The Loop (CTA)

The Loop includes eight stations: State/Lake and Clark/Lake are on the northern leg; Washington/Wells and Quincy are on the western side; LaSalle/Van Buren and Harold Washington Library – State/Van Buren are on the southern leg; and Adams/Wabash and Washington/Wabash are on the eastern side. In 2011, 20,896,612 passengers entered the 'L' via these stations. Two towers control entry to and exit from the Loop. Tower 12 stands at the southeastern corner. Tower 18 stands watch over the three-quarter union located at the northwestern corner, which at one time was billed as the busiest railroad interlocking in the world. The current Tower 18 was placed into service on May 19, 2010, replacing the former tower on that site that was built in 1969. Five of the eight 'L' lines use the Loop tracks: • The Brown Line enters at Tower 18 on the northwest corner, terminating by making a full circuit counterclockwise around the Outer Loop. Following the completion of a full circuit back to Tower 18, trains return to their starting points. • The Orange Line enters at Tower 12 on the southeast corner, while the Pink Line and Purple Line Express enter at Tower 18 on the northwest corner; all three lines terminate by traveling clockwise around the Inner Loop before returning to their starting points. • The Green Line is the only line to use Loop trackage but not terminate on it. Its trains run in both directions along the Lake and Wabash sides from Tower 18 to Tower 12, connecting the Lake Street Elevated and the South Side Elevated. In the CTA system, the entire loop taken as a whole is considered the termination point of a line, just like a single station or stop is considered the termination point when outside the downtown loop. Both of the 'L' lines with 24-hour service, the Blue Line and the Red Line, run in subways through the center of the Loop, and have both in-system and out-of-system transfers to Loop stations. The Yellow Line is the only 'L' line that does not run on or pass beneath the Loop. ==History==

When it was incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago was dense and walkable, so there was no need for a transit system. Things began to change as Chicago grew rapidly in the 19th century. Prior to construction of the Union Loop, Chicago's three elevated railway lines—the South Side Elevated Railroad, the Lake Street Elevated Railroad, and the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad—each had their own terminal on the edges of downtown Chicago. Construction of the Loop The Union Elevated Railroad Company was incorporated November 1894 for the purpose of constructing a loop in the heart of the city's business district. The Union Loop was constructed in separate sections: the Lake Street 'L' was extended along the north side in 1895; the Union Elevated Railroad opened the east side along Wabash Avenue in 1896 and the west side along Wells Street in 1897; and the Union Consolidated Elevated Railroad opened the south side along Van Buren Street in 1897. The Loop opened on September 6, 1897. The Loop was born in political scandal: upon completion, all the rail lines running downtown had to pay Yerkes's operation a fee, which raised fares for commuters; when Yerkes, after bribery of the state legislature, secured legislation by which he claimed a fifty-year franchise, the resulting furor drove him out of town and ushered in a short-lived era of "Progressive Reform" in Chicago. Originally there were 12 stations, with three stations on each side. The construction of the west-leg of the Union Loop over Wells Street required the removal of the southern platform of the Fifth/Lake station. The addition of the Northwestern Elevated Railroad caused the removal of the rest of the station as the remaining platform sat across the new road's entry point. This left 11 stations, two on the north leg of the loop and three on each other leg. ==Station listing==

Chicago 'L' route map This lists each station beginning at the northwest corner and moving counterclockwise around the loop: south along Wells Street, east along Van Buren Street, north along Wabash Avenue, and west along Lake Street. ==See also==