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Chicago circa 1907. "Arriving from the suburbs." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative by Hans Behm, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
I got a kick out of seeing what I think is the long arm (and high hat) of the law, keeping an eye on everything from the platform on the left.
Agree with others about things not changing much. Biggest change that the stairway we're looking down is gone and there's a bridge on the other end of the platform where Jackson crosses the tracks.
Side view of Art Institute of Chicago in front of the Montgomery Ward tower.
I never get over the progress made in this country and only 42 years past the darkness of the civil war!
Van Buren station on the Illinois Central was shared with the South Shore electric line. I also used to take the IC electric line daily into Chicago in the 1970s. The Van Buren and Randolph Street stations were below ground level -- actually at ground level as it existed before the Great Chicago Fire. That area was built up a level with rubble from the fire.
At the time of this photo, the tower in the background was the tallest building in Chicago. It was built as the headquarters for Montgomery Ward.
In the 1970s I used to come into this station on the South Shore Line. It looks completely familiar in this photo, and I'm glad to hear from Chuck that it still hasn't changed.
This appears to be Illinois Central's Van Buren Street Station. Still in use today by Metra. The trains are now electrified, but other than that, the station hasn't changed much since 1907.
I take the train from Tacoma to Seattle every day for work and if you stood at the top of the stairs, the scene would be identical except for the clothing.
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