The
LaSalle Street
LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Robert de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district.
Sout ...
Tunnel was
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
's
second traffic tunnel under the
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...
. It was started November 3, 1869, and completed July 4, 1871. It was designed by
William Bryson who was the resident
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
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 Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems:
* Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable
** Aerial tramway
** Chairlift
** Gondola lift
*** Bi ...
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 were aligned for the cars to enter from a shallow subway just below street level. The subway was not built, concrete ramps raised the tracks up to street grade.[
The tunnel section under the river was removed and a two tube steel plate replacement built in a ]drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
on Goose Island was lowered into a trench in the riverbed. The tunnels connecting the approaches and the tubes were dug through and under the original tunnels.[
]
After lowering
The deepened tunnel was opened to electric streetcar service on July 21, 1912. It was in use until November 27, 1939, when it was closed during the construction of the Milwaukee-Lake-Dearborn-Congress subway, the Lake & LaSalle (now Clark & Lake) station of which intersected the tunnel's south ramp under Lake Street. By 1950 the south approach had been covered, the tunnel and the north approach were filled and covered by 1953.
See also
Washington St. Tunnel
References
Railroad tunnels in Illinois
Transportation in Chicago
Buildings and structures in Chicago
Tunnels completed in 1871
Transportation buildings and structures in Cook County, Illinois
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