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Chicago during reconstruction |
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| Address | 300 West Chicago Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60610 |
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| Lines |
Purple Line weekday rush hours only
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| Structure | Elevated | ||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 Side platforms | ||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||
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| Opened | May 31, 1900[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2006-2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Accessible | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Chicago Transit Authority | ||||||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||||||
| Passengers (2010) | 1,670,746[2] 8.8% | ||||||||||||||
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Chicago (sometimes Chicago/Franklin, correctly read Chicago and Franklin) is an elevated station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, located in the Near North Side at 300 W Chicago Avenue in Chicago, Illinois (directional coordinates 800 north, 300 west). The station was established in 1900 as part of the original series of stations on the Northwestern Elevated. There is a high density of art galleries and several schools in the vicinity of the station, including the Moody Bible Institute.
Chicago primarily serves the Brown Line but Purple Line Express trains also stop there during weekday rush hours.
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The original station house was on the north side of Chicago Avenue. Beyond the turnstiles were staircases which led up to the two long side platforms. The Chicago platforms were unusually long, starting just north of Chicago Avenue and curving along the track before straightening out just south of Chicago Avenue. Early in the station's history, it not only served 'L' trains but North Shore Line interurbans as well, requiring longer platforms which could berth more than one train at a time. The number of tracks also decreased from four to two just north of Chicago, meaning the two track, two side platform station had to provide the same capacity as a four track, two island platform station like Belmont or Fullerton. In the decades prior to the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project, the northern, curved parts of the platforms were blocked off to passenger use; trains stopped south of Chicago Avenue along the straighter portion of the track which was long enough for eight-car trains. There were exit-only turnstiles to Superior Street on the south end of both platforms, along with an auxiliary exit to the south side of Chicago Avenue on the southbound platform.
The Chicago station received major renovations under the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. Dual station houses were constructed above street level on the south side of Chicago Avenue alongside each platform. The original, historic station house will be restored and used for support systems. The exits to Superior Street have been rebuilt and reconfigured: each exit now has multiple entrance/exit turnstiles and wider staircases leading down to Superior Street. The canopies were refurbished and moved south, over the operational part of the platform. Additionally, with the installation of elevators at each station house, the station is now ADA compliant.[3]