Glenview History Center: Commuting the electric way

It's nearly forgotten now, perhaps just a dim memory for those Glenview residents who lived here during the 1940s to early 196os. And for those who arrived in Glenview after that, it's something they may have heard of or read about, but which had no significance in their lives. But for many East Glenview commuters, the North Shore Line was, for nearly 37 years, a fast, dependable way to get to and from work in the city.

In the early 1920s, the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad's Shore Line Route through the lakeside suburbs was becoming overcrowded as both rail and road traffic grew. Its location did not allow for efficient freight service, the crowded trains traveled slowly along village streets, and the roadbed was deteriorating. The best answer seemed to be construction of a new bypass line through unincorporated, undeveloped land in the Skokie Valley several miles west. It could be built easily, provide faster travels and also would open up an entirely new area for suburban growth.

One of the major proponents of the Skokie Bypass project was George F. Nixon, a major suburban homebuilder and developer. One of his developments was the Glen Ayre subdivision in Glenview. In the late 1920s, Nixon planned to build a Chicago Gold Coast-type complex in Glen Ayre.

It was designed to appeal to wealthy Chicagoans who could commute to Glenview via the North Shore line, which now had a station on Glenview Road. The plan called for an elaborate complex of sumptuous condominium-type residences. Every amenity - from shopping to medical care to athletic facilities - was to be included within the complex.

However, the Depression put an end to that grand plan, but the area west of the railroad tracks developed rapidly anyway. About 1938, Nixon developed the Glenayre subdivision as we know it now and lived there for several years before moving the Chicago's Near North Side

The New Skokie Valley Route opened June 5, 1926. It was 25 miles long, extending from Chicago's Howard Street north to Lake Bluff; it passed through Glenview a few blocks east of Harms Road and just west of where the Edens Expressway is now. A station at Glenview Road, initially called Glenayre, provided access to the fast, electric trains. The station house and agent's home were located on the southeast corner of Glenview Road and the railroad tracks. The station's name was changed to Glenview in the 1950s.

As an interurban railroad, the North Shore Line was one of the best. Constructed to high standards, with a massive, reliable electrical supply from owner Samuel Insull's own Commonwealth Edison electric utility, and fast, quick and heavy cars, the line frequently won prizes for its fast speeds and high safety records.

Chicago-bound trains used the Rapid Transit "L" tracks from Howard Street south to the Loop and around it.

For those working in the Loop and east of it, the line was very convenient, compared to walking from the Milwaukee Road terminal at Union Station, west of the Loop near the Chicago River.

Rush hour travel times to the Loop terminal at Adams and Wabash were generally in the 50-60 minute range, excellent considering the long, slow drag along Chicago's "L" tracks. Every day saw 5-8 trains for each rush hour period, with midday service offered every 90-120 minutes. A transfer at Dempster Street, Skokie, afforded access to the fabled Electroliners and other express trains

From its opening in 1926 until the last train arrived in Milwaukee on January 20, 1963, the North Shore provided Glenview with a fast, safe and comfortable ride into Chicago. Its demise, after nearly a decade of difficulties, was primarily a result of America's fascination and increasing dependence on the automobile - and the construction of the Edens Expressway, which opened in December 1951, didn't help the situation at all.

The wires are down; the tracks pulled up long ago. Driving by on Glenview Road at the electric transmission towers east of Harms Road, few nowadays would recognize that the tangle of undergrowth and bushes alongside the towers mark the route of what some have called "America's Greatest Interurban."