The Chicago Junction Railway Embankment (CJRE) is in the Bronzeville and Kenwood neighborhoods. It used to be part of the elevated train system and it was closed to the public in 1957. The CJR Kenwood branch had six train stations of which only three exist today. It is about 1 mile long from Lake Park avenue to the Dan Ryan highway. There’s a small section of it that heads north and descends to ground level, from 40th Street to Pershing Road, and is West of Federal street. Some sections of the embankment, along with its train bridges, are still visible on the west side of the Dan Ryan, all the way to South Normal Avenue.
According to the city of Chicago, the embankment is owned by the Cook County Land Bank Authority. I contacted them several times by phone and email with many questions, for example, what their plans are for the embankment, if any part of it is for sale, if they do any maintenance and if I can get a permit to walk on it and take pictures, but I have not received a response.
I love the majestic walls of the Embankment and the thick forest with several hundreds, if not thousands, of trees and shrubs that have grown on it. I find it fascinating how these trees and shrubs have grown on their own, although this is not uncommon in Chicago, due to our rich soil and abundance of water.
According to Ms. Lydia Scott, Director of the Morton Arboretum Chicago Region Trees Initiative, “Trees are very important for urban areas.” Ms. Scott directed me to a literature review about the benefits of trees for livable and sustainable communities.
From some of the photographs I sent to the Morton Arboretum, Ms. Julie Janoski, Plant Clinic Manager there, has identified several species present on top of the CJRE to be green and white ash trees, Norway maples, Tree of heaven, Siberian elms and alders.
A south wall section of the Chicago Junction Railway Embankment, west of Ellis Ave. Part of the Ellis & Lake Park train station entrance is visible where the car is parked 
The Ellis and Lake Park Station on Lake Park Avenue & 41st Street 
Old bridges over Federal Street 
Mural on Cottage Grove, between 41st & Bowen Ave 
Our Lady of Africa Church parking lot on Oakwood Blvd
Ms. Scott added that there’s probably also “mulberry, box elders, honeysuckles and likely other (weedy) species.”
From a layman’s perspective, I know having so many trees in our city reduces carbon dioxide, increases oxygen, and preserves some biodiversity in our city. Trees are of course also relaxing and beautiful to look at.
If you would like to see some videos of the CJRE, you can do so at my YouTube Channel.
In the near future, I will be publishing many descriptions, photos and videos of the CJRE in this blog. Here’s an index that will be linked with hypertext:
The Ellis and Lake Park Station
The Chicago Junction Railway Embankment: Ellis Ave to Drexel Blvd and Mural
Cottage Grove Ave Mural, and West to 41st St
North of 41st St to South Langley Ave and 40th St
South Langley Ave and north of 40th St to the Abandoned Vincennes Station
Vincennes Ave to MLK, along south side of E Oakwood Blvd, north of Paul G Stewart Apartments
The South Parkway Train Station on Martin Luther King Drive
The mural on the West side of Martin Luther King Drive
West of MLK Drive to Calumet Ave
West of South Prairie Ave to S Indiana Ave
Indiana Train station
South Michigan Ave to South Wabash Ave
West South Wabash to East South State street
West of South State St to S Dearborn St
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenwood_branch
7 CTA train lines you never knew existed
The “L”, The Development of Chicago’s Rapid Transit System 1888-1932 by Bruce G. Moffat, 1995
Copyright © 2022 Jorge Luis Carbajosa
El descampado 