Step onto the pavement and cast your eyes westward, towards the spot where the Metropolitan Main Line & Garfield Park branch once stood. It’s gone now, devoured by the progress of the Eisenhower Expressway, but its history still lingers in the air. The Garfield Park Line, as it was also known, was the third elevated rapid transit line to be built in Chicago. It was truly a marvel for its time, opening in 1895, electrifying the tracks, and becoming the first electric-powered elevated in the United States. In its heyday, the line served a multitude of neighborhoods on Chicago’s West Side, including the Near West Side, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, and Austin, along with the suburbs of Oak Park and Forest Park. It even extended as far west as Bellwood, Illinois. It became a vital link for those who worked in the bustling factories that dotted the western landscape, offering a swift and efficient way to reach the city’s heart.
This line wasn’t just a way to get around – it was a lifeline, helping people reach their homes, workplaces, and destinies. But the triumph of the automobile and the relentless urban sprawl conspired to reshape the landscape of Chicago, and the era of the elevated train was slowly fading. The main line and Garfield Park branch, after decades of service, met their ultimate demise in 1958 when they were replaced by the modern, streamlined Congress branch, now part of the Blue Line. Today, only one structure remains from the Metropolitan Main Line: the Franklin Street Substation, located at the site of the Wells Street Terminal. It stands as a ghostly reminder of a time when steel rails carried the hopes, dreams, and ambitions of a city on its way to the future.