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#TBT: When Streetcars Ruled Logan Square In The 1930s

By Mina Bloom | July 13, 2017 1:51pm | Updated on July 13, 2017 4:46pm

LOGAN SQUARE — For #TBT, check out the old streetcar tracks in Logan Square.

The old photo, circa 1938, shows a track — and a distant streetcar — looking north at Logan Boulevard and California Avenue.

Here's what Logan Square Preservation has to say about the photo:

Looking north at Logan and California, circa 1938. Chicago Surface Lines streetcars used to run on the rails in the roadway. At the northwest corner (current location of the Fellowship House) stands an advertising billboard structure. Because corner lots were more expensive and this corner was busy, it seems that no building was constructed on the site before the current structure.

Streetcars, known as the Chicago Surface Lines, ran from 1859 to 1958, according to the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. They started out as horse-drawn trolley lines. Cable cars hit the rails in 1882, and then electric cars in 1890.

For more on streetcars in Logan Square, check out a 2014 DNAinfo Chicago story about a pothole that revealed an old streetcar track.

DNAinfo is partnering with Logan Square Preservation on a "Throwback Thursday" post each week. All photos are the property of Logan Square Preservation unless otherwise indicated.

For more photos and information, visit Logansquarepreservation.org or Facebook.com/logansquarepreservation.