Every day Chicagoans rely on the loop of elevated train tracks to get to their jobs, classrooms, or homes in the city's downtown. Patrick Reardon unfolds the fascinating story about how Chicago's elevated Loop was built, gave its name to the downtown, helped unify the city, saved the city's economy, and was saved from destruction in the 1970s.
This unique volume combines urban history, biography, engineering, architecture, transportation, culture, and politics to explore the elevated Loop's impact on the city's development and economy and on the way Chicagoans see themselves. Masses of data underlie new insights into what has made Chicago's downtown, and the city as a whole, tick.
