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• - Browse neighboring items by call number.
• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: Union Elevated Railroad, Union Loop, Wells, Van Buren, and Lake Streets, and Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL
• Other Title: Chicago Loop L
• Creator(s): Historic American Engineering Record, creator
• Related Names:
     Chicago Transit Authority
     Yerkes, Charles T
     Waddell, John Alexander Low
     Insull, Samuel
     Chicago Rapid Transit Company
     Union Bridge Co.
     Elmira Bridge Co.
     Phoenix Bridge Co.
     Pencoyd Iron Works
     Hedley, Alfred M
     Weston, Charles
     Clement, Dan , transmitter
     City of Chicago , sponsor
     Archaeological Research, Inc. , contractor
     Hasbrouck Peterson Zimoch Sirirattumrong , contractor
     Sniderman, Julia , researcher
     Vogel, John , researcher
     Yanul, Tom , photographer
     Phillips, Nancy , researcher
     Poulson, Karen , researcher
     Boucher, Jack E , photographer
     Lowe, Jet , photographer
     Keene, David , Principle Investigator
     Gonzalez, Lourdes Mesa , delineator
     Crane, Jeannine M , delineator
     Pospishil, William , delineator
     Pospishil, William
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1968
• Medium: Photo(s): 30
  Measured Drawing(s): 1
  Data Page(s): 25
  Photo Caption Page(s): 3
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HAER ILL,16-CHIG,108-
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Significance: Significant in the history of American industrial archaeology, the Union Elevated Railroad is also important for its association with financier and traction magnate, Charles T. Yerkes and for its role in defining and shaping Chicago's downtown. According to Theodore Anton Sande, author of Industrial Archeology: A New Look at the American Heritage, to "the industrial archeologist, the Chicago Loop provides an ideal case study" (1976, 113). Having made its first run in 1897, the Union Elevated Railroad is one of only a few extant examples of transit systems that have remained in continuous operation for nearly a century. A "massive web of riveted steel girders and shining tracks," the Loop Elevated was designed by John Alexander Low Waddell, a Canadian-born engineer who played an important role in the history of American bridge design. Chicago's earliest elevated line, the South Side Rapid Transit, began operating in 1892, in time to provide rapid transportation to huge crowds of visitors who came to the city for the World's Columbian Exposition. ... Historically, the Loop Elevated "defined the most prestigious locations for office buildings inside the steel girdle" (City of Chicago Sept. 1981, 3). An earlier system of surface streetcar lines encircled the city's central area, however, the prominent visual presence of the elevated helped Chicago's downtown earn its well-known popular nickname, the Loop. Today, the elevated tracking structure is still associated with the definition of the Loop for many Chicagoans.
  • Survey number: HAER IL-1
  • Building/structure dates: 1896-1897 Initial Construction
• Subjects:
  • elevated railroads
  • railroad industry
  • transportation engineering
  • civil engineering
  • traffic engineering
  • transportation
• Place:
  • Illinois--Cook County--Chicago
• Latitude/Longitude: 41.876872, -87.633567
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il0389/

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HAER ILL,16-CHIG,108-
• Medium: Photo(s): 30
  Measured Drawing(s): 1
  Data Page(s): 25
  Photo Caption Page(s): 3

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

• Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
• If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
• Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
• If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
• Data Pages
• Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

• Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
• P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
• Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
• You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
• Make note of the Call Number listed above.
• Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
• The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
• All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

• Call Number: HAER ILL,16-CHIG,108-
• Medium: Photo(s): 30
  Measured Drawing(s): 1
  Data Page(s): 25
  Photo Caption Page(s): 3

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

   • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.

     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

   • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

   • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.

   • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.

3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.