Lake Street, Chicago
Beginning just east of Chicago’s Loop and traveling all the way to the city’s border with Oak Park, Lake Street is almost entirely covered by the CTA Green Line elevated train tracks. Part of the Chicago “L”, this enormous and unbelievable feat of engineering and construction dates all the way back to the 1890s. Because Lake Street heads straight west and is on flat topography, one can stand under the elevated train lines and view the massive steel structure going on and on for miles. This particular stretch of the “L” has always been an awe-inspiring sight to me. I think about the mind-boggling amount of material and labor, all to lift over 30 tons per car of weight above the street below. I spent close to 10 hours exploring and documenting this street for its entire 6 mile Chicago portion from downtown to the city’s edge at Austin Boulevard.
