The development and abandonment of Chicago’s
many transportation systems has led to the city having some of the most mysterious forgotten
tunnels, deep below the towering skyline. Today, We examine a few, hidden under the
river that were built centuries prior to accomidate horse carts and pedestrians, but later were
converted for street cars and now have all been left to rot. I’m your host Ryan Socash and You are watching
it’s history There was a time when Chicago was home to
one of the largest and most profitable networks of cable cars in America. However, this was the effect of a gradual
evolution that also leed the city to having some of the most advance infostructure technology. Its safe to say that the infostructure required
to achieve such a feat was seeded all the way back when people and goods were still
moving by horse and carriage, and a major choke point to those logistics was always
the Chicago river. When it wasn’t poisoning the citys water
supply, or breaking world records by being engineered to run in revers – it was blocking
traffic in a majoy way. So when the town was growing, urban planners-built
bridges to guide traffic across the river, anyone whose been to Chicago has surely noticed
the famous bascule draw bridges, which were built in the mid nineteenth century. But this solved very little - You see, Most
bridges remained constantly open due to port traffic, so if you were traveling by horse
and carriage, you would often have to wait for long periods of time for the bridge to
close. Therefore, city planners decided to build
tunnels under the river, serving as a way for pedestrians and wagon traffic to travel
to reach the other side of town without delay. It was these tunnels intended for passage
by foot or horses that eventually became the tunnels used for street cars. They ran under the river at Washington and
at LaSalle, opening in 1869 and 1871 respectively, and later an additional tunnel was build at
Van Buren St. Illustrations from that time depict the tunnels
as being made of three brick-lined archways. The first two passages were for wagons and
the third for pedestrians. When the LaSalle Street tunnel opened in 1871,
not only did it help alleviate traffic, but it also helped residents escape the Great
Chicago Fire only a few months after. So, When Cable cars were introduced to Chicago
in 1882, these tunnels were an obvious solution to get the town moving. It was also a perfect opportunity to utilized
a somewhat disliked amenity of the city. Pedestrians often complained about the leaky
conditions of the tunnel, and carriages couldn’t always use them because their inclines were
too steep. The only obstruction to making them into full-fledged
cable car tunnels was that they were too small to accommodate the cable cars themselves. So the city planned a massive renovation digging
the tunnels deeper underground and making them wider. This was a risky feet considering the tunnels
precarious location underneath a massive body of water. However, the renovations were successful,
and the new tunnels sat at a similar depth as the current CTA subway tunnels do today. Let’s have a look at the tunnels individually: The Washington St. tunnel was Originally built
for pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic, and this was the first such tunnel that ran under
the river proper. Construction began in 1867 and it opened January
1, 1869, but it wasn't successful. The approach grades were too steep for horses,
it leaked, and it was dark and uncomfortable for pedestrians, by 1884 it had been closed
as unsafe. However, the tunnel saw its reresection In
1888 when the West Chicago Street Railroad Co. began to rehabilitate it. On August 12, 1890, cable car service began
and continued until August 19, 1906. The east approach began in the middle of the
road just west of Franklin street and the track descended and was covered. West of the river the approach climbed, and
the track came to street level just east of Clinton. The tunnel, including the approaches, was
1,605 feet or 489 m long. After closing in 1906, a wider and deeper
replacement was built under the original and the approaches were deepened to the new lower
level. The grades were aligned for the cars to enter
a shallow subway just below street level,. The Washington tunnel opened to electric streetcar
service on January 29, 1911 and was in regular use until 1953. Although the tunnel was retied long ago – it
was sealed permanently in 2013 with both approachs being covered. Moving on to The LaSalle St. tunnel which
was also originally built for pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic. Construction started right after the Washington
St. tunnel was finished and although it had a different design, it faced the same problems. The approach grades were steep for horses,
it leaked, and it was dark and uncomfortable for pedestrians. In 1888 the North Chicago Street Railroad
leased the tunnel and began to rehabilitate it. On March 23, 1888, cable service began and
continued until October 21, 1906, when it was closed for lowering. The north approach began in the middle of
the street just north of Hubbard St. Under the river the tunnel had two horse and
one pedestrian masonry arch lanes. South of the river the approach climbed, and
the track came to street level just north of Randolph St. The tunnel, including the
approaches, was 1,887 feet or 575 m) long. The tunnel was opened to electric streetcar
service on July 21, 1912. It was in regular service until November 27,
1939, when it was closed during the construction of the Milwaukee-Lake-Dearborn-Congress subway,
the Lake & LaSalle - now Clark & Lake) station of which intersected the tunnel's south ramp
under Lake Street. As of 1954, the north tunnel portal was still
exisistant, but both approaches are now filled in, although the tunnel itself still exists
under the river. A ramp in the middle of LaSalle St. south
of Kinzie St., an access down to Carroll Ave., is sometimes mistaken for the north portal,
which was a block north and aligned below the current ramp. Finally there was the Van Buren St. tunnel. The last of the three to be built, and the
only one built privately specifically for cable cars. Construction began in 1890 but progress was
slow. Cable service started on March 24, 1894 and
ended on July the 22nd, 1906. The east approach began at Franklin Street,
Unlike the city-owned tunnels, it didn't go under the street itself, but 150 feet north
of and parallel. This meant the cars had to slow down, turn
north on Franklin, then immediately turn west into a driveway to the approach. It was a stone walled 30-foot-wide ramp which
descended at 12% for 150 feet before being covered under an alley. As the shortest tunnel it had the steepest
grade. Under the river the tunnel had a single two-lane
arched roof. West of the river the approach climbed to
Clinton St. where the line had to turn south. Because of the
entrances and steep approaches, the tunnel always had operating problems. The tunnel, including the approaches, was
1,514 feet long. In 1910, a deeper replacement was built thru
the original tunnel and opened to electric streetcar service. Only to Close again in 1915 for construct
approaches to Union Station, the tunnel reopened in 1916. Ultimately it the Van buren tunnel was closed
Closed to regular service in 1924, but used on occasion as late as 1952, when all service
ended. As technology advanced, so did the railway
system. The private cable car company, The West Chicago
Street Railroad, and the city would eventually move from cable cars to electric street cars,
and those electric streetcars turned into modern day elevated trains – in Chicago
known as “The L”. and like the fate of electric street cars in the rest of America
- diesel busses and cars would become a final nail in the coffin of these systems leaving
the tunnels they once utilized, forgotten in time. Meer Decades later, the remains of the street
cars are almost non-existent and the tunnels themselves are fully out of sight. The entrances to the three cable and streetcar
tunnels were closed and sealed off to the public. There isn’t a way to access them, and they
are not used in the current CTA infrastructure. However, there was at one point a concept
to convert them into traffic tunnels, but the concept was ultimately abandoned, as the
same steep grades that proved to be problematic for horses were also unsafe for cars. No longer available to the public, these tunnels
remain a historic part of Chicago’s rich story – and I would argue that the sheer
imagination of them existing there, abandoned under the river bed is part of what gives
Chicago a depth of mystery to its otherwise very shiny appearance. Do you know any other mysteries involving
tunnels? I’d love to hear them and maybe make a video
about them – let us know in the comment section, and for more it’s history subscribe
or consider checking out our daily stories. This is Ryan Socash – signing off.
