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 neighborhoods. With 5,259,992 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, 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 referred to as The Mag Mile, is an upscale section of Chicago's Michigan Avenue, running from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side. The district is located within downtown, and one block ...

; the Chicago Water Tower 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 The John Hancock Center is a 100- story, 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018. The skyscraper was designed ...

, Holy Name Cathedral, the Rush Street entertainment district, and the downtown campus of Loyola University Chicago. The Chicago campus of the

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have ...

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 ADA-compliant, 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 turnpike, 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 human traffic. In addition, a ...

s, and the platforms are located beneath the mezzanine.

Bus connections

CTA * 36 Broadway * 66 Chicago (Owl Service)

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Chicago/State Station Page
on the CTA official site
Chicago Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{Chicago "L" stations navbox, Red=Yes CTA Red Line stations CTA stations located underground Railway stations in the United States opened in 1943