Chicago's Secret Pedestrian Tunnel System Explained

The subterranean maze known as the Chicago Pedway System sprang into existence during the 1950s to counter the city's unforgiving winters and burgeoning downtown growth. Originally conceived to interconnect diverse structures within the Loop, its scope gradually expanded, now spanning over five miles of corridors that interlace offices, hotels, retail hubs, and transportation nodes. Throughout the latter part of the 20th century, the Pedway underwent continuous upgrades and extensions to harmonize with the evolving urban milieu. Serving as a vital conduit for both commuters and sightseers, it endures as a prominent component of Chicago's cityscape, seamlessly blending utility with architectural allure.
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Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[@gilbertoavina6156]

It seems that Ryan has a soft spot for Chicago. Love learning more about my hometown. This channel is the closest we have to a time machine.

[@tweygant]

Ryan is from the Chicago area

[@st3pp3nw0lf86]

Naperville lol

[@ITSHISTORY]

I appreciate that!

[@Wv8675]

More like hard spot lol

[@MichaelBradley1967]

Aside from NYC, Chicago is a very old city that has a lot of hidden layers and history. I'm glad someone can dig into all that.

[@stephenmoerlein8470]

Thanks for presenting this interesting history. I lived in Chicago for 6 years as a student, and was totally unaware of the Pedway Tunnel System.

[@ITSHISTORY]

Thanks for sharing!

[@2miscme]

My mom worked for IL Bell as a telephone repair “man” in the 70s and 80s. She told me how much she loved using the pedway to get from job to job, especially when it rained or snowed.

[@Strider1954]

The Minneapolis MN has a Skyway System is the, largest contiguous system of enclosed, second-level bridges in the world-composed of 9.5 miles of pathways connecting 80 city blocks. First built in the 1960s.

[@twofiveb]

I lived in Chicago during that brutal winter of 94-95. Deep sub-zero temperatures so cold that it made most of Lake Michigan freeze over. I needed to walk from the Loop, just west of the Art Institute to Navy Pier that day for work and I happened upon this interesting network of underground walkways. It didn’t take me all the way to Navy Pier but it kept me a lot warmer than I would have otherwise. On a typical warm spring or summer day I never would have thought of checking it out. But that day I really needed to minimize exposure to that windy frigid cold! It’s definitely one of those little known gems of Chicago. Thanks for posting this!

[@tgustafson85]

Do one on the skyways of St Paul and Minneapolis, another unique system!

[@jdhoover123]

What’s up with the bottom right all blurred out?

[@Crazyjoker4650]

I'm guessing it's a stolen, reposted video.

[@MichaelBradley1967]

The Pedway, those underground rail tunnels, the 3rd sub-level of Wacker Drive. This guy shows the most interesting and barely known things in the city.

[@0fficialdregs]

unless you're from there, you won't know hehehe

[@004Black]

Great history. I discovered the tunnels for myself in 2012 while staying at a downtown hotel. Cool.

[@PhilC1982]

Really enjoyed this video.. I was in Chicago in November inspired to visit by watching your videos and several TV shows.. I saw pedestrians signs and had no idea what they were but now I do lol… you answered a lot of questions I had but also make me want to got there is clearly a lot more to explore

[@ITSHISTORY]

That is awesome!

[@carolynhotchkiss4760]

I lived just south of the Loop in the mid 70s and never heard of this system! I'm a bit more familiar with what my husband calls the "habitrail" system in Minneapolis...a much more cohesive set of overpasses and tunnels. He liked them because he didn't have to go outside at all in the bitter cold of winter or the muggy heat of summer. But he did say he always felt a little like a gerbil when walking through some of the overpass bridges lol.

[@ITSHISTORY]

Thanks for sharing!

[@thephantomeagle2]

I've used the Pedway many many times. Being that I don't drive and haven't for decades I would walk from Union Station to the IC, now Millennium station. While It didn't go all the way it covered enough that I could walk more than half the distance. I got to know it well and often ate there on my way.

[@dtrocchio]

Thanks!

[@ITSHISTORY]

Thank you so much !!!

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

As an interested bystander from across the ocean in London, I'm intrigued by these civic-minded pedestrian tunnel systems to be found across both countries of north america. Some seem to have been designed to keep citizens out of the snow and are heated too. The height of civilization! I'm tickled by Chicago's version as it's charmingly higgledy-piggledy, given the rigidity of the grid system of the streets above!

[@JohnVKaravitis]

Glad we could tickle your fancy.

[@Ben-bb7mi]

I always used it to get from Randolph Street (now Millennium Station) to Fields

[@aronc24]

I legit remember getting lost in Chicago once and coming across that pool. Underground. In basically an abandoned tunnel. I thought it was the WEIRDEST thing, so it’s funny to see it explained. lol

[@dn744]

Awsome. Lots we rarely see 😊

[@teeheehee4494]

The Pedway is amazing. It saved me so much time and weather hassle throughout the late 90s.

[@yuckyool]

Dallas, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia have their share of underground (or bridgeway) pedestrian connectors as well.

[@scottjohnson358]

Oklahoma City has one as well.

[@freetolook3727]

Reminds me of the underground passageway under the Emire Plaza in Albany, NY. It was designed and built in late 1960's/early 1970's so state employees could move from one building to another without having to go outside. It used to connect to the 1911 State Education Building but those passageways have long been closed off.

[@caseysmith544]

A similar one is in Pierre (Pier) South Dakota and used to have a tunnel for high school to capital but was closed off in 2000's during time I was in high school 2004--2007 when Asbestos was found in ingredients of tunnel bricks for high school one leading from old theater , now backstage part of theater out to the Capital. Also city had one going to State library/education building and capital but had been closed off only accessible in an emergency for further down the line as door is locked becuse of again asbestos .

[@kmdkrohn]

We discovered this when we were there for work. It was fun exploring and getting lost around the city!

[@BossLadii71]

I Love My City! I love the Pedway, we're able to go from place to place without being exposed to the weather especially with the weather in Da Chi being bipolar😂

[@danielmalinen6337]

This was ok to listen to, but painful to watch because most of the video is blurred and I have to wonder why?

[@stevenkaiser6253]

I used the Pedway to get from my job at Illinois Center on Wacker and Michigan to Union Station when it was raining or very cold. It did not go all the way between the two, but got me more than halfway there. It was very crowded on cold days. On good weather days, it tended to be pretty empty.

[@Bob-hm7cf]

I am curious why on this video there were so many sections of it blurred out. but otherwise I learned a lot about it. Many Many years ago when I worked on the USPS account fixing their computers. I had to go out to the BMC out in Des Moines, Ia and i found they have a system of enclosed walk ways from Parking garages to building and from building to building. I had been told its for during the winter months that people don't have to walk out in the cold and snow to get to work.

[@RRG95]

I was curious about the same thing. I can understand blurring the faces of random pedestrians, but sometimes it’s in the corner of the screen and I don’t understand those?

[@PaulMcCannWebBuilder]

I think he's blurring out a right corner 'bug' or logo from whatever show he got the footage from. Discovery Channel or PBS.

[@asteriskesque]

@@PaulMcCannWebBuilder But there are big huge blurs all over the place. 2:58 and 7:02 for example.

[@ms4306]

I’m surprised nobody reported

[@markshietze4783]

an excellent video on History and architecture ! Thanx , man , you did good on this one ❤😊

[@ITSHISTORY]

So nice of you!

[@johnnicpon5783]

I used to commute into the city via Metra into Union Station. During cold or inclement weather I would walk to City Hall and down into the Pedway. It was a great route to the AON center where I worked. Of course on those beautiful summer days I would enjoy walking above ground. And yes, the homeless population seems to have taken residence in certain pockets of the Pedway while also using is as a toilet. Very sad!

[@seanbrazell7095]

5:38 - this tunnel was used for the Dark Knight scene with the bat bike.

[@0fficialdregs]

also led to the Randolph Street Station where Metra commuter rail operates

[@shanereiter2542]

That is Millennium Station. It's a train station. I take the South Shore line to that station when I go into the city. Costs me like 15$ round trip and beats driving EVERYTIME. You come out right across the street from the bean art piece.

[@OzMoney]

I first started exploring the pedway back in the early nineties as a kid. I was always fascinated with being able to walk from the Metra station near the lakefront to City Hall and the State Of Illinois building without ever going outside. Cool video!!!

[@ITSHISTORY]

Very cool!

[@edholmwood2263]

Thanks for another excellent video Thx.

[@TMD3453]

Thanks for the good word, that maybe Chicago can get the system together. The dealbreaker on the tunnels is that, like you mentioned, certain sections are open only at certain times. So, you never know when you can get through. The section between State and Dearborn is reliable and the one I use. Thanks, all the best, nice work.

[@phillipstafford2410]

Toronto has this, they call it the path

[@jtsholtod.79]

Having lived in both cities, Toronto's is an amazing and well-maintained mixture of pedestrian movement, retail experiences and business access (Montreal is another great example). Chicago's is exactly as described in the video: utilitarian, poorly laid out and filthy. It's not worth seeing unless you're avoiding the weather. The highlights of Chicago's pedway are really the buildings along the way.

[@Hurricane0721]

I've been to Northern Minnesota in the middle of winter, and even deep inside Canada in the middle of winter. Those were certainly cold places. However, the coldest windchill I ever felt was in Chicago! Between Lake Michigan and all the pan flat land around Chicago, the winter wind can scream in Chicago with an Arctic cold front. So the most miserable windchill I ever felt was in Chicago.

[@J.Carstens]

I didn't realize how similar in nature the Pedway is to Montreal's RESO! It also is somewhat unintuitive to navigate and can vary wildly in vibe as you progress through it due to the many properties involved in its construction. Way less pee though. In fact reading the comments is making me realize how less and less unique of an aspect this is for a city to have

[@LGF18]

Omg yassss you did the Pedway. One of my favorite bars in Chicago is in the Pedway

[@PaulMcCannWebBuilder]

Unfortunately the one in the basement of Marshall Fields, (er, Macy's) closed. That one had some fun regulars.

[@lisafreeman4222]

Awesome video

[@KP-rh5qz]

I need to explore this. I work right near there.

[@0fficialdregs]

@4:56 my favorite Chicago commuter rail station.

[@TheFibtastic]

I lived in a building attached to the pedway. It was awesome in the winter. I knew the whole thing and would give tours o friends

[@MITdork]

I use it frequently from Lakeshore east all the way to oligivy trail station...

[@Chips2323]

Thank you for today lesson... ...

[@Chips2323]

Thank you, I have missed a couple of lessons, but I will catch up, I have a question is it alright if I call you Professor Socash I just learn so much from your information, don't want to make you feel weird, ya i know weird question, but thanks for the info.

[@ILLAILLS]

Love this,

[@MN12warbird]

And now, in the Philippines, inside makati manila, theyve used the pedway layout as the model to base their own pedway system

[@caseysmith544]

Minneapolis/St Paul has a similar above ground system that is confusing because some of the area is public and some is supposed to be maintained by building owners of a building. However, almost all of the tunnels got updated by the city in 2000's in such a way people will be able to use them for around 50--100 years depending on use in said tunnels. Only a few lesser used above ground tunnels are still needing updating becuse of how little use they get mainly by hospital staff from one building to the other and are even more private ones anyhow only used by staff.

[@jovanweismiller7114]

You should check out downtown Edmonton, AB, Canada! You can go all over the downtown business district without ever going out into the open air.

[@colincampbell7027]

I knew of some of this when working downtown and getting off at Randolph St on the IC/Metra Electrics. I only went into the station thru the 😮 another tunnel off to the right went under the Chicago Library. I asked a ticket seller for the RR one day and she told me it was underground tunnels around the city. Tho I never went and explored I was fascinated by them. That was in the late 80s early 90s. I've since then located to the "left coast" and like visiting my home town. I still go downtown for part of a day of any trip. Still love the sounds of the L, the smells of the restaurants and the bustle of the people. I usually stop at 19 S Wabash for a shopping trip. Look that up and maybe you can do a video on the oldest, continuously family owned tobacconist in the nation. Iwan Reis & Company.

[@doughboytuba]

Thee city County Building, The state of Illinois buildings are the ones, which are public, which are locked and closed the most. There is also an interesting placard on the east entrance at about Macy's (Originally Marshall Fields) that I believe states "Point of Beginning - Lost"

[@brucealanwilson4121]

Minneapolis has a similar system.

[@atomic_wait]

Seattle doesn't need it for cold protection, but i wish we had more overhead awnings to protect from the rain.

[@TheTarrMan]

I've been through there a few times, leaving the Metra or whatever. The place feels like a fever dream.

[@daveweiss5647]

I knew you'd bring up the old freight tunnels, what a lost gem of infrastructure...they could have a an essentially truck free downtown if they kept it, no need for delivery or garbage trucks, etc... also, as you said, it kept all the utilities, so there's no need to shut down lanes of traffic for utility work and what most don't know... it was also a city wide climate control system, it was always 50ish degrees and so the buildings could pump that air in in the somer to lower the 90 degree temp or on winter to raise the 30 degree, etc... an absolutely amazing system, a shame bureaucratic nonsense destroyed it... It's also awesome to see one of my favorite architects, Louis Sullivan, getting a call out!

[@jimster255101]

Fantastic video but the blurry boxes are super distracting.

[@mplsjeffm]

reminds me of Bemidji State University, in Minnesota, Northern Minnesota, where I went to college. They had tunnels, connecting the various buildings. They primarily were utility tunnels, but they were also enhanced to make them somewhat pedestrian friendly. Definitely not. ADA compliant. 0:06

[@Ibuddy66]

In Rochester, NY we had the skyway system that was exactly this.

[@0fficialdregs]

my mom used to take my sister and myself through TJ Maxx because she knew there was elevators going down to the Pedway that led to Randolph street station where we took the Metra electric south.

[@sierra3842]

The image u click on to start this video where is that yellow foot bridge located at?

[@Ilikeloudmusic]

Why are there so many blurs in this video? If this is how it’s going to be I’m no longer going to watch It’s History or is this how KZbin treats history now?

[@thethriftinglounge]

Copyright

[@PsychicLord]

The City of London also has a Pedway that started at the approximately the same time, it is largely elevated. It was to be have part of an extensive system, but largely fell out of favour.

[@jimjohnstonreviewstheworld]

Back in the late 1990’s we considered these to be like an In secret only privileged people knew about. It was such a cool way to get around the loop. Especially in crappy weather.

[@chicagofan76]

You’re not on twitter so I’m messaging you here. Could you do a video on the C, A & E? I just watched a video on here from Wheaton Public Library and there are other videoed on Be Historic I plan on watching but I prefer your format. Also considering you live here, if you didn’t know the history of it, you might enjoy learning more about it.

[@aoilpe]

2:29 “When Germany and Russia invaded Poland…” I would prefer that the freight tunnel system comes back to utilization…

[@scottd9448]

I've lived in Chicago for 10 years and the pedway is still confusing. But I mastered Lower Wacker & Sub Lower Wacker early on.

[@dtnbabcock1841]

Reminds me of the Crystal City Underground (Arlington, VA)

[@HisShadowX]

I like taking the pedway from city hall all the way to the Swiss hotel 😂

[@TheOriginalMrAbsurd]

Chicago seems to have a lot of secrets but it's a city I refuse to even go near. Last time I was in Chicago me and my dad both said we are never coming here again and that was 30 yrs ago and neither one of us ever went back.

[@Jormunguandr]

I like the idé of the pedway but the implementation got weird. Hope the problems can be sorted out. Avoiding strong weather is a nice feeling.

[@njamison09]

You should do Downtown Houston Tunnels

[@dw3897]

Houston has it's own underground tunnel system, somewhat similar to Chicago's.

[@bewitchingtiefling]

reminds me of the montreal underground network!

[@seanbrazell7095]

They really need to rename the pedway. They really, REALLY do.

[@BlownMacTruck]

Why?

[@seanbrazell7095]

@@BlownMacTruck Funny guy.

[@BlownMacTruck]

@@seanbrazell7095 Seriously. Why? The name is exactly what it is.

[@---ey6hj]

Happy St Patrick’s day!

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

In downtown Toronto we have the PATH system.

[@KentBunn]

Doesn't Winnipeg have something more established and inviting?

[@arcavenger4556]

6:06 Im sorry the Grand what?!

[@rogerpenske2411]

And now you can get from Northwestern Station to the Green Line almost without leaving the building. Hallelujah

[@annakocol7116]

as a local..they are for sure confusing

[@djplonghead5403]

It’s crazy that the typewriter in my room is over 100 years old.

[@AnixCo1990]

Unfortunately nowadays you’ll likely discover aggressive panhandlers in those tunnels…

[@johnplampin7274]

Saying the scuzz and mess is left because it isn't clear who is responsible to clean it is an excuse. The city needs to do it, end of discussion. Having said that there are also puddles not caused by humans (or rats) that the city dies not deal with. So much for the city that works!

[@JohnVKaravitis]

What happens when it rains?

[@georgethomas7814]

Isn't there one of those pedestrian tunnels in Canada?

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

Toronto PATH, Edmonton and many, many other cities both in Canada and the USA.

[@georgethomas7814]

@@JP_TaVeryMuch thanks I had heard of some in Canada

[@gtavstepfordcounty1733]

Some one is Going to start a backrooms game with the Chicago pedway as the entire map 😂 i just has a feeling that it could happen

[@PaulMcCannWebBuilder]

It's not just to avoid weather - the walkway along the Millennium Park underground parking garage is also a fast way to get from Randolph to Monroe under Michigan Ave. avoiding slow walking tourist crowds, panhandlers, fake monks, evangelicals, buskers with no talent etc.

[@freetolook3727]

Ryan the Rapper! 😂

[@ronsblahblah]

Where is that yellow bridge?

[@chicyclegmail]

I can't pin it down from memory but I believe it over Columbus Dr. Definitely in the section east of Michigan Av and north of Randolph

[@MrMEC]

The yellow bridge connects the Blue Cross building to Maggie Daley Park and is located over Lower Randolph, just east of Columbus Dr.

[@OtterlyInsane]

Birnberg appears to have lived in the part of Poland that was invaded and occupied by Russia, who confiscated his family's factory and conscripted him.

[@Maaaattologyyyy]

it was most likely there long long before they say like most structures

[@jetsons101]

Chicago, one of America's great cities. But it does need a leadership change..........

[@rogerpenske2411]

They’re not homeless, they’re bums.

[@malformedsol]

whats with all the weird blurred out stuff my dude?

[@NihonPlay]

to mutch blurr overall

[@stevevandoom]

if you like this, check out the PATH in toronto

[@LadyBits2023]

.... this is very misleading. It covers about 10 blocks maybe and it's literally right in the heart of downtown in one very specific location that is mostly very very very expensive high-rises no one would ever need to use this for any functional real reason unless you were homeless.

[@heru-deshet359]

I miss Chicago of the mid eighties that I used to visit. I hope the tunnels are safe and don't attract crime.

[@chefp0l065]

Guess they couldn’t stand for their cause

[@herschelmayo2727]

Yeah, it's there, but you can never use it to get all the way from anywhere to anywhere 99% of pedestrians want to go.

[@chefp0l065]

It is a walking tunnel, why would it have a handicap entrance? If they want to be treated like anyone else, they can use the stairs also, so that they can be equal to others. 😂

[@JamesObertino]

Tedious.

[@rodypony]

The one by Millenium Park smells like bum pee. :-(

[@stopsign515]

sounds sketchy

[@carlmarston1687]

Make sure you blur Trumps name otherwise someone’s feelings might get hurt