The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest business district in North America after Midtown Manhattan. The headquarters and regional offices of several global and national businesses, retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, and theaters–as well as many of Chicago's most famous attractions–are located in the Loop. The neighborhood also hosts Chicago's City Hall, the seat of Cook County, offices of other levels of government, and several foreign consulates. The intersection of State Street and Madison Street in the Loop is the origin point for the address system on Chicago's street grid.
The Green Line is a rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois, operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago "L" system. It is the only completely elevated route in the "L" system. All other routes may have various combinations of elevated, subway, street level, or freeway median sections. This line is also the only route with three terminals: trains departing Harlem/Lake alternate destinations between Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove.
Chicago Union Station is an intercity and commuter rail terminal located in the West Loop neighborhood of the Near West Side of Chicago. Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest, Union Station is the terminus of eight national long-distance routes and eight regional corridor routes. Six Metra commuter lines also terminate here.
The Near West Side, one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, is on the West Side, west of the Chicago River and adjacent to the Loop. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started on the Near West Side. Waves of immigration shaped the history of the Near West Side of Chicago, including the founding of Hull House, a prominent settlement house. The near west side comprises several neighborhoods. In the 19th century railroads became prominent features. In the mid-20th century, the area saw the development of freeways centered in the Jane Byrne Interchange.
State Street is a large south-north street, also one of the main streets, in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. Its intersection with Madison Street has marked the base point for Chicago's address system since 1909. State begins in the north at North Avenue, the south end of Lincoln Park, runs south through the heart of the Chicago Loop, and ends at the southern city limits, intersecting 127th Street along the bank of the Little Calumet River. It resumes north of 137th Street in Riverdale and runs south intermittently through Chicago's south suburbs until terminating at New Monee Road in Crete, Illinois.
Millennium Station is a major commuter rail terminal in the Loop (downtown), Chicago. It is the northern terminus of the Metra Electric District to Chicago's southern suburbs, and the western terminus of the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
Washington is a closed "L" station on the CTA's Red Line. It was a subway station in the State Street subway located at 128 North State Street in the Loop.
Quincy is a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L" system. It is located between the Washington/Wells and LaSalle/Van Buren stations on the Loop. The station is located above the intersection of Quincy Street and Wells Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Having opened in 1897, it is one of the oldest surviving stations on the 'L' system.
Washington/Wells is a station on the Chicago "L" system, located in downtown Chicago, Illinois on The Loop. The station opened on July 17, 1995. Washington/Wells is located a few blocks from several major attractions and business centers, such as Chicago City Hall, the Civic Opera House, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The station is also three blocks east of Ogilvie Transportation Center, terminal for the Union Pacific North, Northwest, and West line Metra trains. The station is located between Washington and Madison on Wells Street in downtown Chicago.
Madison/Wabash was a station of the Chicago "L" (elevated) rapid transit system. It served the CTA's Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines. From 1919 to 1963, it also served interurban trains of the North Shore Line. The station closed on March 16, 2015, and was replaced by Washington/Wabash, which opened on August 31, 2017.
Monroe is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line. The station opened on October 17, 1943, as part of the State Street subway. The station is located in the Chicago Loop, and is open 24/7.
Washington is an 'L' station on the CTA's Blue Line. It is situated between the Clark/Lake and Jackson stations in the Milwaukee-Dearborn subway and is near the Richard J. Daley Center.
Monroe is a subway station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line. It is located in the Chicago Loop, Chicago's downtown district.
The Loop is the 1.79-mile-long (2.88 km) circuit of elevated rail that forms the hub of the Chicago "L" system in the United States. As of April 2024, the branch served 40,341 passengers on an average weekday. The Loop is so named because the elevated tracks loop around a rectangle formed by Lake Street, Wabash Avenue (east), Van Buren Street (south), and Wells Street (west). The railway loop has given its name to Chicago's downtown, which is also known as the Loop.
The Fulton River District is a Chicago neighborhood located on the edge of the city's downtown, northwest of the Loop. The district is bounded by the Chicago River to the east, the Kennedy Expressway to the west, Ohio Street to the north and Madison Street to the south, making it part of the Near West Side and West Town community areas of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Just across the expressway to the west is the Fulton Market District. Money magazine ranked the neighborhood as #4 best place to live in the United States in 2019.
Randolph/Wells was a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's Loop. The station was located at 150 North Wells Street in downtown Chicago. Randolph/Wells opened on October 3, 1897, and closed just after midnight on July 17, 1995; this station and Madison/Wells were replaced by Washington/Wells.
The Lake–Dan Ryan Line was a rail rapid transit route formerly operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). The Lake–Dan Ryan Line existed from the opening of the Dan Ryan branch on September 28, 1969, until February 21, 1993. When created, the route united two transit corridors that until 1969 never had through rail service. This routing, which became known as the West-South route, operated from the Harlem terminal in Forest Park on the Lake Street "L" through downtown Chicago along the Union Loop "L", and then via the old South Side "L" and the new Dan Ryan Line to the 95th Street Terminal. The Lake–Dan Ryan service was planned in conjunction with the former Franklin Street Connector and Chicago Central Area Transit Project, both of which were never constructed. The section of the route between the junction with the South Side "L" at 17th and State Streets and the Cermak–Chinatown Station was originally an "interim", or temporary facility. It was planned to be torn down when the Loop Subway system was completed, but survived after the project was canceled in 1979. That section was improved in the 1980s and early 1990s and is currently being used by the Orange Line. Train transfers are possible by using the two unused tracks.
Washington/Wabash is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines. The station opened on August 31, 2017. It serves as a consolidation and replacement of the Randolph/Wabash and Madison/Wabash stations. The project was undertaken by the Chicago Department of Transportation. Construction of the $75 million station began in 2015, following the closure of Madison/Wabash in March 2015 and was completed in August 2017. The station is located between Washington and Madison Streets on Wabash Avenue in the Loop.
The Lake Street Elevated, also known as the Lake branch, is a 8.75 mi (14.08 km) long branch of the Chicago "L" which is located west of the Chicago Loop and serves the Green Line for its entire length, as well as the Pink Line east of Ashland Avenue. As of February 2013, the branch serves an average of 27,217 passengers each weekday. It serves the Near West Side, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, and Austin neighborhoods of Chicago, as well as the suburbs Oak Park and Forest Park. It owes its name to Lake Street, the street that the branch overlooks for 6.25 mi (10.06 km) before continuing its route straight west, adjacent to South Boulevard, towards the terminus at Harlem/Lake.
