Controversial loops trap street movie#
Controversial loops trap street series#

Through his research, Berman concluded that Chicago has had fewer transit-related missteps than Los Angeles, where he lived for a period of time. вЂњBy the 1970s, the elevated Loop had been around for 80 years,вЂќ Berman said, adding that he was struck by the notion: вЂњWhy donвЂ™t we just discard this thing that makes Chicago what it is?вЂќ Credit: All maps Courtesy of Jake Berman What ChicagoвЂ™s elevated rail system wouldвЂ™ve looked like had the вЂњLoop ConnectorвЂќ plan gotten off the ground.Д«erman is originally from California and has never lived in Chicago, though heвЂ™s visited a few times when his brother was living there. The idea behind the вЂњLoop ConnectorвЂќ plan was to create east-west subway lines to alleviate the traffic created by that bottleneck. Most of DowntownвЂ™s rail transit system runs north and south. It does good things, but we could make it better and put the trains out of sight.вЂќ вЂњIn the 1970s, they were in the tradition of thinking this a big, ugly, noisy thing that takes up valuable real estate. Now itвЂ™s become one of those municipal quirks,вЂќ Berman said.

Controversial loops trap street movie#

Every establishing shot of a movie with Chicago in it - of course itвЂ™s going to show the вЂLвЂ™ creeping around The Loop at five miles per hour. вЂњYou couldnвЂ™t think of the Chicago Loop without the Chicago Loop. The 1970s map shows what the system wouldвЂ™ve looked like had the вЂњLoop ConnectorвЂќ plan come to fruition. Credit: All maps Courtesy of Jake Berman ChicagoвЂ™s elevated train system in the early 1920s. вЂњThe 63rd Street branch went all the way to Jackson Park.вЂќД«erman added that the Green Line provided much better coverage to the South Side than it does today. вЂњThere are five South Side branches going to the old Union stockyards,вЂќ he said. The artist said he chose this time period because it shows a вЂњvery different set of circumstances in Chicago.вЂќ The next oldest map depicts the system in the early 1920s, when the predecessor to Commonwealth Edison had taken over, Berman said. Credit: All maps Courtesy of Jake Berman ChicagoвЂ™s elevated train system in 1898, a few years after it first launched. At the time, the Loop circuit was only a year old and trains had recently traded steam power for electricity, he said. The oldest of BermanвЂ™s four Chicago maps depicts the cityвЂ™s train system in 1898.

вЂњIdeally, someone looking at these maps would think long and hard about the decisions that go into transportation and why cities end up the way they do.вЂќ вЂњThe project is basically to depict the lost subway systems of America,вЂќ Berman said. HeвЂ™s also made maps depicting the past, present and future of rail systems in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit and Toronto, and is aiming to compile them all (including the Chicago ones) into a book eventually.

Controversial loops trap street series#

In an effort to illustrate the systemвЂ™s past, present and what mightвЂ™ve been, New York City-based artist Jake Berman created a series of maps, including one of the discarded вЂњLoop ConnectorвЂќ plan.Д«erman, who works as an attorney by day, made the maps as part of a larger series on train systems in major American cities. Had the ambitious вЂњLoop ConnectorвЂќ plan gotten off the ground, The Loop wouldвЂ™ve been broken up to make room for east-west subway lines.ДЇirst proposed in the 1970s, the long-discussed plan never came to fruition, but ChicagoвЂ™s elevated train system has seen plenty of other changes since it first launched in 1892. CHICAGO - Can you imagine Chicago without The Loop? Not the neighborhood - but the 1.79-mile circuit of CTA tracks that form an actual loop around Downtown.