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Linda Hubbs always loved trains as a kid, so it’s no surprise that her favorite exhibit at the Chicago History Museum is the city’s first elevated train. A whole car of the el, built to bring travelers from Skokie down to the 1893 World’s Fair, stands in the middle of the second floor. Passengers can step inside the train, although a talking statue of Ida B. Wells outside the car urges them to boycott the fair (there were no exhibits at the Columbian Exposition promoting the achievements of African-Americans).
She continues, “They had to have support for it, had to build the actual platform around the El car. It was a lot to even just put it in the building. . . . They also had to wrap it in cellophane and everything, because they didn’t want to the trees to hurt it. They didn’t want the elements-because it was in January-to hurt it.”
- A young boy explores Sensing Chicago
