Chicago Transportation in 1900

Sean Omar
Lincoln Hall Middle School, Lincolnwood

Think of Chicago today. What do you see? Skyscrapers, many people, and of course, backed up traffic. A memorable part of Chicago, whether it be a favorable or an unfavorable memory, will always be transportation. Many events of importance related to transportation occurred at the turn of the twentieth century. One prominent event was the invention of the Electrified Elevated more commonly known as "the El." The common means of transportation of the time, other than walking, included automobiles and horse-drawn buggies. Although the street system was more than sufficient for all the city's traffic, it was vastly inferior to the rail and water transportation systems.

The El system was one of the chief advancements in both Chicago and Illinois transportation. Each of the several cars on these trains was small and lightweight. Although introduced earlier, they became elevated and electrified by 1900, and quickly earned the nickname, the El. Financed by Charles Yerkes, these popular electrified elevated cars supplemented the most popular streetcar routes. It was a popular means of mass transit. The price to ride the El was a very reasonable five cents per ride, although transfers were not included. The El provided transportation for 260 million riders in 1900, or about 160 rides annually per Chicago resident. The El was not only useful to Chicagoans. People from all around the world went sightseeing in Chicago, and always found the El a popular sight.

Traffic volume in Chicago was not as great as it is today. Besides the approximately 1.6 million pedestrians on Chicago streets, there were also a large number of bicycles and pushcarts. There were somewhere around 50,000 horse-drawn vehicles, but only 377 registered automobiles. There were hardly any riding horses. In 1900 there were 1,200 vehicles per square mile and one vehicle for every 30 people. Traffic jams were uncommon. With few vehicles, outlying streets had little or no traffic. Congestion was almost never a difficulty. Another strength of traffic regulation in Chicago was parking. Rows of unattended vehicles were very usual in 1900. Horses could not be parked at a curb for a long period of time before they needed attention. Most horse-drawn vehicles were working vehicles and time spent parked was wasted money. An additional bright spot to Chicago traffic was speed. Wagons, horse cars, and cable cars had a top speed of less than ten miles per hour. This may seem slow, but when all vehicles are traveling at this speed, the traffic flow is fine. The faster vehicles, such as electric streetcars, bicycles, light carriages, and automobiles often achieved top speeds of twenty miles per hour. The 377 registered automobiles were mainly wagons with an electric, gasoline, or steam motor. Although later becoming popular freight vehicles, only 21 automobiles were used for business purposes in 1900. Wealthy eccentrics and trendsetters owned all other automobiles. They were built by hand. They were very costly and usually required a chauffeur to drive and maintain them.

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The El still carries passengers through Chicago's Loop. Shown here is the Lake Street El.

Other modes of transportation included bicycles. Bicycles had changed over the years. By 1900 the modern safety bicycle replaced the high wheel or "regular" bicycle. Chicago had become a center of bicycle manufacturing. "Wheels," as bicycles were often referred to, were very common, but were still somewhat expensive. Bicycles usually cost between $10.50 and $16.50. They were occasionally used for business and commuting, but their principal use was by middle-to upper-class young adults to explore the nearby countryside.

There were many modes of transportation; however, none were as prominent as the railroad and boat. By the turn of the century, Chicago was the heart of the nation's railroad industry. The railroad was so convenient that freight and passenger connections were available to every part of the nation. Chicago railroad terminals handled about 6.5 million long distance passengers in 1900. During the spring, summer, and autumn, steamers unloaded on the docks of the Chicago River, and provided freight and passenger connections to all Great Lakes, and sometimes even overseas. Wooden sailing ships were declining in the lake trade, and their numbers dwindled more each day. The Department of Public Works showed 16,976 vessels arriving or departing Chicago during the turn of the century, and they carried almost fourteen million tons of cargo. Chicago had more vessels than any other port in the United States. Those immense numbers proved that Chicago's rail and water trade and transport industries were much stronger than the street system.

In conclusion, Chicago's transportation system was a very impressive component of this great Illinois city's life by 1900. One of the most significant contributors was the El. Chicago had a respectable street system, and traffic was uncongested. There were many methods of travel ranging from automobiles to horse-drawn buggies to streetcars. Although many of these aspects of the city's transportation have changed since 1900, one could foresee the life of a busy city in its transportation. —[From Department of Public Works, Chicago; Chicago Public Library, <http://cpl.lib.uic.edu/ 004chicago/1900/>; Glenn Holt and Dominic Pacyga, Chicago; William Cronon, Nature's Metropolis.]

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