The
Michigan Avenue Underground lies on the northern edge of Downtown and crosses the Chicago
River. It is comprised of a series of bridges and stairways leading to
sub-streets. Construction began in the early 1920's and was completed in 1926.
The Michigan Avenue Underground's purpose in design was to ease congestion moving in and
out of Downtown.
The center of the system is the Michigan Avenue Bridge and Wacker Drive. These along
with several smaller streets are divided into upper and lower levels.
While the upper levels offer grand
views of the Chicago River, many landmark buildings and early skyscrapers, the lower
levels are obstructed by the bridges and tall buildings and receive little sunlight.
Iron stairways leading down every few blocks lead down to the deserted area which has
become a haven for Chicago's homeless and criminal element. Even police do not
patrol the lower levels on a regular basis, preferring to "clean up" in groups
of ten or more.
After crossing the Michigan Avenue Bridge, one notices a series of stairways leading to
the "Underground". The buildings here have been abandoned and most of the
streetlights have been broken. The city offers little in the way of services here
and they dare not send repairmen. Services are primarily limited to a seasonal
cleaning of cardboard mausoleums.
The shelter of the overhead streets and
buildings keeps the lower levels a few degrees warmer than the upper levels and this is
the main attraction the area offers the homeless.
As the area is known to Chicagoans as unsafe, there is little traffic on the lower streets
so the street people have made the roadside their backyards and the road their dump as a
variety of debris blocks the streets. This along with the perpetual night in the
"Underground" has made it a place that is a motorist's nightmare. |
Michigan Avenue Underground, Michigan Avenue View
Michigan Avenue Underground, Upper and Lower Wacker Drive View
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