redkulat
New Member
Well seeing as how Chicago's city was planned using concentric zone rings (Burgess' model), their metro system represents that quite well as it has 'branches' of lines going into different areas.
|
|
|
Chicago L train
- Thread starter LAz
- Start date
Long Island Mike
Senior Member
Tough South Side of Chicago neighborhoods...and other observations...
LAz: I do not know if that specific gang is active today but I remember hearing that Chicago's gang membership today is in the 75 thousand member range...obviously there are other active gangs...
The high rise towers that paralleled South State Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway corridor was the infamous Robert Taylor
Homes-one of the largest and at one point one of the most dangerous housing projects in Chicago...I have heard that this is mostly gone today...Just Google "Robert Taylor Homes" for much more information...
You also mention other neighborhoods that have been revitalized N of Downtown like Wicker Park...in the 80s these close-in neighborhoods were "discovered" by the upscale and hipster crowd and as mentioned some of the lower income residents were pushed out...the CTA O'Hare (Blue) and Ravenswood (Brown) lines made commuting to Downtown quite easy...
I also remember that the Ravenswood "L" structure on the Near North Side at one point was the dividing line between the NN
Entertainment District centering on Rush Street and the tough Cabrini-Green projects area to the W...it amazed me how close
these were to one another and how close the Cabrini-Green area was to Downtown...
I have no doubt today that having good CTA Rail service has been a boom for certain neighborhoods...and the 70s mentality
on keeping Rapid Transit service out and away from neighborhoods has thankfully changed...
Long Island Mike
LAz: I do not know if that specific gang is active today but I remember hearing that Chicago's gang membership today is in the 75 thousand member range...obviously there are other active gangs...
The high rise towers that paralleled South State Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway corridor was the infamous Robert Taylor
Homes-one of the largest and at one point one of the most dangerous housing projects in Chicago...I have heard that this is mostly gone today...Just Google "Robert Taylor Homes" for much more information...
You also mention other neighborhoods that have been revitalized N of Downtown like Wicker Park...in the 80s these close-in neighborhoods were "discovered" by the upscale and hipster crowd and as mentioned some of the lower income residents were pushed out...the CTA O'Hare (Blue) and Ravenswood (Brown) lines made commuting to Downtown quite easy...
I also remember that the Ravenswood "L" structure on the Near North Side at one point was the dividing line between the NN
Entertainment District centering on Rush Street and the tough Cabrini-Green projects area to the W...it amazed me how close
these were to one another and how close the Cabrini-Green area was to Downtown...
I have no doubt today that having good CTA Rail service has been a boom for certain neighborhoods...and the 70s mentality
on keeping Rapid Transit service out and away from neighborhoods has thankfully changed...
Long Island Mike
Last edited:
LAz
Active Member
Hm, I thought there were more than one set of such towers on the south side, along the highway. But it seems that the robert taylor ones went from 39th to 54th street- according to wiki... that is quite extensive. I was around 60th street this summer. Was driving around with a friend. We saw some really miserable mid-rise apartment buildings. There was perhaps an entire block of them. They were boarded up and looked like they were ready for demolition. I thought that was part of the taylor homes but I guess it was a bit further south. :/
What amazes me is how that section does not have any stations on it. They could easily put in a station there. It is the longest stretch on the brownline with no station - back some 60 years ago they had like 4 stations there. :S
Cabrini is almost gone though. When I was there this past summer, they had only two white high-rises left. I visited the summer before, there were three. :/
What bothers me is how so many neighborhoods are slums beside the L train. It's as if it has no impact on the neighborhoods. Like englewood... one of the city's ghettos. the L train goes right into englewood. They even demolished some stations there in the 1990s.
Some pictures in case anyone is interested...
Robert Taylor homes, looking northwards - you can see the highway on the left side of the picture - the red line goes inbetween the highway lanes.
http://heckeranddecker.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/robert-taylor-homes-cmp1.jpg
This is one of the abandoned ghost stations on the green line... racine.
There are several such "ghost stations" in chicago. Full ghost stations that is. There are still plenty of remnants of past stations. :/
Long Island Mike
Senior Member
More Chicago Near North observations...and CTA observations...
LAz: I found an interesting link on the Cabrini-Green Housing Project:
www.rapdict.org/Cabrini-Green
This explains much about the complex and explains somewhat about it's bad reputation in Chicago...especially to outsiders...
I remember myself interesting gaps between stations on CTA lines and closed stations...I remember at least one on the Congress
Line (today's Blue Line Forest Park Branch) and not only do I remember that station gap on the Ravenswood Line I recall a gap
between stations on the Lake Street L route (today's Green Line) between Ashland and California that went thru one of the roughest-looking neighborhoods on Chicago's West Side...
The Englewood and Jackson Park Lines (again Green Lines) also served directly the heart of Chicago's South Side ghetto...
The heart of the SS ghetto in the 70s era was the vicinity of 43rd/Indiana...
Also remember that the entire Lake/Englewood/Jackson Park (Green Line) could have been closed entirely in the 90s...
Instead neighborhood activists among others sought to save them from closure and demolition and they were re-constructed
extensively and closed for a long stretch of around 18 months...What is now the Green Lines contain very old L structures that had fallen into a state of disrepair...
I have never gotten used to or like the CTA color names remembering the distinct line names previously used...
I learned the system in the 70s era and I recall that the first maps that used colors to designate the CTA Rapid Transit
lines were issued around 1978...I use the color names reluctantly knowing that some have only known those since they were
introduced back in the mid 90s era...I have seen the term "dumbing down" used concerning and criticizing this change...
Memories and observations from LI MIKE
LAz: I found an interesting link on the Cabrini-Green Housing Project:
www.rapdict.org/Cabrini-Green
This explains much about the complex and explains somewhat about it's bad reputation in Chicago...especially to outsiders...
I remember myself interesting gaps between stations on CTA lines and closed stations...I remember at least one on the Congress
Line (today's Blue Line Forest Park Branch) and not only do I remember that station gap on the Ravenswood Line I recall a gap
between stations on the Lake Street L route (today's Green Line) between Ashland and California that went thru one of the roughest-looking neighborhoods on Chicago's West Side...
The Englewood and Jackson Park Lines (again Green Lines) also served directly the heart of Chicago's South Side ghetto...
The heart of the SS ghetto in the 70s era was the vicinity of 43rd/Indiana...
Also remember that the entire Lake/Englewood/Jackson Park (Green Line) could have been closed entirely in the 90s...
Instead neighborhood activists among others sought to save them from closure and demolition and they were re-constructed
extensively and closed for a long stretch of around 18 months...What is now the Green Lines contain very old L structures that had fallen into a state of disrepair...
I have never gotten used to or like the CTA color names remembering the distinct line names previously used...
I learned the system in the 70s era and I recall that the first maps that used colors to designate the CTA Rapid Transit
lines were issued around 1978...I use the color names reluctantly knowing that some have only known those since they were
introduced back in the mid 90s era...I have seen the term "dumbing down" used concerning and criticizing this change...
Memories and observations from LI MIKE