Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad
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The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad (known as the ''Met'' or ''Polly "L"'') was the third elevated
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
line to be built in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. It was the first of Chicago’s elevated lines to be electrically powered. The main line ran from downtown Chicago to Marshfield Avenue, with branches to Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, and
Douglas Park Douglas Park was a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, the home ground of Hamilton Academical from 1888 to 1994. The stadium holds the record for Hamilton Academical's largest ever attendance, 28,690 people against Hearts in 193 ...
(eventually extended to the suburb of
Berwyn, Illinois Berwyn () is a suburban city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, Coterminous municipality, coterminous with Berwyn Township, Illinois, Berwyn Township, which was formed in 1908 after breaking off from Cicero Township, Cook County, Illinois, ...
). Portions of the system are still operated as sections of the Blue Line and the Pink Line.


Operation

At 6:00 am on May 7, 1895, the first train of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated left the Robey Street station bound for the downtown terminal at Canal.


Consolidation

In 1913, Chicago's four elevated railroad companies came together to form the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust establishing crosstown services for the first time. In 1924 all four companies were formally united to form the
Chicago Rapid Transit Company The Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) was a privately owned firm providing rapid transit rail service in Chicago, Illinois, and several adjacent communities between 1924 and 1947. The CRT is one of the predecessors of the Chicago Transit Aut ...
. The
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
took over the assets of the CRT in 1947. In 1951, the Logan Square branch was rerouted into the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway, and the
Humboldt Park Branch The Humboldt Park branch was a rapid transit line which was part of the Chicago "L" system from 1895 to 1952. The branch served the West Town and the Humboldt Park neighborhoods of Chicago and consisted of six elevated stations. It opened on Jul ...
was cut back to a shuttle to Damen Avenue. The Humboldt Park branch would be discontinued a year later. In 1952, the Douglas branch was shortened to its current terminal at 54th/Cermak and the Humboldt Park branch was closed. The construction of the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) required the demolition of the Garfield Park branch and the Main Line but also called for a replacement rapid transit line in the median of the expressway. In 1958, the Garfield Park Branch was replaced by the new Congress Line. Much of the Metropolitan still operates today, with the Blue Line using a portion of the Logan Square branch on its way to
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...
, as well as the Congress Line that replaced the Garfield Park Branch. The Douglas Park Branch, operated as a branch of the Blue Line from 1958 to 2008, is now operated as the Pink Line.


References


External links


Metropolitan West Side Elevated Company System Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Railway lines in Chicago History of Chicago Rapid transit in Illinois Defunct Illinois railroads