Chicago (Chicago/State in station announcements) is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line. It serves a significant portion of the Near North Side and

Streeterville Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan ...

neighborhoods. With over 5.25 million overall boardings in 2014, it is the busiest station on the Red Line north of the Loop.

Location

The second stop on the Red Line north of the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...

, Chicago station lies in the central portion of the Near North Side. Specifically, it is located underneath the intersection of State Street and Chicago Avenue.Chicago (Red Line subway station)
''CTA'' Retrieved July 29, 2010 It is three blocks west of the northern section of the

Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile (sometimes locally abbreviated to the Mag Mile) is the approximately one-mile-long stretch of Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street (Chicago), Oak Street on the Near North Side ...

; the

Chicago Water Tower The Chicago Water Tower is a contributing property and landmark in the Old Chicago Water Tower District in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built to enclose the tall machinery of a po ...

is located on that strip at the intersection of Chicago and Michigan Avenues. It is also the closest 'L' station to the

John Hancock Center 875 North Michigan Avenue (officially known until 2018 as the John Hancock Center and still commonly referred to under that name) is a 100- story, supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the ...

, Holy Name Cathedral, the Rush Street entertainment district, and the downtown campus of

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

. The Chicago campus of the

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as ...

is also nearby.

History

The Chicago station opened on October 17, 1943, as part of the State Street subway, which forms the central portion of what is now the Red Line between and stations. During the 1950s, the CTA implemented

skip-stop Skip-stop is a public transit service pattern which reduces travel times and increases capacity by having vehicles ''skip'' certain ''stops'' along a route. Originating in rapid transit systems, skip-stop may be also used in light rail and bus ...

service throughout the 'L' system. Under this service pattern, Chicago was designated as AB along with all other downtown stations (on the Red Line, those stops south of and north of were given AB designations). As a result, all trains stopped at these stations. The skip-stop service was ended due to budget cuts in the 1990s.

Renovation

From 1999 until 2001, Chicago underwent renovation and refurbishment, in line with other stations of the State Street subway. Work included making the station accessible to people with disabilities, with new elevators, redone flooring, retiling, and increased mezzanine space.Chicago/State
''Chicago-L.org'' Retrieved July 29, 2010 Unlike most State Street Subway stations, Chicago uses a side platform configuration with two tracks, also used at Grand/State and . There are entrances from street level at all corners of the intersection of North State Street and Chicago Avenue. One level below street level is a mezzanine containing fare controls and

turnstile A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of people, one-way ...

s, and the platforms are located beneath the mezzanine.

Bus connections

CTA * 36 Broadway * 66 Chicago (Owl Service)

References

External links