Grand (CTA Red Line station)

Grand

Grand station during the late 2000s renovation
Station statistics
Address 521 North State Street
Chicago, IL 60654
Lines
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened October 17, 1943
Rebuilt 2007–2011
Accessible
Owned by Chicago Transit Authority
Traffic
Passengers (2010) 3,257,970[1]  1.2%
Services
Preceding station   Chicago 'L'   Following station
toward Howard
Red Line

Grand, also known as Grand/State to differentiate it from Grand on the Blue Line, is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Chicago 'L'. It serves Navy Pier, which is accessible via bus on Illinois Street one block south.

Contents

Location

The first stop north of the Chicago River on the Red Line, Grand station is located in the River North neighborhood of the city. More specifically, it lies underneath North State Street at its intersection with Grand Avenue. Due to its central location, it is close to a number of landmarks in Chicago, with Navy Pier to the east and the Merchandise Mart (which has its own station on the Brown and Purple Lines).

History

Grand opened on October 17, 1943, as part of the State Street Subway,[2] which forms the central portion of what is now the Red Line between North/Clybourn and Roosevelt stations.

During the 1950s, the CTA implemented skip-stop service throughout the 'L' system. Under this service pattern, Grand station was designated as AB along with all other downtown stations (on the Red Line, those stops south of Clark/Division and north of Cermak were given AB designations).[3] As a result, all trains stopped at these stations. The skip-stop service was ended due to budget cuts in the 1990s.

2000s renovation

In line with other downtown stations, Grand station is currently undergoing a massive renovation that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) estimates will cost $67.2 million.[4] The project is expected to double the station's capacity through a 2,000 sq ft (190 m2) mezzanine expansion as well as widening stairways and adding elevators.[4]

Station layout

Unlike most State Street Subway stations, Grand uses a side platform configuration with two tracks. This setup does exist, however, at Chicago and North/Clybourn stations. There are entrances from street level at all corners of the intersection of North State Street and Grand Avenue. One level below street level lies a mezzanine containing fare control, while the platforms are located beneath the mezzanine.

Bus connections

CTA

Other

References

  1. ^ "Annual Ridership Report: Calendar Year 2010" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ridership_reports/2010-Annual.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-30. 
  2. ^ Shinnick, William (October 17, 1943). "Chicago Underground--A Subway at Last!". Chicago Daily Tribune: p. C1. 
  3. ^ "1957 Chicago 'L' system map". Chicago-L.org. http://www.chicago-l.org/maps/route/maps/1957map.jpg. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
  4. ^ a b Hilkevitch, Jon (July 2, 2007). "At last, rehab work will arrive at Grand". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-07-02/news/0707020061_1_station-grand-avenue-state-project. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  5. ^ http://www.navypier.com/visit_us/pdf/trolleystoproute.pdf Navy Pier Trolley Route Map

External links