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Street Level Access to Civic Opera House
Posted by:
jcr74
()
Date: March 19, 2013 04:35PM
Hello, first time poster and glad to have found this site.
If I am correct, the civic opera house pre-dates the two level wacker drive, but the entrances are on street level of the current upper deck. so, how did people use the entrances before the upper deck of wacker was built? I know that the west side elevated lines used to have their terminal right there in front (?market street? based on historical CTA photos i have seen) but the pictures show that terminal to be higher than the entrance to the civic in the photo.
Thanks.
If I am correct, the civic opera house pre-dates the two level wacker drive, but the entrances are on street level of the current upper deck. so, how did people use the entrances before the upper deck of wacker was built? I know that the west side elevated lines used to have their terminal right there in front (?market street? based on historical CTA photos i have seen) but the pictures show that terminal to be higher than the entrance to the civic in the photo.
Thanks.
Re: Street Level Access to Civic Opera House
Posted by:
ChgoGuy
()
Date: March 19, 2013 11:04PM
The Civic Opera Building was built to the established grade of Market Street. When the North/South section of Wacker Drive was built, it was built to the already established grade of Market Street. The city typically does not change the established grade of streets (other than when the streets were raised out of the mud in the 1800s). You can imagine the havoc it would create with existing buildings if the grade of the streets were changed.
Here are the dates when the various structures involved were built:
1893 Market Street stub extension of the Lake Street Elevated
1913 Washington Street Bridge
1922 Madison Street Bridge
1928-29 Civic Opera Building
1948 Market Street stub demolished.
1948-54 North/South Wacker Drive
As you can see, Wacker Drive was the last structure to be built. It had to meet the grade of the existing structures.
I am glad that you did not ask what was under the upper (and only?) level of Market Street, because I do not know. Was it built on fill? Was it built as an elevated road with some type of use under? Someone here must have the answer.
Here are the dates when the various structures involved were built:
1893 Market Street stub extension of the Lake Street Elevated
1913 Washington Street Bridge
1922 Madison Street Bridge
1928-29 Civic Opera Building
1948 Market Street stub demolished.
1948-54 North/South Wacker Drive
As you can see, Wacker Drive was the last structure to be built. It had to meet the grade of the existing structures.
I am glad that you did not ask what was under the upper (and only?) level of Market Street, because I do not know. Was it built on fill? Was it built as an elevated road with some type of use under? Someone here must have the answer.
Re: Street Level Access to Civic Opera House
Posted by:
Mr Downtown
()
Date: March 20, 2013 02:33AM
I believe the engineering situations were completely different for the different parts of Wacker Drive. For the east-west portion, I think they dug down about four feet for Lower Wacker, and put Upper Wacker about nine feet above the original level. They were planning to rebuild all the bridges at a higher level anyway, which is one of the reasons the "South Water Street Improvement," as it was originally called, went ahead so easily.
The north-south part wasn't built until the 1950s, as an expressway feeder, and there I think they dug down the full 12 feet or so to create the lower level. Many older warehouse and industrial buildings remained along Market Street until well into the 1980s and 90s.
The north-south part wasn't built until the 1950s, as an expressway feeder, and there I think they dug down the full 12 feet or so to create the lower level. Many older warehouse and industrial buildings remained along Market Street until well into the 1980s and 90s.
Re: Street Level Access to Civic Opera House
Posted by:
jcr74
()
Date: March 20, 2013 01:33PM
Thanks for the info. I guess it is easy to imagine today that the level of the river as it parallels N/S wacker was ground level, but considering all of the work that has been done regarding the river changes things.
