When active rail service ceased in the 1990s the embankment was reclaimed by community members as an impromptu trail. In the early 2000s the idea gained traction through several community-based visions and in 2004 as part of the Logan Square Open Space Plan. The linear park had widespread community support and input from the beginning, helping to develop the park’s design, function, and aesthetics. The Bloomingdale Trail opened in 2015, connecting four diverse neighborhoods, and bringing together arts, history, and design. The park and trail system includes the elevated Bloomingdale Trail for bikers, runners, and walkers, which connects four existing and 2 planned access parks at the ground level; alternative transportation avenues; and green, open space for Chicago collectively known as The 606—named for Chicago’s zip code prefix. Bloomingdale Trail and The 606 is a public-private partnership between the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, the Trust for Public Land and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail.
| Infrastructure Type | Railway |
| Status | Open / Ongoing |
| Opening | June 2015 |
| Size | 20 acres, 2.7 miles |
| Design Team | Collins Engineering, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Frances Whitehead |
| Management | Managed and operated by the Chicago Park District in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail and the City of Chicago |
| Project Leader | Caroline O'Boyle & Ben Helphand |
A derelict rail line is being reimagined as a linear park, like Manhattan’s High Line. But in a borough that lacks both green space and transportation, locals wonder whether its best use would be the original one.
The recent opening of the Castlefield Viaduct Sky Park in Manchester, UK, has brought fresh attention to the growing number of projects that reuse urban infrastructures to create linear parks.
Stretching nearly 3 miles along a former elevated train track in Chicago, the Bloomingdale Trail draws pedestrians and cyclists down its paved path — the centerpiece of a park system often cited as a model urban green space that integrates access, recreation and transportation.
