Nostalgia & History > Chicago, Sears Tower, Oh Wow

More old slides turning up.

In May of 1979, my wife and I flew to the east coast and then railed back from Boston to Vancouver, WA. Here are three shots from our lay-over in Chicago.

Hiked on over to the Sears Tower from Union Station and was blown away watching activity on the ground from the observation deck. People looked like ants. They'd queue up at the traffic lights waiting for the walk sign to come on and it'd be like a little flood released across the street.

Lots of rail action to follow, as well. Shot one is looking predominately south with the Amtrak facilities on the left and the BN commute staging tracks on the right (was it Metro by this point?).

Second shot is looking toward the north throat to Union Station with all the CNW commuter action. Train after train either backing in or heading out.

Final shot is LaSalle Street Station to the south-east of the Tower.

Had a wonderful time watching, realizing that the Tower does very gently sway in the breeze at that height. Very cool.

Don Hall
Yreka, CA

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in shot 1, what is that big open rectangular area to the top Left? (some old rail yard??

I think what you are referring to is the Dan Ryan Expressway.

AmHog Wrote:
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> I think what you are referring to is the Dan Ryan
> Expressway.

That's exactly what it is. If you trace the highway, it climbs and curves to the west at the near end of the rectangle and crosses at elevation toward the right-hand side of the frame.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/09 15:17 by toledopatch.

Here's a big of a blow-up into the area of the photo in question. Sure does look like an expressway.

Don

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i'm thinking it was once a railyard...at the top of the photo the expressway jogs to the right (instead of going straight ahead) like the expressway was built on annexed/abandoned properties

elu34ch Wrote:
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> i'm thinking it was once a railyard...at the top
> of the photo the expressway jogs to the right
> (instead of going straight ahead) like the
> expressway was built on annexed/abandoned
> properties

The jog at the top is where the expressway goes around Rock Island's Rocket House,

Dan Ryan? Dan Ryan? Isn't that a bar in Kowloon (TST), Hong Kong? Just a few feet from the Star Ferry. Seriously, these photos just beg for a modern counterpoint. Anyone have some? If not, I guess I'll just have to go to Chicago and take some.

Ed

Look at all the cool stuff that's still around in those 1979 photos:

-- The B&OCT bridge is down and there still appears to be active rail (note freight cars parked) on the trackage that used to lead to Grand Central.

-- The Santa Fe coach yard and diesel shop appear to still be in use, probably because...

-- It looks as if the Amtrak coach yard is undergoing its rebuild...there is bare ground where the R (rip) and Storage yards are now.

-- A little farther down Canal St., the Soo Line freight house (now the site of a Dominick's supermarket) still stands.

-- and last, but certainly not least, the REAL LaSalle Street Station with ROCK ISLAND-operated trains.

Gives some meaning to the term E.T.T.S.

I'm sure others can find more things, but these really stuck out in my mind.

NZ

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=289799&nseq=0

It doesn't show the Grand Central area to the left or the RI route to the top left, but it does have the Union Station train yard.

Is the white gravel area in the center where the Pennsy freight house was?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/09 20:05 by TipsyMcStagger.

Edwardjb Wrote:
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> Dan Ryan? Dan Ryan? Isn't that a bar in Kowloon
> (TST), Hong Kong? Just a few feet from the Star
> Ferry. Seriously, these photos just beg for a
> modern counterpoint. Anyone have some? If not, I
> guess I'll just have to go to Chicago and take
> some.
>
> Ed


Damn, I thought my Navy days were long ago, you ever seen about 100 sailors drunk and get on the Star Ferry and all barf at the same time, that was my thought of Kowloon and HK years ago!

The cluster of buildings to the left of the Dan Ryan Expressway is the infamous Robert Taylor Homes high-rise housing project. The group of buildings in the upper right corner of the second photo is Chicago's OTHER infamous housing project, Cabrini-Green. (featured in the '70s sitcom "Good Times")

Heres a few photos from Sears Tower Circa March 1998, I hope these will help in viewing some changes in downtown Chicago

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And heres three more...and thats all folks!

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Here's what it looked like in 1968 from the highest vantage point available at the time, a few hundred feet down.
http://www.trainorders.com/images2/view.php?210812

TAW

Really neat to see GCT from that perspective, thanks so much for posting.

B&OB

In your prior post of the 1968 image, TAW, you asked about where you were for the shot. Looks to me like the shot was taken from the Board of Trade Building at LaSalle and Jackson. (And if I'm right, I didn't peek at any answers that might have been posted with the shot the first time).

ironmtn Wrote:
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> In your prior post of the 1968 image, TAW, you
> asked about where you were for the shot. Looks to
> me like the shot was taken from the Board of Trade
> Building at LaSalle and Jackson. (And if I'm
> right, I didn't peek at any answers that might
> have been posted with the shot the first time).

yup, 45th floor, hanging out an open window a bit with an elbow cocked around a radiator pipe and the camera strap wrapped firmly around my arm.

TAW