Take a trip underground and see how Chicago's I Will spirit overcame
challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the
subways that move millions today!
While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the
city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The
City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the Initial System of
Subways during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This
gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, overcame many
obstacles while tunneling through Chicago's soft blue clay, under
congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River.
Chicago's first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of
wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass
the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the
latter modernizing the old Garfield Park L into the median of Chicago's
first expressway. Building Chicago's subways was national news and a
matter of considerable civic pride - making it a Second City no more!