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Pop culture dispatches from the Great Lakes

history

Railroad Track Elevation in Chicago: A Modern Marvel

February 3, 2015 by John Gramila Leave a Comment

“How few know even the names of the men who design and execute the work and in whose care the public safety is placed.  How vigilant and resourceful they must be is little appreciated by the passengers who are almost lifted as they ride.”

-M. K. Trumbull, Engineer of Track Elevation of the City of Chicago, 1908

1911 map of all track elevation projects

The 1890 census confirmed Chicago had become the second largest city in the United States. Driven by immigration, the population had more than doubled in 10 years. 41 percent of residents were born in foreign countries. The Civil War, ending 25 years before, vaulted the geographically northern Chicago past traditional rivals St. Louis and Cincinnati as the Western hub of rail transportation and manufacturing. By 1889, thousands of trains were entering and leaving the city every day. More than 2,000 miles of track ran directly through Chicago neighborhoods, all at ground level.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Chicago, History Tagged: 606, Bloomingdale Line, Chicago, history, Railroad, Track Elevation

Only the End of the World All Over Again

June 13, 2012 by Travis J. Cook Leave a Comment

The Time: The Entire History of the World

The Place: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on June 2, 2012

 

Time and date are a specific necessity for the recent guest appearance by the renowned Belgian theatre collective Ontroerend Goed’s magnificent piece A History of Everything. The play is not so much a straightforward piece of theatre, a la the grand production of William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens that one could observe downstairs, as it is an ensemble-generated study of what it is that makes up both humanity’s collective understanding of history and the grand conception of what goes into our actual history.

To say that the piece is a grand achievement, the marvelous result of nearly a dozen artists working together in perfect unison would be an understatement.[1]

With this in mind, let us disregard the quality of the performance and how best to achieve this experience for one’s self.[2] (For the record, when reading my essays, please note that I tend to follow the “Ain’t It Cool” school of reviews. Assigning something a star or letter grade cheapens the artistic effort put forth in my opinion, as I feel that to give my opinion regarding something’s esoteric value is somewhat pretentious on my part, and fails to regard your own opinions and thoughts regarding the piece. Think of these essays as study guides/discussion pieces/jumping off points for a further/broader understanding of the artistic output of the artists.[3])

[Read more…]

Posted in: Theatre Tagged: history, Ontroerend Goed, performance, theatre

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