The Loop (Chicago Transit Authority) (Chicago, Illinois)

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The Loop (historically Union Loop) is the two mile circuit of elevated railroad that forms the hub of the 'L' rapid transit system in Chicago, Illinois. The Loop is so named because the railroad loops around a rectangle formed by Lake Street (north side), Wabash Avenue (east), Van Buren Street (south), and Wells Street (west). The surrounding area is also known as The Loop community area. Numerous accounts assert that the use of this term predates the elevated railroad, deriving from the multiple cable car turntables, or loops, that terminated in the district, and especially those of two lines that shared a loop, constructed in 1882, bounded by Madison, Wabash, State, and Lake.However, after extensive research of the issue, transportation historian Bruce Moffat concluded that "the Loop" was not used as a proper noun until after Charles Yerkes' 1895–97 construction of the elevated hub.

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