That time Shirley Temple rode the Chicago 'L' train
Chicago Transit Authority maintains a pretty active Flickr account, filled with all sorts of behind the scenes images, and a large selection of historical photos. I was browsing its albums when I discovered a small set of photos taken back 1938, when Shirley Temple (yes, the child star Shirley Temple) got a special tour of Chicago's 'L' system.
The photo descriptions come with the original captions from the archives CTA inherited from its predecessor, the Chicago Rapid Transit Company. So I decided to post the photos and include the captions below them.
Shirley Goes Sightseeing on the "L": One of the highlights of Shirley Temple's recent visit to Chicago was a 40-miles sightseeing trip of the city by the elevated lines. It was the first train ride of any kind the tiny starlet had ever taken and she was just as excited about it as any ordinary child. here the photographer caught her intently gazing out of the window of her special train as it sped along high above the Loop streets. Shown with her, left to right, are: David Fallon, son of B.J. Fallon, executive officer of the "L" Lines; her mother, father and Mr. Fallon.
In this photo, Ms. Temple looks at her camera while talking to David Fallon, son of B.J. Fallon, the executive officer of the 'L' Lines (operated by the Chicago Rapid Transit Company, several years before the CTA was formed).
In this photo, Ms. Temple is being shown the controls on 4000-series 'L' cars by motorman Charlie Blade (whose hat she appears to be tugging on).