Flag Stop 4,614 transit photos from Chicago and beyond, mostly 1940s–2000s
Eras

1930s

19 photographs
Front view of a red and black Birney interurban car marked 'CHICAGO LOCAL' inside a carbarn, with the car partially in shadow and tracks visible on the ground. A Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Birney interurban car with 'CHICAGO LOCAL' lettering sits in a carbarn, viewed from the front with overhead wires visible. c. 1924 to 1936 A vintage black-and-white photo of a Chicago Surface Lines streetcar numbered 3185, viewed from the front-left on a street with overhead wires and a building in the background. Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar 3185 is shown in a three-quarter front view on a city street. c. 1930 to 1939 Side view of two orange and maroon interurban cars on a street, with overhead wires and a vintage car in the corner. Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Birney car 1721, painted in orange and maroon, is shown in street service with a 'LAKE B' destination sign. c. 1930 to 1940 A vintage black-and-white photo of a Chicago streetcar, number 270, on a street with a building and a car in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Birney streetcar, number 270, is shown on a city street in the late 1930s. c. 1930 to 1940 A black and white photograph from the 1930s showing a streetcar on a snowy city street with several people and old cars around it. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 1211, on a snowy street in the 1930s, with pedestrians and early automobiles nearby. November 16, 1930 A black and white photo shows a vintage streetcar numbered 1211 on a snowy city street with people, old cars, and storefronts, including a 'MEATS' shop and a 'HARD LAUNDRY'. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 1211, is stopped on a snowy street under an elevated structure, with pedestrians and early 1930s automobiles nearby. November 16, 1930 · Montrose and Broadway, Chicago, IL A black-and-white photo of a vintage streetcar with the number 973 on its front, traveling on a city street with tall buildings and a large Coca-Cola billboard in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 973, bound for Indiana Avenue, travels through the city streets in the 1930s or 1940s. c. 1931 to 1947 A black and white photo shows a trolleybus on a city street with a large crowd of people holding protest signs, one of which reads 'FOSTER AVE FEEDER BUS WED. JUNE 30', marking the last day of trolleybus service on that route. A Chicago Surface Lines trolleybus, number 82 on the Kimball-Leland route, is surrounded by a crowd of protesters holding signs on the last day of service for the Foster Avenue feeder line on June 30, 1936. June 21, 1931 A black and white photo shows a Chicago trolleybus on a city street, with a large crowd of people holding signs in front of it, protesting a bus route change. A Chicago Surface Lines Brill trolleybus, number 1033, on route 82 Kimball Leland, is surrounded by a crowd holding protest signs about a new feeder bus route in the late 1930s. June 21, 1931 · Kimball, Chicago, IL A vintage streetcar numbered 236 travels on a city street alongside a horse-drawn wagon and early automobiles, under overhead wires. A Chicago Surface Lines Peter Witt streetcar, number 236, at the corner of Clinton and Roosevelt streets, sharing the street with horse-drawn and motorized traffic. 1932 · Clinton and Roosevelt, Chicago, IL A black and white street scene from the 1930s showing a Chicago Surface Lines streetcar on a cobblestone street with an elevated railway in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 3259, heads to the North Western Station on a winter day in the 1930s. May 7, 1932 · Franklin and Washington, Chicago, IL A black and white photo of a 1930s Chicago street scene showing a streetcar on tracks, several old cars, and a person crossing the road, with a Shell gas station and a Capitol sign in the background. Chicago Surface Lines streetcar number 5460, route 8, on Halsted Street in the 1930s, with vintage automobiles and a pedestrian crossing the street. March 1933 · Halsted A black and white photo of a vintage streetcar on a city street with a pedestrian crossing and several cars from the era. A Chicago Surface Lines Peter Witt streetcar, number 5460, operates on a city street in the early 1930s. March 1933 · Halsted and 80th St, Chicago, IL Black-and-white photo of a vintage Superior motor bus, number 519, with 'ILL. C.C. No. 19' on its side, parked on a city street with snow on the ground. An Illinois Central Coach Company motor bus, number 519, at the 87-Vincennes route terminus in Chicago, likely during the 1930s. 1936 · 77th and Vincennes, Chicago, IL A vintage black-and-white photo of a 1936 Chicago Surface Lines motor bus, number 418, on a cobblestone street, showing its front and side with a '95 95-STATE' route sign and a 1936 Illinois license plate. A 1936 Chicago Surface Lines White motor bus, number 418, parked on a cobblestone street with its route sign reading '95 95-STATE'. 1936 · 77th and Vincennes, Chicago, IL A black and white photo of two vintage streetcars on a snowy city street lined with parked cars and large stone buildings. Two Chicago Surface Lines Peter Witt streetcars, numbers 1971 and 1955, are shown on a snow-covered street with parked 1930s automobiles and large stone buildings. 1937 · Fairbanks, Chicago, IL A black and white photo of two PCC streetcars on a Chicago street, with overhead wires and houses in the background. Two Chicago Surface Lines PCC streetcars, numbers 187 and 178, are seen on the 76 DIVERSEY-WESTERN route at the intersection of Diversey and Harlem in Chicago, likely in the 1940s. 1938 · Diversey and Harlem, Chicago, IL A black-and-white photo shows the burned-out interior of a carbarn, featuring the front of a streetcar numbered 268, surrounded by charred debris and twisted metal. Chicago Surface Lines streetcar 268 sits damaged inside a burned-out carbarn, with only its front end and number board still visible among the wreckage. September 1938 · Lawndale P'Ke A vintage black-and-white photo showing a streetcar on a wet city street in front of a movie theater, with pedestrians and an elevated train structure in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 3022, heading to Elston, captured in a winter street scene near the Chicago Theater with a marquee advertising 'Love Thy Neighbor'. December 1938 · State and Lake, Chicago, IL