Discover the world-famous Chicago "L" - in all its grit and glory. The thundering "L" is one of Chicago's most enduring icons. Operating 247 since 1892, it is not only an antique but a working antique. More than 10 billion people have ridden the "L," which now carries half a million people a day over 222 miles of track. The heavy, rumbling "L" has a light side too. It is sought out by tourists, featured in major motion pictures, enjoyed by wide-eyed kids, photographed by admirers, and studied by historians. Meanwhile, both the Smithsonian Institution and the Chicago History Museum have recently enshrined Chicago "L" cars as the showpiece of major permanent exhibits. The Chicago "L" shows how the early "L" lines helped to build Chicago as well as how today's "L" helps to revitalize neighborhoods and tie the city together. Over the past 100 years, the "L" has survived numerous attempts to tear it down. Today its future is secure. New services are being added and new lines planned. This educating and entertaining book brings the tenacious "L" to life.
Greg Borzo, whose first home was a few steps from the “L,” enjoys riding it almost every day and gives history tours of several “L” lines. Formerly the editor of Modern Railroads magazine, he is now a science writer at Chicago's Field Museum. To tell the story of this celebrated transit system (including a look at its precursors), Borzo draws on some 240 captivating photographs, drawings, and maps. Most of the images were culled from the Chicago Transit Authority's vast photograph archives; others were gathered from libraries, museums, schools, vendors, and individuals across the country. Ride with him through time over one of America's greatest urban treasures, this massive 19thcentury structure of riveted steel that serves as one of Chicago's major circulatory systems, pulsing from the heart of the Loop out into the surrounding neighborhoods and suburbs.