>> ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE,
THERE IS A A BRIDGE SPANNING THE
DAN RYAN THAT LOOKS MORE LIKE A
DISNEYWORLD MONORAIL THAN PART
OF A CTA TRAIN LINE.
GEOFFREY BAER IS HERE WITH THE
BRIDGE'S HISTORY AND WHAT IT CAN
TELL US ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CHICAGO'S NEIGHBORHOODS IN THIS
WEEK'S "ASK GEOFFREY".
HEY THERE, GEOFFREY.
>> HI, BRANDIS.
>> THIS QUESTION IS:
>> OK.
AT FIRST THIS MIGHT SOUND LIKE
AN OBSCURE QUESTION JUST FOR L
TRAIN NERDS LIKE ME.
BUT IF YOU'VE DRIVEN ON THE DAN
RYAN IT'S LIKELY YOU KNOW WHAT
OUR VIEWER IS ASKING ABOUT.
AT ABOUT 59TH STREET NORTH OF
WHERE THE SKYWAY SPLITS OFF FROM
THE RYAN YOU PASS BENEATH A
BRIDGE THAT CARRIES THE GREEN
LINE L, WAY, WAY UP IN THE AIR.
IF YOU ARE RIDING ON THE GREEN
LINE TRAIN AND YOU LOOK DOWN AT
THE RYAN YOU ALMOST FEEL LIKE
YOU ARE FLYING IN AN AIRPLANE.
WHAT IS THE STORY?
LET'S GO BACK TO WHEN THE BRANCH
WASSABILITY.
THEN THE EXPRESSWAY DID NOT
EXIST WHEN CONSTRUCTION STARTED
ON THE DAN RYAN THE QUESTION WAS
HOW DO YOU KEEP THE TRAIN
RUNNING WHILE DIGGING A WIDE,
DEEP, TRENCH UNDERNEATH THAT
STRUCTURE FOR THE THE FUTURE
HIGHWAY WHICH WAS GOING TO BE
BELOW GRADE.
THE CTA CONSTRUCTED A SECOND
BRIDGE AND PUT THE L STRUCTURE
ON TOP OF IT THE 1907 TRACKS SO
THE CREW COULD EXCAVATE BELOW
THAT AND IT WAS A BRIDGE ON TOP
OF A BRIDGE AND REMNANTS OF THAT
CAN BE SEEN.
AND THE TRAIN DID NOT HAVE TO BE
HALTED AND NEITHER DID
CONSTRUCTION.
AGAIN, THIS IS PART OF WHAT IS
KNOWN TODAY AS THE ENGLEWOOD OR
ASHLAND BRANCH OF THE GREEN
LINE.
USED TO CALL THE ENGLEWOOD AND
THE SOUTH SIDE ELEVATED.
THE BRANCH'S CONSTRUCTION BEGAN
IN 1905 AS AN EXTENSION OF THE
SOUTH SIDE ELEVATE WHD OPENED IN
1892.
THAT WAS LONG BEFORE THE CITY'S
ELEVATED TRAINS WERE
CONSOLIDATED IN WHAT WE CALL THE
CTA.
THAT OLD SOUTH SIDE ELEVATED IS
TODAY'S GREEN LINE IS THE OLDEST
LINE IN THE CITY.
NOW MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY
LATER, THE CITY USED EMINENT
DOMAIN AND BULL DOTZED A STRIP
OF HOMES AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS
ON THE SOUTH SIDE TO BUILD THE
DAN RYAN MANY WERE OWNED OR
RENDED BY BLACK CHICAGOANS AND
THE GAP CREATED A 14-LANE DIVIDE
BETWEEN MOSTLY WHITE
NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE BRIDGEPORT TO
THE WEST AND CHICAGO'S BLACK
BELT TO THE EAST.
BUT I SHOULD NOTE BEFORE THE
RYAN WAS CONSTRUCTED THE
ENGLEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD TODAY
WEST OF THE RYAN AND SERVED BY
THAT BRANCH OF THE L WE ARE
TALKING ABOUT WAS ALREADY
CHANGING FROM NEARLY 100% WHITE
TO NEARLY ALL AFRICAN-AMERICAN
AS PART OF WHITE FLIGHT.
>> THE CITY MANAGED TO KEEP THE
TRAPES RUNNING DURING
CONSTRUCTION BUT YOU SAID THAT
WAS THE CITY'S OLDEST L LINE SO
IT'S HAD TO BE REFURBISHED?
>> IT HAS.
THAT HAPPENED IN THE
MID-1990s.
THE LINE WAS ALMOST TOTALLY
REBUILT AND THE CTA DID NOT KEEP
THE TRAINS RUNNING.
TO DO THE JOB, THE ENTIRE LINE
FROM THE SOUTH SIDE ALL THE WAY
WEST TO OAK PARK WAS SHUTDOWN
FOR TWO WHOLE YEARS.
AND THE DECISION WAS FELT FOR
YEARS AFTER THAT.
SEVERAL STOPS WERE CLOSED
PERMANENTLY AND THIS WAS ON TOP
OF OTHER CLOSURES IN YEARS
PRIOR.
AND THIS PHOTO YOU CAN SEE THE
OLD WENTWORTH STATION AT THE
TRAIN BRIDGE WE HAVE BEEN
TALKING ABOUT IT WAS SHUTTERED
IN 1992.
THE MOST RECENT UPGRADES HAVE
TAKEN A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
THE ONGOING RED PURPLE LINE
MODERNIZATION PROJECT HAS CLOSED
TRACKS FOR BRIEF PERIODS BUT
IT'S NEVER SUSPENDED SERVICE
ENTIRELY.
AND NEXT MONTH THE CTA IS GOING
TO OPEN TEMPORARY STATIONS IN
EDGEWATER AND UPTOWN WHILE FOUR
STATIONS IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS
ARE CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION
>> AND TODAY, THERE ARE LIKE
ONGOING EFFORTS TO REOPEN ONE OF
THOSE CLOSED GREEN LINE
STATIONS, CORRECT?
>> THAT IS RIGHT.
SEVERAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
ARE ADVOCATING TO REOPEN THE
SHUTTERED GREEN LINE STATION AT
RACINE AND 63TH IN THE MIDDLE OF
ENGLEWOOD.
IT'S PART OF THE GO GREEN ON
RACINE DEVELOPMENT.
ON THE PROJECT IS WORKING TO
REVITALIZE THE ENTIRE
INTERSECTION IN THE HEART OF THE
NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY ARE CONVERTING A CORNER
STORE INTO A FRESH PRODUCE
MARKET.
THEY ARE TURNING A SHUTTERED
CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL INTO
HOUSING AND RESOURCE CENTER.
FOR PEOPLE RETURNING FROM
INCARCERATION.
AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE RAGE
ENGLEWOOD AND THE INNER-CITY
MUSLIM ACTION NETWORK ENVISION
THE REOPENED L STATION AS A WAY
TO IMPROVE NEIGHBORHOOD
WALKSABILITY, ANCHOR LOCAL
BUSINESSES AND REBUILD THE LOCAL
ECONOMY.
>> GO GREEN ON RACINE.
I GET IT.
>> THANK YOU.
>> SURE THING.
>> AND YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE
FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE