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Your Chicago: The Pedway

CHICAGO (CBS) -- When is the last time you have been down in Chicago's Pedway? Unless you travel it every day, chances are you have no idea what's down there.

It's really nice to know that on a winter day in Chicago there is another option to battling the frigid streets of the Loop.

After a quick ride down the escalator, you are literally transported into an underground city – a city Margaret Hicks adores.

"Yes, people have started calling me the 'Pedway Lady,'" she says.

Two years ago, she started giving tours of the Pedway, which started in 1951 as a concrete tunnel connecting the Red Line to the Blue Line at Washington and Dearborn.

Sixty years after the first tunnel, the Pedway now connects more than 50 buildings and spans five miles.

"As soon as I sit on the train I'm right on the Pedway, never have to worry about the weather outside," Raj Ghoel says.

Beyond being a shield from the cold, the Pedway offers countless shops, restaurants and bars. There is even a swimming pool.

Hicks concedes it is strangely configured and sometimes confusing. She says you need to explore it or have a guide like her to really enjoy it.

To take a look at the map of the Pedway and figure out how to navigate the underground city, click here. For a list of Hicks' tours above ground, go to her website.

Your Chicago with Rob & Kate
Your Chicago with Rob & Kate

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