Getting to know Downtown Chicago’s Loop
Downtown Chicago is more commonly known as the "Loop", encircled by Wacker Drive and the elevated CTA train tracks that loop around the area above street level. Chicago's city center is located at State and Madison. Aside from Wacker, surface roads in the Loop follow the classic grid pattern and the multi-lane Lake Shore Drive runs along the water's edge, providing a quick route from the south side to the north side of the city. CTA "El" stops are indicated on the map by blue M symbols and Metra commuter train stations are labeled with blue train icons.