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Cable Cars In Chicago
In 1900, Chicago already had the second largest cable car network in the country (and, arguably, the city would grow to have the largest streetcar network in the world in a few decades).Melbourne, Australia, also has claims to being the largest cable system. The largest system really depended on whether or not track in depots was counted. In 1900, there were three private companies operating of double track routes radiating out from the downtown area. State of the art technology when the first line opened in 1882, by 1900 electric traction had proven superior and in 1906 all cable routes were changed to electrical power. In 2015 most were part of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes. History In the 1850s Chicago was growing rapidly and local transportation was a problem. Flat and low, drainage was poor and the roads were often muddy and near impassible for foot and horse traffic. In 1859 the Illinois state legislature incorporated the Chicago City Railway (CCR) and the Nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Surface Lines
The Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) was operator of the street railway system of Chicago, Illinois, from 1913 to 1947. The firm is a predecessor of today's publicly owned operator, the Chicago Transit Authority. History The first streetcars in Chicago were horse cars run by the Chicago City Railway Company and the North Chicago City Railway Company around 1858-1861. This method was slow and expensive, and the companies began substituting cable cars in the 1880s. Chicago City Railway was the first in (1881), and with the addition of the Chicago Passenger Railway (1883) and the West Chicago Street Railroad Company (1887), Chicago had the largest cable railway system in the world. The north and west side cable car systems were constructed by an investment syndicate under the direction of Charles Yerkes. It was also in the 1880s that electric-powered " trolleys" first became practical. The Chicago companies hesitated at first to install these faster and more efficient systems beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. maritime border with Canada, northeast of Cincinnati, northeast of Columbus, and approximately west of Pennsylvania. The largest city on Lake Erie and one of the major cities of the Great Lakes region, Cleveland ranks as the 54th-largest city in the U.S. with a 2020 population of 372,624. The city anchors both the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton combined statistical area (CSA). The CSA is the most populous in Ohio and the 17th largest in the country, with a population of 3.63 million in 2020, while the MSA ranks as 34th largest at 2.09 million. Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River by General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city was named ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad Tunnels In Illinois
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Tracks usually consist of steel rails, installed on sleepers (ties) set in ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are also possible, such as "slab track", in which the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a rail transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, so passenger and freight cars (carriages and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains. The operation is carried out by a railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer faciliti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transportation In Chicago
Chicago, Illinois is the third-largest city in the United States and a world transit hub. The area is served by two major airports, numerous highways, elevated/subway local train lines, city/suburban commuter rail lines, it is the national passenger rail hub for Amtrak routes, and is the main freight rail hub of the North American continent. Surface transportation networks and public ways within the city are the responsibility of the Chicago Department of Transportation. Mass transit in much of the Chicago metropolitan area is managed through the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), which was installed by referendum in 1974. The RTA provides transportation services through the funding of three subordinate agencies: the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace. Operation of the city's airports is the responsibility of the Chicago Department of Aviation. Airports *O'Hare International Airport, which is the second busiest airport in the world by one measure, is a major air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buildings And Structures In Chicago
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term ''building'' compare the list of nonbuilding structures. Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the ''outside'' (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LaSalle Street Cable Car Powerhouse (Chicago)
The LaSalle Street Cable Car Powerhouse at 500 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois (northwest corner of LaSalle and Illinois Streets) is a rare surviving artifact of Chicago's cable car system, which at its peak in the 1890s was one of the largest in the country, in terms of riders and equipment. Three separate companies operated thousands of cable cars over 82 miles of track. The three story powerhouse was built by the North Chicago Street Railroad Company in 1886-1887 for $35,000. "It was a striking presence in the River North area, which was a jumble of low-scale factories, warehouses and shipyards," said a Commission on Chicago Landmarks Designation Report from 2000. The railroad company was organized by Charles Tyson Yerkes, the leading transit entrepreneur in Chicago during the late 19th century. At the height of his influence, Yerkes controlled eight separate street railway companies and 250 miles of track in the city. Chicago historian Greg Borzo calls the LaSalle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park is the 41st of the 77 community areas of Chicago. It is located on the South Side, near the shore of Lake Michigan south of the Loop. Hyde Park's official boundaries are 51st Street/Hyde Park Boulevard on the north, the Midway Plaisance (between 59th and 60th streets) on the south, Washington Park on the west, and Lake Michigan on the east. According to another definition, a section to the north between 47th Street and 51st Street/Hyde Park Boulevard is also included as part of Hyde Park, although this area is officially the southern part of the Kenwood community area. The area encompassing Hyde Park and the southern part of Kenwood is sometimes referred to as Hyde Park-Kenwood, which includes the neighborhoods of East Hyde Park and Indian Village. Hyde Park is home to a number of institutions of higher education; among these are the University of Chicago, Catholic Theological Union, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and McCormick Theological Seminary. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LaSalle Street Tunnel
The LaSalle Street Tunnel was Chicago's second traffic tunnel under the Chicago River. It was started November 3, 1869, and completed July 4, 1871. It was designed by William Bryson who was the resident engineer for the Washington Street Tunnel. It was 1,890 feet (576m) long, from Randolph Street north to Hubbard (then Michigan) Street, and cost $566,000. History As built Originally built with one lane for pedestrians and 2 lanes for horse-drawn traffic, by the 1880s it was in poor condition. On March 23, 1888, the North Chicago Street Railroad leased the tunnel. If they repaired it and made other local improvements they could use the tunnel exclusively for cable car service. The reversing of the Chicago River in 1900 exposed the roof of the tunnel in the new riverbed and in 1904 the Federal government declared it a hazard to navigation. The tunnel was closed to cable cars on October 21 1906. Reconstruction The approaches were deepened to a new lower tunnel level. The grades ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. The fire began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center. A long period of hot, dry, windy conditions, and the wooden construction prevalent in the city, led to the conflagration. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago and then leapt the main branch of the river, consuming the Near North Side. Help flowed to the city from near and far after the fire. The city government improved building codes to stop the rapid spread of future fires and rebuilt rapidly to those higher standards. A donation from the United Kingdom spurred the establishment of the Chicago Public Library. Origin The fire is claimed to have started at about 8:30 p.m. on October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Yerkes
Charles Tyson Yerkes Jr. ( ; June 25, 1837 – December 29, 1905) was an American financier. He played a part in developing mass-transit systems in Chicago and London. Philadelphia Yerkes was born into a Quaker family in the Northern Liberties, a district adjacent to Philadelphia, on June 25, 1837. His mother Elizabeth Link Yerkes died of puerperal fever when he was five years old and shortly thereafter his father Charles Tyson Yerkes Sr. was expelled from the Society of Friends for marrying a non-Quaker. After finishing a two-year course at Philadelphia's Central High School, Yerkes began his business career at the age of 17 as a clerk in a local grain brokerage. In 1859, aged 22, he opened his own brokerage firm and joined the Philadelphia stock exchange. By 1865 he had moved into banking and specialized in selling municipal, state, and government bonds. Relying on his bank president father's connections, his political contacts, and his own acumen, Yerkes gained a name for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robber Baron (industrialist)
Robber baron is a derogatory term of social criticism originally applied to certain wealthy and powerful 19th-century American businessmen. The term appeared as early as the August 1870 issue of ''The Atlantic Monthly'' magazine. By the late 19th century, the term was typically applied to businessmen who purportedly used exploitative practices to amass their wealth. These practices included exerting control over natural resources, influencing high levels of government, paying subsistence wages, squashing competition by acquiring their competitors to create monopolies and raise prices, and schemes to sell stock at inflated prices to unsuspecting investors. The term combines the sense of criminal ("robber") and illegitimate aristocracy (a baron is an illegitimate role in a republic).Worth Robert Miller, ''Populist cartoons: an illustrated history of the third-party movement in the 1890s '' (2011) p. 13 Usage The term robber baron derives from the ''Raubritter'' (''robber knights'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington Street Tunnel (Chicago)
The Washington Street Tunnel was the first traffic tunnel under the Chicago River. J.L. Lake was awarded the contract to construct the tunnel in July 1867 and its construction was completed January 1, 1869. This tunnel was 1605 feet long, from Franklin Street west to Clinton Street, and cost $517,000. History As built Originally built of masonry with one lane for pedestrians and 2 lanes for horse-drawn traffic, by 1884 it was leaking and had been closed. In 1888 the West Chicago Street Railroad leased the tunnel. If they repaired it and built a vehicle bridge they could use the tunnel exclusively for cable car service. Construction began in 1888 and the tunnel was reopened August 12, 1890 The reversing of the Chicago River in 1900 lowered the water level and exposed the roof of the tunnel in the riverbed. Several ships ran aground on it, damaging the roof. In 1904 the Federal government declared it a hazard to navigation, it was closed on August 19, 1906. Reconstruction A wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
