A really great 1903 photograph of how the original railroad tracks that crossed Western Boulevard/Avenue and West Pershing when they were still at ground level. View in photo is northwest from the southeast corner of Western Boulevard and West Pershing road. Lands where McKinley Park would be situated are to the right (park dedicated on June 13, 1902). The large building visible at center, right was originally the Knickerbocker Ice Co, Brighton Park depot building, with its own railroad siding. Built to look like a medieval building, back in the 1870s or 80s. Building survived as part of the old Albert Lumber company that was at that location from the 1930s to the year 1976 when a major fire destroyed that lumber business and all the companys buildings and sheds were demolished shortly thereafter (an Oil Express garage building sits where the ice company building once stood, today). The unique way the railroad companies built the elevated tracks over the streets at this location and keep the stock of railroad cars rolling during the construction period was by building a temporary wooden trestle bridge (seen at left in photo) between the 2 spans of the long railroad viaducts. Today the CTAs Orange line tracks on a raised cement bridge run in this location, between the 2 spans of the railroad viaduct. The railroads companies that paid for and built the track elevation at this location were: A. T. & S. F. RY (The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway), C. M. & W. R. R. (Chicago, Missouri and Western Rail Road), U. S. Y. & T. CO ( Union Stock Yard and Transit Company Railroad) and the P.C.C & St. L (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad and photo courtesy of).
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 05:31:16 +0000