22 Clark
This major north-south trunk line had a long and interesting history. Begun in 1859 as a horsecar line from just north of the Chicago River to Kingsbury Street and Division Street, Clark Street used cable cars and battery-powered streetcars before the entire line was electrified and through-routed to Downtown on Sunday, October 21, 1906. The through route was from Clark Street and Howard Street south on Clark Street to Randolph Street, east on Randolph Street to LaSalle Street, south on LaSalle Street to Monroe Street, east on Monroe Street to Dearborn Street, north on Dearborn Street, to Randolph Street.
On Tuesday, March 17, 1908, Clark Street was through-routed with the South Side Wentworth line via Clark Street, Archer Avenue, Wentworth Avenue, Vincennes Avenue, 79th Street, to Emerald Avenue. In November 1911, the Clark Street local cars began to use the newly completed Clark-Schreiber loop at the Devon carhouse.
On Wednesday, July 17, 1912, through-route cars stopped turning west on 79th Street to Emerald Avenue and continued south on Vincennes Avenue to an off-street loop at 80th Street. On Sunday, July 21, 1912, North Side L short-turn cars began to use a loop via Clark Street, Illinois Street, LaSalle Street Tunnel, Monroe Street, Dearborn Street, Randolph Street, LaSalle Street Tunnel, Illinois Street, and Clark Street.
The Clark-Howard off-street loop opened on Wednesday, Thursday, May 19, 1915. On July 24, 1919, through route cars began using 81st Street and Halsted Street as the south terminal, but the loop at 80th Street and Vincennes Avenue was retained for short turns.
For a little over 2 years, the Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) operated motor-trailer trains on Clark-Wentworth (originally known as Wentworth-Clark). Service began on Wednesday, September 21, 1921 and ended on Saturday, October 13, 1923.
There were no other changes in the basic route for 30 years, until CTA rerouted the northbound cars via Harrison Street, Dearborn Street, and Kinzie Street on Monday, November 16, 1953. The change was caused by the creation of one-way streets in the Loop. On Sunday, September 5, 1954, buses replaced the streetcars on weekends over the entire route. Buses took over for the streetcars on Sunday, September 8, 1957 on the Clark Street portion of the through route north of Harrison Street. The Wentworth local cars operated as far north as Kinzie Street before looping back to the south.
Clark-Wentworth cars later served the Field Museum of Natural History and Soldier Field by running east on Roosevelt Road to the loop in Grant Park. This purpose, the postwar streetcars were equipped with a destination sign reading “Museum.”
On Sunday, June 22, 1958, streetcar service ended in Chicago. The last streetcar to operate in Chicago was #7213, a “Green Hornet” streetcar, on the Clark/Wentworth line and housed at the Devon Avenue Barn in Rogers Park.
Streetcar Photos
RPWRHS photo C036-014 shows a southbound 22 Clark Chicago Surface Lines streetcar at Rogers Avenue as seen from south looking north. The large apartment building on the right is still standing in 2011.
Bus Photos
RPWRHS photo C036-001 shows a street scene with the CTA 22 Clark bus at 6400 N. Ashland Avenue, in 1962.
