The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois.... The "L" provides 24-hour service on the Red and Blue Lines and is one of only five rapid transit systems in the United States to do so. On June 6, 1892, the first elevated--or "L"--train ran from 39th (now Pershing Road) and State streets to Congress Parkway and Wabash Avenue. By 1893, the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad extended this line to Jackson Park, the site of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. the Loop, 35-block area of downtown Chicago, Illinois, U.S. The name derives from a cable-car line that circled the city's central business district in the 1880s, though the term's use became most common following the completion in 1897 of the Chicago Union Elevated Railway (the "L"), which forms a loop...
The Loop is a vibrant area featuring eclectic eateries, shops, theaters and parks. Comprised mostly of high-rises, it's also home to the 108-story Willis Tower. The iconic "Cloud Gate" sculpture sits in Millennium Park. Grant Park features the large, rococo-style Buckingham Fountain and the renowned Art Institute of Chicago, and hosts annual events like The Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza.
When I am feeling down I like to ride the loop starring out the window at the Chicago river. I board the Brown Line (which goes "counter-clockwise") and ride until it leaves the Loop, next stop Merchandise Mart. At Merchandise Mart I cross over to the other platform and get another Brown Line, which will end up where I started. Which gives me a wonderful view over the Chicago River before and after Merchandise Mart.
Late at night/early morning is the best that window between the bars closing but before rush hour. There is an hour of, if played just right, solitude a train car to myself lost in my own thoughts. I boarded at the Belmont station in the last car and settled in a seat by the window. Just before the train left the station a woman entered and took a seat in the front of the train car. She had obviously been crying looking very distraught. She sat there face buried in her hands I guessed late twenties early thirties, five four, slim with dirty blonde hair. She was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with no bra wearing pink flip flops.