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

1950s

331 photographs
Two red interurban cars with round end windows and trolley poles stand on a yard track under a web of overhead wires, with a red and white bus, a parked car and oil derricks in the distance. Pacific Electric Railway interurban car 498 and a second car stand in a yard under trolley wire, with oil derricks behind, likely at Long Beach, California. March 7, 1955 · Long Beach, CA A yellow and green streetcar with its trolley pole raised stands on track beside a wide road lined with wooden utility poles and overhead wires, with a sedan parked at right and low buildings in the distance. Los Angeles Transit Lines streetcar 1291, likely on route 7, at what is likely 118th Street and Broadway in Los Angeles in the early 1950s. March 7, 1955 · 118th and Broadway, Los Angeles, CA An orange and silver interurban train car labeled 'Chicago Aurora and Elgin' and numbered 414 is stopped at a station platform beside a river in winter, with industrial buildings and parked cars visible in the background. Chicago Aurora and Elgin interurban car 414, a Master Unit built by Cincinnati Car, is shown at a station platform in winter, with the American Well Works and Mall Lumber Company buildings in the background. March 16, 1955 · Aurora, IL A vintage CTA bus numbered 1121 is shown on a city street with pedestrians and classic cars, in front of a building with a sign for Bedford Shirt Co. A Chicago Transit Authority Flxible bus, number 1121, operating on the State - 15th route in downtown Chicago, likely in the mid-1950s. March 28, 1955 · Jackson and Dearborn, Chicago, IL A black and white photo shows a vintage streetcar on a city street with an elevated train structure overhead and several cars parked nearby. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 6155, operates on a city street under the Lake Street 'L' elevated structure. June 1955 · Lake and J Laramie, Chicago, IL A vintage Chicago Transit Authority motor bus, number 516, is shown on a city street with other vehicles and large advertisements, including a Coca-Cola sign, under an overcast sky. Chicago Transit Authority bus 516, a GM New Look model, navigates a busy city street in the late 1950s or early 1960s, with a classic automobile and iconic billboards in the background. July 3, 1955 · Michigan and Washington, Chicago, IL A vintage green and cream motor bus, number 1431, with a 'Drewry's Beer' ad parked on a street, its destination sign reading 56 Wilson La Salle Schubert. A Chicago Motor Coach Company New Look bus, number 1431, is parked on a city street with a 'Drewry's Beer' advertisement on the front. July 3, 1955 · CLARK and Schubert, Chicago, IL A dark blue Pacific Electric Railway electric locomotive number 1626, with yellow and black safety stripes, sits on a track in a yard next to a large building. Pacific Electric Railway electric locomotive #1626, a boxcab, is pictured in a yard setting under clear skies. August 1955 · 8th St. Yds An electric interurban train with red front and cream sides, numbered 634, is on a curved track beside a wooden platform, with a parking lot full of 1950s cars to the right. A Chicago Aurora and Elgin Master Unit interurban car numbered 634, in red and cream livery, stands at the Forest Park station on an overcast day in the mid-1950s. September 2, 1955 · Deslaines, Forest Park, IL A green and cream streetcar comes toward the camera on brick-paved double track under overhead wire, on a wide street lined with used car lots and large signs. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar signed for route 49 Western-79 runs on Western Avenue near 66th Street, Chicago, in the mid-1950s. October 9, 1955 · Western and 66th, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar drives toward the camera on tracks set in cobblestone paving, under a web of overhead trolley wires, with cars, billboards and a water tower along the street. Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar 711[?] running on State Street near 62nd Place, Chicago. November 9, 1955 · State and 62nd Pl., Chicago, IL A green and cream Chicago Surface Lines bus, number 5070, drives down a street lined with 1950s cars, with store signs and bare trees in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines motor bus, number 5070, is seen on route 44th Western-Leland, navigating a street with visible streetcar tracks, surrounded by vintage 1950s automobiles. December 11, 1955 · Farragut, Chicago, IL A vintage black-and-white photo of a CTA bus, number 664, on a street with brick buildings and a 'National Bank' sign in the background. A Chicago Transit Authority Flxible bus, number 664, on the 5 Jefferson route, parked on a city street in the late 1950s. c. 1956 to 1960 A green and cream streetcar with a trolley pole runs along a wide street under overhead wires, with tall white buildings and parked cars behind it. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority PCC streetcar 3140 on 1st Street near Broadway in Los Angeles, likely between 1958 and 1963. 1956 · 1st and Broadway, Los Angeles, CA A black and white photograph of a Chicago Transit Authority Flxible bus numbered 7206 on a city street in winter, with vintage cars and a building labeled 'Air Line Pilots Association Int'l' in the background. CTA Flxible motor bus number 7206 on route 6 CICERO - 55TH, photographed at the intersection of 55th and Cicero in Chicago during the winter, likely in the 1960s. 1956 · 55th and Cicero, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar on a city street in front of a brightly lit theatre marquee advertising Run for Cover, with a bus and 1950s cars behind it. Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar 40[?][?] passes the Chicago Theatre on State Street near Lake Street, Chicago, about 1955. 1956 · State and Lake, Chicago, IL A CTA bus travels down a bustling Chicago street lined with vintage cars and illuminated signs, with people boarding and walking on the sidewalk. Chicago Transit Authority bus 638 on route 8 Halsted, navigating a busy street with embedded streetcar tracks in the early 1950s. 1956 · Halsted and 64th St. A red and white streetcar numbered 144 moves along a city street under a dark elevated train structure, with vintage cars and a billboard visible in the background. A red Chicago Transit Authority Peter Witt streetcar, number 144, travels under an elevated 'L' station in the 1950s. 1956 · Clark Lake, Chicago, IL A red and white streetcar numbered 144 runs on tracks in a city street, with an elevated train station and vintage cars in the background. A red Chicago Transit Authority Peter Witt streetcar, number 144, navigates a city street beneath an elevated 'L' station in the 1950s. 1956 · Clark and Lake, Chicago, IL A green and cream PCC streetcar with the number 4382 and destination sign '22 HALSTED' is shown on a sunlit, cobblestone city street, surrounded by 1950s cars and storefronts under a clear blue sky. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar, number 4382, on the 22 Halsted route in 1956, running on cobblestone tracks in a bustling city street. 1956 · Clark and Schiller, Chicago, IL Front view of a dark-colored CTA bus with the number 2603 and route 49 A Western-79 displayed, stopped at an intersection with a stop sign and a street sign for W 119th St visible. A Chicago Transit Authority GM New Look bus, number 2603, on route 49 A Western-79 at the intersection of 119th Street and Western Avenue on an overcast winter day. 1956 · 119th and Western, Chicago, IL A black and white photo of a Chicago Transit Authority bus turning at a street intersection with a stop sign and a street sign for 119th Street visible. A Chicago Transit Authority Flxible New Look bus, number 2603, on route 49A Western at 119th Street on an overcast winter day. 1956 · 49A and 119th St Two stripped green-and-cream streetcars with their windows removed sit among scrap metal behind a black Frisco gondola and rail tracks, with six smokestacks against an overcast sky. Stripped PCC streetcars, likely of the Chicago Transit Authority and including car 706[?], stand behind St. Louis-San Francisco Railway gondola 61[...]496, likely in St. Louis. February 27, 1956 · St. Louis A vintage black and white photo shows a streetcar on fire in the snow, with the number 542 visible on its front. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 542, is engulfed in flames during winter. March 23, 1956 · 77th Vincennes A green and cream streetcar comes toward the camera on a city street under a steel elevated structure carrying a two-car train, with neon signs, a yellow truck, a sedan and pedestrians in winter coats. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar runs under the Loop elevated at Clark and Van Buren while a two-car 'L' train passes overhead. April 19, 1956 · Clark and Van Buren, Chicago, IL A yellow CTA bus with floral decorations and a 'Make Chicago America's Cleanest City' slogan is parked on a city street, with a green and white bus and a yellow taxi cab visible in the background. A yellow Chicago Transit Authority bus, number 565, decorated with daisies and the slogan 'Make Chicago America's Cleanest City,' is seen on a city street. May 16, 1956 · Michigan and Jackson, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar comes toward the camera on a wide street, under a steel elevated railway bridge that carries a CTA 'Park and Ride' sign, with 1950s cars on both sides. Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar passing under the elevated line at Western and Leland, Chicago, mid-1950s. June 10, 1956 · Western and Leland, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar on a wide street passes an ornate red, white and blue amusement park gate with onion domes, flags and a roller coaster behind it, while pedestrians walk along the sidewalk. Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar 4060 passes the striped, onion-domed entrance of Riverview amusement park on Western Avenue near Roscoe, Chicago, in summer. June 10, 1956 · Western and Roscoe, Chicago, IL A green and cream PCC streetcar numbered 4060 travels down a street lined with power poles, passing a large red, white, and blue amusement park entrance with a roller coaster in the background. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar, number 4060, runs past the colorful entrance of Riverview Amusement Park on a sunny summer day. June 10, 1956 · Roscoe, Chicago, IL A vintage green and cream Chicago streetcar with number 4059 travels down a wide, sunlit street lined with 1950s cars and storefronts. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar, number 4059, runs on Western Avenue at Leland in the early 1950s under a clear sky. June 10, 1956 · Western and Leland, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar signed 36 Broadway-Devon turns across a brick-paved intersection, with 1950s cars, a corner drug store and an overpass behind it. Chicago Transit Authority streetcar 7148 on route 36 Broadway turns through the intersection at Broadway and Devon in Chicago. August 14, 1956 · Broadway and Devon, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar sits under an elevated railway station that carries red and cream CTA banners, with a second streetcar beside it and traffic going off into the distance. Two Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcars on State Street under the Loop 'L' station at Van Buren Street in Chicago, likely in the mid-1950s. August 24, 1956 · State and Van Buren, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar on a wide downtown street lined with theater marquees, with an elevated railway crossing the street in the distance. Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar 7174 on State Street at Randolph, Chicago, with the State Lake and Chicago theaters and the Lake Street 'L' behind it, likely summer 1956. August 24, 1956 · State and Randolph, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar approaches on double track in a busy downtown street lined with tall buildings, with 1950s cars, a Jim Beam wall sign and a movie marquee behind it. A green and cream Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar on State Street near Madison in Chicago, likely in 1956. August 24, 1956 · State and Madison, Chicago, IL A light-colored streamlined streetcar stops at a busy downtown corner under tall buildings, with many pedestrians crossing the tracks in the foreground. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar on State Street near Jackson, as pedestrians cross in front of it, likely in the 1950s. August 24, 1956 · State and Jackson, Chicago, IL A green and cream Chicago Transit Authority bus numbered 4318 is parked in a gravel yard. Behind it is a red and white bus, a yellow freight car on a flatcar, and a dark railcar to the left. Overhead wires and a water tower are visible in the background under an overcast sky. Chicago Transit Authority Flxible New Look bus 4318 parked in a yard next to a yellow freight car and another bus. October 21, 1956 · South Shops, IL Three-quarter front view of a green and cream CTA bus numbered 4318 parked in a gravel yard under an overcast sky, with another bus and a yellow freight car visible behind it. A green and cream Chicago Transit Authority Flxible New Look bus, number 4318, parked in a yard with other buses and freight cars in the background. October 21, 1956 A dark green CTA bus with a yellow magnet sweeper attachment on its front, parked in a yard with a freight car visible behind it. A Chicago Transit Authority New Look motor bus, number 5720, equipped with a front-mounted magnet sweeper, sits in a yard. October 21, 1956 A dark green CTA bus with a large yellow magnet plow attached to its front, parked in a gravel yard with the number 6720 visible on the fender and BW 12 on the side. A Chicago Transit Authority GM New Look bus, number 6720, modified with a front-mounted magnet plow and labeled 'BW 12', parked in a yard on an overcast day. October 21, 1956 A green and yellow single-ended streetcar with a trolley pole comes down a wide street with crossing tracks, a dense web of overhead wire, storefronts, and 1950s cars and a red pickup truck. A green and yellow streetcar, likely Los Angeles Transit Lines car 14[?]8, approaches an intersection under heavy overhead wire at what the note gives as Washington and Vermont in Los Angeles. November 15, 1956 · Washington and Vermont, Los Angeles, CA Two green and cream interurban cars, numbered 7210 and 7201, sit on tracks in a gravel yard with a clear sky and leafless trees in the background. Two Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Master Unit interurban cars, numbered 7210 and 7201, are parked in a yard in 1957. 1957 · 77th and Vincennes, Chicago, IL A vintage photograph of a green and orange interurban railcar, number 162, stopped at a wooden station platform with people boarding, under a clear sky with overhead wires. Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Master Unit car 162, in its distinctive green and orange livery, is shown at a station platform in 1957, with passengers boarding. 1957 · North Chicago, IL A black-and-white, high-angle shot of a busy Chicago street, showing a line of Drewry's buses and vintage cars at a bus stop. A Drewry's bus line at the Washington and Wabash terminal in Chicago, with a GMC New Look bus number 5329 front and center. 1957 · Washington and Wabash, Chicago, IL A green and cream streetcar seen from above runs on cobblestone tracks between a red Budweiser truck and parked cars, with neon store signs on the left and a large red brick warehouse in the background. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar on a busy downtown Chicago street, likely near Clark and Wacker, with the Central Cold Storage Company building behind it. 1957 · Clark and Wacker, Chicago, IL A black and white photo of a Chicago Transit Authority bus with the number 1181 and destination '63 STONEY ISLAND' driving on a multi-lane expressway filled with 1950s cars and surrounded by bare trees. A Chicago Transit Authority Flxible bus, number 1181, heads down an expressway median lane with 1950s traffic in the late 1950s. 1957 · North Ave and Outer Drive, Chicago, IL A vintage red streetcar with the number 565 on its front, shown at an angle on a city street with cars parked nearby and buildings in the background. A red and cream Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 565, on a winter day at the intersection of Paulina and J Polk streets. March 1957 · Paulina and J Polk A dark green Pacific Electric electric locomotive numbered 1622, with a yellow and black striped front, is parked on a street under overhead wires, with a tan passenger car partially visible behind it. Pacific Electric electric locomotive number 1622, a Baldwin-Westinghouse boxcab, stands on a street under overhead wires. March 22, 1957 · West Hollywood, CA A three-quarter rear view of a vintage brown and yellow interurban car, numbered 2858, sitting on tracks in a yard with a building and a blue car visible in the background. Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Interurban car 2858 is shown in a yard on a clear winter day, its brown and yellow livery intact, likely in the 1950s. April 14, 1957 · Kimball, Chicago, IL