Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
A Chicago construction project has unearthed the not-so-ancient remains of the city’s old streetcar line, reports Patty Wetli for WTTV.
In a story that runs parallel to the Los Angeles Red Car streetcars made famous by Who Frames Roger Rabbit?, Chicago’s former system was operated by a group of private companies. By 1947, poor finances and corruption led the state to step in and create the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to take over the system.
With the rise of motorized vehicles, the agency eventually replaced the streetcars and stopped running the system in 1958. Many of the rails were simply buried under new asphalt, leading to their occasional rediscovery and public nostalgia for the old system.
While it’s unlikely the city would bring back streetcars, their former routes could inform new bus rapid transit lines or other alternatives to traditional buses.
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