD Northwestern must be awesomely hard to get into.


In two years I will have 4 children under my care in collage at the same time. Two of mine are my biological and two are my GF's.

Right not I am only supporting one her oldest. I got three more to go in rapid succession. My kids will be 16 next year and they already are looking at NW and U of Chicago, and many other top programs. My twins are also elite college prep educated and not just nerds, they play multi sports too right now.

To me this is the meaning of life. Giving the best I can to give my blood the best education they can receive, and pass on that incredible bnk genes.

We need all of the scholarships we can get. I need my snowbird house someday.

[LouisVanDerWright]

As a Loyola grad who played pep band for the basketball ball team when they were miserable:

HELL YEAH! GO RAMBLERS!

They play a 9 seed for a trip to the final four so things could get even crazier!

[left of center]

^ Could've been worse. Kentucky was the 5 seed. Lucky that K State did the dirty work of dispatching them later on last night.

I'm a UIC grad and fondly remember the crosstown rivalry between the Flames and Ramblers before Loyola ditched the Horizon League for Missouri Valley. Since the Flames haven't been all that good since their NCAA appearances in 02 and 04, I've been rooting for the Ramblers.

Tomorrow is going to be a very inebriating day