State & Randolph

Chicago's first mass transportation line was established in 1859, at which time Chicago's population was over 100,000. Horse-drawn railway cars operated on State Street between Randolph and 12th Streets. Horsecars were replaced in 1882 with cable cars, which rattled along at top speeds of 14 mph. Cable cars were replaced a decade later with electric streetcars, which soon operated throughout the city, and whose lines were within easy walking distance of nearly all Chicagoans. In 1913, the streetcar system was unified under the Chicago Surface Lines. The resulting track network was 1000 miles long. In the 1930s, streetcars began to be replaced with automobiles. This trend accelerated into the 1940s and 1950s. Today and perhaps sadly, no streetcars remain in Chicago.