Highlights
The Loop is a designation for Chicago's central business district that dates from 1897 when the rectangle of elevated tracks --- bounded by Van Buren Street, Wabash Avenue, Lake Street and 5th Avenue (now Wells Street) --- was completed, connecting three train lines. Previously, there had been five networks of cable car lines crisscrossing the central business district, each ending in its own loop around several blocks, permitting the trains to turn around. But the term "Loop," short for "Union Loop," only entered common usage with the completion of the tracks on Oct. 3, 1897. All of the city's elevated train companies merged in 1924, and that entity was sold to the Chicago Transit Authority...
The Loop is a designation for Chicago's central business district that dates from 1897 when the rectangle of elevated tracks --- bounded by Van Buren Street, Wabash Avenue, Lake Street and 5th Avenue (now Wells Street) --- was completed, connecting three train lines. Previously, there had been five networks of cable car lines crisscrossing the central business district, each ending in its own loop around several blocks, permitting the trains to turn around. But the term "Loop," short for "Union Loop," only entered common usage with the completion of the tracks on Oct. 3, 1897. All of the city's elevated train companies merged in 1924, and that entity was sold to the Chicago Transit Authority in 1949. No other city in the world has an elevated Loop like Chicago. Yet, for much of its existence, it was considered an eyesore. As recently as 1974, Mayor Richard J. Daley, father of the city's present chief executive, planned to demolish the structure. More recently, the downtown elevated structures have been seen by city planners as a striking visual element giving character to the streetscape. From the start, the Loop has been the city's financial, political and governmental center, and its transportation hub. Its fortunes were at low ebb in the 1970s when its large department stores were battered by competition from suburban malls. But, in recent years, particularly after the re-opening of State Street, it has bounced back with new housing and five college complexes inside and around the elevated loop providing fresh blood. Loop is also the name used to designate the much larger Community Area 32 on the city's official map of 77 neighborhoods.
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Budget Chicago: Perfect for travelers on the cheap
The Associated PressCHICAGO -- Chicago has a reputation as a working-class city for a reason. Sure, there are fancy Gold Coast shops and $500-a-night hotel suites, but it's also possible to see Chicago's famous lakefront, eat its famous food and enjoy distinctive cultures on...Tags: Pilsen, Navy Pier, Chicago River, Gold Coast, Chinatown (Chicago, Illinois)
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President raises funds, sleeps in own bed and strolls neighborhood
After raising millions at three fundraisers Friday night, President Barack Obama woke up in his own bed this morning and walked in his Kenwood neighborhood before going back to Washington. A little before noon Obama walked about four blocks to the home...
Tags: NATO, Chicago Cultural Center, Soldier Field, South Loop, Valerie Jarrett
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Occupy Chicago confronts life after NATO
A pile of discarded sleeping bags, blankets, pillows and posters took up nearly half a room in Occupy Chicago's headquarters last week, left behind by protesters who traveled to the city last month for the NATO summit.
But a few rooms over, some of the...Tags: NATO, Chicago Board of Trade Building, Pilsen, Chicago Tribune, Barack Obama
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President Obama in Chicago for fundraisers
President Barack Obama woke up in his own bed at his South Side home in Kenwood Saturday morning, something he said he was looking forward to. The president arrived in Chicago Friday night to raise money for his re-election campaign. He headlined...
Tags: Kenwood, Chicago Cultural Center, South Loop, Gold Coast, Barack Obama
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Obama in town to raise funds and sleep 'in my own bed tonight'
President Barack Obama is in Chicago for three fundraisers tonight, and plans to sleep in his own bed for the first time in a long while. About 350 people were in the Chicago Cultural Center ballroom at 78 W. Washington St. for the first event, where...
Tags: NATO, Lawyers, Chicago Cultural Center, South Loop, Mitt Romney
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Cops: Beer-drinking man attacks fellow Red Line rider
A man was arrested after harassing a fellow Red Line rider, then pushing him to the ground and beating him up when they got off the train at the same Loop stop this morning, police said. Martez Byrd, 38, of the 6500 block of North Glenwood, faces a...
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Words different in front of crowd
Some flush and mumble. Some ramble and stumble. Some freeze. Some babble. Some — Truman Capote belonged most assuredly in this category — were known to arrive at certain public venues in a state of what might politely be called inebriation....Tags: Martin Amis, Talk Shows (genre), Stephen King, Harold Washington, Ellen DeGeneres
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Trib Nation at Printers Row Lit Fest 2012
It's time for Printers Row Lit Fest: When the booksellers pack their wares for display in the South Loop, authors block off their schedules to talk with their readers, and we at the Chicago Tribune and everyone else who loves the printed word heads for...
Tags: Facebook, Time (magazine), Goodman Theatre, South Loop, Entertainment Events
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Taste of Chicago announces its 2012 restaurant lineup
Tribune criticSome familiar faces will be missing from Taste of Chicago this year, as the annual food and entertainment festival downsizes in the face of declining revenues. Taste in 2012 will be five days shorter (five days, down from 10 in previous years) and...Tags: Sausages, Bars and Clubs, Taste of Chicago, Dining and Drinking, Foods and Beverages
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Pop in at the Pop-Up Art Loop gallery walk
A tree in the middle of a street-level gallery (chunks and pieces of it that is) is the showcase of Pop-Up Art Loop's First Thursdays gallery walk. "Idea Tree," in the Inland Steel Building (77 S. Dearborn St.), is a showcase for Sawbridge Studios...Tags: Arts, Inland Steel Company
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Museums
Adler Planetarium 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive; 312-922-7827, adlerplanetarium.org America's first planetarium has one of the world's greatest collections of antique astronomical instruments. One of those is the fully restored Gemini 12 spacecraft flown...Tags: Columbia College Chicago, Natural Resources, Navy Pier, Engineering, Shedd Aquarium
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First glimpse of plan for Wolf Point along Chicago River
Tribune Architecture CriticTouting what would be downtown Chicago’s largest new real estate development since the 2008 financial crisis, representatives of the Kennedy family and three financial partners are providing the first glimpse of a proposed three-tower office and...Tags: Chicago Mayor, Hotel and Accommodation Industry, Rahm Emanuel, Architecture, Chicago Hotels
Mar 18, 2010
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May 31, 2012
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May 30, 2012
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May 30, 2012
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